(Co)Operation

“I wanted to just have a c-section. But the doctors talked to me gently, laid out my options and said, ‘Listen, we’re here for you. If things go south, we can do a c-section and have him safely in a matter of minutes. But we want to give you the chance to deliver him vaginally.’ I’m so grateful that they gave me that strength and that ability to safely have him.”

“He sat with me while I wept and mourned what I already perceived as a pregnancy loss. This would never be a baby. When I pulled myself together enough to be rational, he handed me a piece of paper that had a few out-of-state clinic phone numbers listed and said, ‘good luck.’”

“I think about what could have happened had I been further from a hospital with my situation. What could have happened to both me and my baby? It so quickly turned into a life-threatening situation for both.”

“The kind receptionist explained that it was Dr. K’s last week in the clinic, there were no appointments available, and she was moving away from Sandpoint. I wasn’t pregnant, nor asking for an abortion, yet because of the very restrictive laws in Idaho, I now have no gynecologist.”

“I have these symptoms. I don’t know if they’re perimenopause, if they’re treatable, if I should even attend to them. My primary care physician has been dismissive and we no longer have gynecologists here. Where would I even begin in trying to find an in-network doctor with room in her practice? So I’ll just soldier on.”

“I’m very fortunate that I have the time and a supportive family and supportive partner. There are a lot of people out there that don’t have that same support or the resources to have the birth that they want, or even be able to explore options.”

“With sharp abdominal pains, she decided to go to the local emergency room because of the distance she would otherwise have to drive to reach an OB-GYN’s office. The visit cost her over $475 out of pocket. The copay for an ultrasound appointment with an OB-GYN would have cost her $23.”