# Sign at Aspen Women's Center



## *MamaJen* (Apr 24, 2007)

Have ya'll seen this image floating around? It's a sign allegedly hung up in Aspen Women's Center in Provo that reads, "Because the Physicians at Aspen Womens Center care about the quality of their patients deliveries and are very concerned about the welfare and health of your unborn child, we will not participate in: a Birth Contract, a Doulah Assisted, or a Bradley Method delivery. For those patients who are interested in such methods, please notify the nurse so we may arrange transfer of your care."
Just mind-blowing. Mind blowing.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/ph...d=135763722272


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## bjorker (Jul 25, 2005)

Yeah I've been seeing that all over Facebook. Pretty shocking!!!


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## soxthecatrules (Oct 20, 2008)

WOW!! Just WOW!!

I wouldn't want to give birth there and I pretty much have to have medicalized pregnancies and births. That kind of attitude is just plain wrong.


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## mommy2maya (Jun 7, 2003)

Why is it wrong of them to be so upfront? Aren't we always talking about how we want a compatible care provider, and how it sucks when they seem to change their tune half way thru? Why is it ok for a mom to have demands, and wish to have them met, but not the other way around? Also, I feel like they are giving upfront notice, and that women who want those things would be happy and relieved to know right away that they are not the provider for them? I applaud them for being to upfront.


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## fruitfulmomma (Jun 8, 2002)

Eh, at least they're upfront about their prejudices. I find it a little odd that they chose to use the "h" at the end of Doula.








to this hospital - *http://www.lifebridgehealth.org/sinaibody.cfm?id=1929 - for implementing their own doula program for their moms.* (Just googled 'doulah' and that was the only relevant site I came up with.)


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## smeisnotapirate (Aug 24, 2007)

Did you take that picture? It looks Photoshopped to me.


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## soso-lynn (Dec 11, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *fruitfulmomma* 
I find it a little odd that they chose to use the "h" at the end of Doula.


It makes it look more like some exotic thing. For someone who has never heard of doulas, the h project the image of strange women doing magic spells and such.


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## leavemealone (Feb 16, 2005)

I think spelling it "doulah" looks a lot like "moulah" as in 'more moulah for us we don't have to deal with women who want a birth plan, doula and bradley childbirth' (not that women are wrong for not wanting those things).


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## *MamaJen* (Apr 24, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *smeisnotapirate* 
Did you take that picture? It looks Photoshopped to me.

I didn't take it, though I don't see any overt signs of it being photoshopped, and as a reporter I tend to have a pretty good eye for that. I'm been trying to confirm it just poking around online. I haven't called or seen it myself, but I'm seeing lots of comments from women saying they called the clinic. It passes the smell test to me.

http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?i...#s168811502040


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## mommy2maya (Jun 7, 2003)

looks photoshopped to me too, honestly. From the lettering right down to the shadow at the bottom of the sign.


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## Belle (Feb 6, 2005)

I think its rediculous that they present these things as if they are somehow harmful to the babies.

Birth contracts/Plans. So they won't even discuss ahead of time what procedures the mothers do or don't want?

Doulas? Where do they draw the line at a doula? Friend, mother, sister, hired support person? What if a friend learned a lot about childbirth so she attend the birth with her and be educated. Oh wait, they're against women being educated about birth. Can't have these women using The Bradley method. They might decide that these epidurals and the cascade of interventions aren't that great after all.


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## jennyfah (Jul 20, 2006)

If it's real---and I believe that it is---the most annoying part to me is the 'car[ing] about the quality of their patient's [sic] deliveries and are very concerned about the welfare and health of your unborn child' bit. I don't give a flying rat's patootie if they don't like doulas and Bradley students; lots of hospitals don't. It's absolutely the right of the clinic or care provider to say so. However, to flat-out state that being well-educated and/or bringing a professional labor assistant with one to her birth somehow DIMINISHES the quality of a woman's birth, or would in some way endanger the health and welfare of the child is ludicrous. What it endangers is their ability to cow women into procedures they don't want because they have to follow their precious policies. [/soapbox]


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## Goddess3_2005 (Oct 20, 2004)

I'm sure theres plenty of MDC mommies in the SLC area that could verify this.


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## *MamaJen* (Apr 24, 2007)

I just shot off an email to the regular paper and the alternative weekly. I'd love to see some real reporting on it.


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## Belle (Feb 6, 2005)

The best thing about that sign though is that I'm predicting there will be a mass exodus of women leaving their "care". Even women who weren't interested in those natural birthing at all will leave. Not everybody of course, but a significant number of their "patients" will high tail it outta there.


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## pampered_mom (Mar 27, 2006)

According to this commenter over at The Unnecessarean it's real - she called about it. (Or these folks over here). Not conclusive I know, just thought I'd mention.


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## ExuberantDaffodil (May 22, 2005)

and to make it _even more_ odious, the misplaced apostrophe just tops it off as a truly atrocious sign.


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## Amandamanda (Sep 29, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Goddess3_2005* 
I'm sure theres plenty of MDC mommies in the SLC area that could verify this.

just called my friend in provo who goes to aspen for care and she said she has never seen any sign like that anywhere.
i guess it is POSSIBLE that she just doesnt pay very close attention to things on the wall- but i'm going to trust her on this one.

but that may be partially because i refuse to believe a practice like this exists.


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## EviesMom (Nov 30, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ExuberantDaffodil* 
and to make it _even more_ odious, the misplaced apostrophe just tops it off as a truly atrocious sign.

That is only the beginning of the errors that would make their Language Arts teachers groan. Forget birthing there, I would be sorely tempted to get a red paint pen and mark the many mistakes--- like the fact that as written it claims all the physicians in the practice have only 1 patient amongst them, and apparently she is having the sign reader's baby.


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## AlexisT (May 6, 2007)

Well, at least they don't spring it on the patients at 32 weeks.

An article in the New York Times a year or so ago mentioned a whole hospital that banned doulas.


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## sebarnes (Feb 2, 2005)

Hey all! I live in the area, and yes, the sign is real. One of my best friends had her first baby there with all the fun interventions. One of the Drs. there is one of the most unnatural friendly doctors around, and that was the one she got at her birth. He and she even made a little joke about doulas when he came in her room. The funny thing is that now she's training to be a doula and had her second child at home. But, yes, the sign is very, very real.


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## EviesMom (Nov 30, 2004)

Okay, I just cannot resist: [[]] notes proofreading corrections
Because the Physicians [[lower case "p"]] at Aspen Women's Center care about the quality of their patient's [["patients' "---plural possessive]] and are very concerned about the welfare and health of your [[delete "your," add "their patients'" to match plural possessive third person state of prior text; do not switch to second person and then back again]] unborn child [[should be "children" plural to match multiple patients, deliveries and physicians]], we will not participate in: a "Birth Contract", [[questionable use of quote marks; at a minimum, place comma inside quotation mark]] a Doulah Assisted [[delete "h," lower case "d" in doula and "a" in assisted, add hyphen between. Should be "doula-assisted"]], or a Bradley Method [[lower case "m," can keep cap B as Bradley was last name]] delivery. For those patients who are interested in such methods, please notify the nurse so we may arrange transfer of [[to maintain third person throughout, delete "your" and add "the patient's" instead]] your care. [[Switching to second person here might be reasonable as it serves as a call to action and could be spoken more directly to the reader of the sign. In this case, the final sentence should read: "If you are interested in such methods, please notify the nurse so we may arrange transfer of your care."]]

Forget the concepts, I don't think I could trust such a facility on the grounds of the gross editorial mistakes! Yes, some individuals are brilliant yet cannot spell or use decent grammar; however, a decent medical facility should then hire someone to proofread before printing a professional, non-temporary sign. And I don't really believe that a whole medical facility's worth of professionals could be so completely unaware of grammar rules yet actually be good at something else involving skill, practice, and attention to detail. Local ice cream shop gets a chuckle and a pass for using bad grammar and misuse of quotations; so do posters on message boards; but school administrations and hospitals DO NOT!


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## Veritaserum (Apr 24, 2004)

It is real. This OB office is in my town and my sister uses them.


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## Belle (Feb 6, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *EviesMom* 
...or a Bradley Method [[lower case "m," can keep cap B as Bradley was last name]] delivery.

Actually this is semi-correct. The Bradley Method® is a a registered trademark. So they can capitalize "M" but they should include the word "The" and include the ®.


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## Belle (Feb 6, 2005)

To me this sign says clearly that they don't give a damn about womens' or babies' health. All they care about is getting kids born in whatever way suits them best. Since they're doctors they know better than women could possibly know, no matter how educated women make themselves.

I think this is offending me on a cellular level. I had a birth plan, I used The Bradley Method®, and I became a doula myself after my first birth. Every part of me wants to shout it out to the world how horrible it would be to birth with this practice.


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## EviesMom (Nov 30, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Belle* 
Actually this is semi-correct. The Bradley Method® is a a registered trademark. So they can capitalize "M" but they should include the word "The" and include the ®.

Good to know! Thank you! But yes, then they have to include everything and the ®. And they would have to rewrite that sentence to accommodate The Bradley Method®. I wonder if there's an infringement case possibility there, if the owners of the registered trademark wanted to get negative publicity aimed at Aspen?


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## Veritaserum (Apr 24, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *EviesMom* 
I wonder if there's an infringement case possibility there, if the owners of the registered trademark wanted to get negative publicity aimed at Aspen?

Now that's a good question....


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## Belle (Feb 6, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *EviesMom* 
Good to know! Thank you! But yes, then they have to include everything and the ®. And they would have to rewrite that sentence to accommodate The Bradley Method®. I wonder if there's an infringement case possibility there, if the owners of the registered trademark wanted to get negative publicity aimed at Aspen?

Good idea! I'm sure AAHCC wouldn't like that. Any Bradley teachers here know who we could contact with infringement violations?


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## smeisnotapirate (Aug 24, 2007)

Not a Bradley teacher, but I just went on their website and called their number (useless







) and it seems like the best way to reach them would be by mail.


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## Autumn Breeze (Nov 13, 2003)

As I said to a friend of mine, look at it this way.....

In one way I like the sign. It tells you exactly what you're going to get if you chose to keep your prenatal and delivery care with these people. You _will_ have _every_ test. You _will_ have interventions and you probably _will not_ have fully informed consent going into any of it unless you've done the research.

And if you have done the research, chances are you're going to walk away. If you're going to walk away, someone, who may not know better, might see you walk away. Then maybe they'll start asking questions.

I wish more providers would put there agendas in the front waiting room like that, it could save a lot of women a lot of time.


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## *MamaJen* (Apr 24, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sebarnes* 
Hey all! I live in the area, and yes, the sign is real. One of my best friends had her first baby there with all the fun interventions. One of the Drs. there is one of the most unnatural friendly doctors around, and that was the one she got at her birth. He and she even made a little joke about doulas when he came in her room. The funny thing is that now she's training to be a doula and had her second child at home. But, yes, the sign is very, very real.

Hey, thanks for verifying it. There goes my hope that it was all a hoax to raise attention to common obstetric practices, but it's good to know.


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## sebarnes (Feb 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by **MamaJen** 
Hey, thanks for verifying it. There goes my hope that it was all a hoax to raise attention to common obstetric practices, but it's good to know.

I really wish it was a hoax, too


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## nashvillemidwife (Dec 2, 2007)

Yes, it's good that they're up front about it, but being honest doesn't excuse you for being a misogynist.


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## Turquesa (May 30, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by **MamaJen** 
"Because the Physicians at Aspen Womens Center care about the quality of their patients deliveries and are very concerned about the welfare and health of your unborn child ...

Right. Because those of us who hire carefully screened doulas and present a well-researched birth plan don't give a rat's arse about the quality of our deliveries or our the health and welfare of our children.









Gak! How insulting to women.


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## Belle (Feb 6, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *nashvillemidwife* 
Yes, it's good that they're up front about it, but being honest doesn't excuse you for being a misogynist.

That explains my feelings about it exactly.


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## Cherienc (May 29, 2012)

Yes, exactly!


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