#468: Everybody's Doing It", Not A Legal Standard Of Care With Hermine Hayes-Klein, ESQ.

What happens when hospitals decide informed consent no longer applies to breech birth?

In this powerful and deeply important episode, Blyss and Stu welcome back attorney and birth rights advocate Hermine Hayes-Klein to unpack a landmark Oregon malpractice trial centered on coercion, informed consent, and the growing normalization of mandatory cesarean sections for breech babies.

This is not just a conversation about breech birth. It’s a conversation about power, coercion, medical culture, and whether women still have the right to make informed decisions about their own bodies during childbirth.

If you care about birth autonomy, informed consent, or preserving disappearing birth skills, this is an episode you cannot miss.

About Hermine Hayes-Klein:

Hermine Hayes-Klein, JD is an attorney and advocate for reproductive justice and human rights in pregnancy and childbirth. Hermine works on legal actions and advocacy projects related to preventable injury and informed consent violations in childbirth, and advocacy for access to midwives and doulas around the US and beyond. Hermine began her international advocacy for the recognition of human rights in childbirth when she was teaching law at The Hague University in The Hague, the Netherlands, in 2012, and organized 6 international conferences on that topic in the US, Europe, South Africa, and India. She has worked on many cases related to breech birth for both plaintiffs and defendants.

Website: https://fringeheals.com/

Instagram: @fringeheals

Blog: https://fringeheals.com/blogs/blog/tagged/womens-health.

Email: hi@fingeheals.com

References:

Realfoodology Podcast - Why So Many Women End Up With C-Sections: Birth Interventions Explained with Dr. Stuart Fischbein

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3HChoFaUvAmmHsGMoCRvCp?si=LHN-gYRgS_OgE6f24W2qHA

CHD.TV segment with Stu NEEDED

Mentorship with Blyss:  wovenmoon.com

Elena Bridgers Substack: To Home Birth or Not to Home Birth?

https://elenabridgers.substack.com/p/to-home-birth-or-not-to-home-birth?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=l982r

Dr. Sara Wickham Instagram Post @drsarawickham

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYPHRC0DPqg/?igsh=NmZwMHNpNGxiY2Vx

Discussed in This Episode

The dangerous misuse of the phrase “standard of care”

Why informed consent is a legal duty, not a physician preference

How hospital policies quietly override individualized care

The lasting trauma many women experience during cesareans and epidurals

The legacy and flaws of the infamous Term Breech Trial

Why bodily autonomy in childbirth matters now more than ever

Podcast Produced by: Raquel Hernandez, Pride and Joy Doula Care

This show is supported by

• LMNT | Got to drinklmnt.com/birthinginstincts to get a free sample pack with any order
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• Restorative Roots | Go to restorativeroots.com and use code BIRTHINGINSTINCTS to get $20 off
• Girls Who Know | Go to girlswhoknow.com and use  code INSTINCTS for 15% off
• Caraway Home | Go to Carawayhome.com/instincts for an additional 10% off, or use code INSTINCTS at checkout!

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