In April of 2010, Dr. Tricia Pil - one of our regular contributors - posted the story of her third child's birth, an experience riddled with medical errors that nearly cost her and her son their lives. Dr. Pil's story, originally published in the online medical journal Pulse: voices from the heart of medicine quickly became one of Pulse's all-time most popular pieces and inspired a video adaptation, released last month on YouTube.

The comments that followed Tricia's story of horrendous patient care - a brutally managed postpartum hemorrhage, inadequate care for her newborn son, and heartless response from her medical providers and the hospital administration - were full of shock and poignant commiseration by individuals, many of them also healthcare providers, who had suffered similar atrocities within our health care system.

Tricia's intent in publicizing her story was, and remains, to advocate for improved patient safety and quality measures within the system, including improved compassion in patient care. In the six weeks since the video's release on YouTube, there have been over 800 views by health care providers and patients from around the world. An effective and engaging teaching tool, her narrative and video are already being adapted for educational purposes in several medical schools across the country, and are also appropriate for nursing and PA schools, midwifery and hospital administrator training programs (to name a few).

Through the charitable efforts of the Project Delivery of Chronic Care (DOCC), the editorial and directorial efforts of Jeremy Cropf of Corner Film Productions, and the volunteered time of several actors, Tricia's story has been adapted to film and made available for all the world to see and utilize.

As a reader of Science and Sensibility, you are an integral part of a larger community at Lamaze, and a powerful front line advocate for the health of peripartum women and their newborns.

View Tricia's story, leave a comment, and share it with your colleagues. Together we can raise our voices and go viral with the demand for better, safer, and more compassionate maternity care!

Posted by: Kimmelin Hull, PA, LCCE

Published: August 23, 2011

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