The good news, however, is that some JW mothers will accept blood.
http://www.manitobaphotos.com/theolib/downloads/Responses_by%20Pregnant_Jehovah 's_Witnesses_on_Health_Care_Proxies.pdf
*sorry...this link will probably have to be copied and pasted into your address bar...it doesn't seem to want to link the full title
OBJECTIVE: To review the treatment options presented on the New York State Health Care Proxy for Jehovah's Witnesses, which is signed by pregnant women when they present for care.
METHODS: Chart reviews were performed for all women who presented to labor and delivery at our institution from 1997 to 2002 and identified themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses. A patient was included in the study if a completed health care proxy was available in her chart. Data were derived from the health care proxy and from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine's Blood Product Checklist for Jehovah's Witness Patients. Variables of interest included age, race, parity, and antenatal and perinatal complications.
RESULTS: A total of 61 patients were identified. Of these, 39.3% agreed to accept a variety of donated blood products, 9.8% would accept donated packed red blood cells, and 50.1% would accept neither from a homologous donor. With respect to nonstored autologous blood, 55% of respondents would accept either intraoperative normovolemic hemodilution or transfusion of their own blood obtained by a cell salvage system. No significant differences in responses were noted for any of the above-mentioned variables.
CONCLUSION: This review refutes the commonly held belief that all Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to accept blood or any of its products. In this population of pregnant women, the majority were willing to accept some form of blood or blood products. This information can be used to help health care providers counsel a patient when she is initially faced with considering these issues and may help to remove the stigma of accepting one of the options.
from the pdf -
When a physician counsels a Jehovah’s Witness, there are several ethical and medicolegal considerations that should be explored. This review demonstrates that this is the very first query of its kind to look at what the actual responses of pregnant Jehovah’s Witnesses have been when faced with the realization they will have with a 2% risk of receiving transfusion. The knowledge that about 50% of patients in this series agreed to accept blood or some blood products may be of value to physicians in counseling other women who will soon undergo labor and delivery and may assist those patients in making their decisions. This review is not meant to coerce any patient’s decision, but it may help put some women at ease when they fell that they are deviating from their belief system. Such a patient is not alone in this circumstance, and that knowledge may make the difference between life and death when an unexpected hemorrhage occurs.