@ Mom Objects To "Type of Birth" Question on School Form

[orangeblossom]

Thoughts?

parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/26/a-kindergarten-form-asks-vaginal-birth-or-c-section-why/?_r=2

My husband fills out most of the forms in our marriage. So when we received a humongous packet of forms at a kindergarten prematriculation session, he immediately got to work. Hunched over the voluminous pile, he meticulously yet mindlessly checked little boxes and filled in the blanks. But a question I just happened to glance caught my attention:



Type of birth: Vaginal ______________ Cesarean ____________



I ripped the form out from under his pen. Why he was answering this question? Come to think of it, why was anyone answering it? The “baby” who had resulted from that birth was 5 years old and well over any possible ramifications of it I could imagine.



I thought it was obvious that this question was absurdly inappropriate, and said so. My husband informed me that most forms and their questions are poorly formatted, redundant, and/or unnecessary, which is why I always make him do them — and also why he didn’t give this particular question a second thought. But this question is especially intrusive and irrelevant, I insisted. It reminded me of some awful blind date asking if the carpet matched the drapes. My vagina was not up for discussion by a stranger then, and it’s certainly not up for public examination now. I had to know: Why would they even ask?



I called the number listed on the form, and it eventually led me to a meeting with the head nurse and a call with the district’s outside medical adviser. The head nurse informed me that the form was stored in the school nurse’s files so that if a teacher or other administrator perceives an issue with a child (presumably, a learning disability or behavioral problem), that person could pull the file and look for clues in the medical record that might explain the cause.



I asked how birthing methods would be relevant, and she responded that a cord wrapped around the neck depriving a child of oxygen or fetal distress could lead to developmental problems. That seemed both far-fetched and inadequate to me. If adverse birth events are the underlying concern, why not ask about them? Birth trauma can occur regardless of delivery type. And why not ask about other possible medical explanations for kindergarten challenges? Shouldn’t they, I asked, include the question about whether a child is vegan so a teacher can look for vitamin deficiencies? “We don’t like to ask questions about food,” she said. “Parents are very sensitive to that.” But questions about our vaginas are A-OK!



When I spoke with the medical adviser to the district, he told me “type of birth” is one of the most common questions to ask on a form. Perhaps at a doctor’s office, I suggested, but not on a kindergarten application. In response, he told me I was the first person to ever bring it up and that he filled out the same form over 20 years ago when his children went to kindergarten. Such parental nostalgia might support a remake of “Gilligan’s Island,” but scarcely provides support for an intrusive question on an exhaustive questionnaire that is used only in rare circumstances.



There are plenty of questions that could be germane to a child’s medical, safety and educational assessment but are generally considered too insensitive, nosy or politically toxic to pose. Where are the questions like, “Do you have any firearms in your house?” or “Please list all controlled substances prescribed to members of the household and details of how they are stored.” I think I would have been chagrined by any number of obnoxious questions on the kindergarten application, but I’m still confused by why the birth query made the cut. Perhaps it is because we are so used to answering that particular question that we don’t stop to think about what it means to have it asked in this context.



If a pediatrician asks this question in private practice, it affects only that doctor’s patients, and all responses are protected by the privacy rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Additionally, one would expect the question to be followed up by more insightful and medically relevant questions.



But when it is asked on a school form, the information is protected only by the exception-riddled Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act law, and how it is used is entirely up to the individual reading it. Misused and misinterpreted information is worse than useless, and it’s unlikely to help anyone. Unless evidence-based medicine or pedagogy shows the type of birth to be valuable for assessing a child’s current health, ability to learn, or safety, or whether it poses a medical or security risk to others, why should I respond?



Because I never received a satisfactory response from my school district, I decided to boycott the health history form altogether. So far, no repercussions (although I suppose it’s possible there is now a different note about my son’s mother in his file).

[josieposy]

If there is a perceived issue with the child, i would think they need to talk to me first. I don't understand the relevance of this question at all. If someone can explain a need for it in a way that makes sense, I'm all ears.

[meshaliuknits]

That's a weirdass question. I'm curious what kind of school it was. And I'm going to ask H if it was on BabyLiu's forms when I get home.

[bugandbibs]

I'm a school nurse and I am laughing at this question too. This is not on any standardize form I use. It is used as part of certain questionnaires when they are doing further testing related learning disabilities or special needs. It can be useful information.

I am a big fan of school based health clinics and schools nurses not being employed by districts (like my job). My records are covered under HIPPA and are not part of the school cumulative record. Some medical based forms are school records and are kept in cumulative records like vaccine records, medication administration at school, and allergies.

[StrawberryBlondie]

I'm trying to come up with a reason why it would be relevant info for even my daycare to know for my now-15 month old. So yeah, school doesn't need to know.

[ttt]

Whaaaat? I have never been asked this question on a school form and my kids have attended four different schools. That's ridiculous.

[zoidberg]

I would just write in "other."

[lyssbobiss, Command, B613]

I don't see why the question is at all relevant but this girl seems to have overreacted like crazy. Also she needs to put down the thesaurus. Not every noun needs 2 or 3 adjectives describing it. She seems defensive about...a lot of things.

And matriculate? Ugh. Go away.

[leeba25]

I've answered that question, but I can't for the life of me remember if it was for a school form, daycare, camp, or other. I remember there were also questions about whether he was full term or premature, and his birth weight. Also maybe, if I remember correctly, if he were a singleton, twin, etc.

[curbsideprophet]

I will have to look out for this question when DD starts school next year.

I also do not really understand why the school would need this info.

[vanillacourage]

I bet it's data collection for analytical purposes. Some program or grant funding.

[mrsdewinter]

People are incensed about this in a childbirth Facebook group I'm in. Meanwhile they are posting every detail of their entire obstetrical history online.

[earlgreyhot]

That question (nor really any other other than your basic health form confirming vaccines and residency) wasn't asked for my DS incoming documents.

But we had him evaluated and they asked every single question under the sun, including the length of labor, etc.

[meshaliuknits]

H has confirmed no, he was not asked this question & followed it with "what kind of wierdo school wants to know that?"

Sent from my 0PJA2 using proboards

[vlagrl]

I read this yesterday and thought it was weird. If it's on DD's form when she goes to kindy - I won't answer it. It doesn't matter.

[mcfelix]

I don't like the question at all. It's invasive and irrelevant in the context. I could understand if there was further screening, but it's not a blanket question that needs to be asked about every child as a matter of course.

If I received that questionnaire, I would leave that question blank and most certainly bring it up to the administration.

[Deleted]

It is/was a question on my kids school forms. I put a line through it and wrote *not relevant.

[MrsAxilla]

I'd just leave it blank.

[shanbrite2]

WTF? I literally did intake evals for kids with developmental disabilities and never even thought to ask this. We do ask about birth history, but if you ask if there were any complications, concerns about anoxia or cord issues would come up anyway without ever having to talk about someone's vagina. SO WEIRD.

[marriedfilingjoint]

Jul 1, 2015 23:10:54 GMT -5 @adobeclay said:

It is/was a question on my kids school forms. I put a line through it and wrote *not relevant.

This is what I would do, too.  I think the question is dumb but I also think the author is overreacting. 

[tres3]

I've only seen that question on the autism and gifted survey forms we had to fill out for our IEPs.

Anecdotally I think my pregnancy with my 2d has a lot to do with his issues. I had pneumonia almost the entire 2d trimester with him and my water broke and I didn't go into labor naturally with him.

[wise_rita]

Jul 1, 2015 17:57:58 GMT -5 zoidberg said:

I would just write in "other."

Write in "ass baby".  They'll know you're from GBCB.

[Deleted]

Jul 1, 2015 19:20:42 GMT -5 Catlawdy said:

Jul 1, 2015 18:59:32 GMT -5 vanillacourage said:

I bet it's data collection for analytical purposes. Some program or grant funding.

That was my first thought as well, the data is being used for a grant or research.

I assumed this as well.