I can’t really post how this makes me feel, but it includes plenty of expletives. Really??? The nurse couldn’t handle herself? She went into panic mode?? It’s amazing that if you choose to have a homebirth (to avoide this nonsense) the majority of people will tell you your decision is absurb yet they want us to put up with the incapabilities of L&D nurses like this?
I am sure there are some outstanding L&D nurses, yet this one was just stupid.

I work as a birth doula and I’m sorry to say that I’ve only met 1 L&D nurse who was competent, compassionate and supportive.

Well the baby clearly couldn’t be about to be born because nobody had told mom it was time. How dare she let that baby come out before a professional had told her it was time to proceed! Scandalous!

This happened to me with my first. I was 4 CM, but they were pouring the Pitocin into me with a funnel, I think, so 15 minutes later I had the urge to push. Of course no one believed me, so my mother, bless her, insisted that they check me before they do anything else, and I was complete and the whole place erupted into freak-out mode.
Very professional.
My mother whispered in my ear to push anyway, which I did, and 45 minutes later my son was born, amidst much yelling and freaking.
My sister had the same – very fast transition, and they yelled at her to breath and not push because they had to set up the tray. So my sister said, “Just put on gloves because I’m pushing!” Two pushes (and much panic from the midwife) later and her baby was born!
But you’re right, Ashley, it makes no sense that a mere mother should know that her baby is ready, or that she is ready to push. Such absurdity.

Interesting how every manual on emergency childbirth says NOT to panic… yet these “trained professionals” panic at the mere thought of a baby emerging before they instructed him to.

Maybe every medical professional who works with birth-related care should be required to review what happens during a birth every day. The guide book could have “Don’t Panic!” printed on the cover in large friendly letters…

(Major points to you if you get the reference)

This was mine. This was my first vaginal delivery but second birth. Thankfully I was “allowed” to VBAC.

I was 37 weeks and throughout the week I had contractions and lost my mucous plug. I went in for my OB appointment at 37 weeks and asked about being induced (sad I know) because I was having horrible contractions and had lost my plug.

Thankfully my doctor initially said that he would not induce until I was over 40 weeks. Then he did a vaginal exam and found me to be 5cm dilated and 80% effaced. He then decided I DID need to go to the hospital and have this baby after all! So he sent us to the hospital to meet up with him.

I knew I wouldn’t be fed so DH and I stopped and got lunch and ate it outside the hospital before entering.

When I got settled, the doc came in and broke my bag of waters. This was the first and only time anyone did a vaginal exam on me too.

Now I did the pre-registering of paper work but this nurse kept coming in with paperwork after paperwork to either read or sign. However soon after my BoW was broken my contractions picked up into high gear and I needed to focus and concentrate and reading things and signing them was out of the question. I handed it all to DH to deal with.

About 2hrs after arriving to the hospital and after having my BoW broken, and NOT knowing how long it would take to give birth I decided on an epidural.

The nurse settled in the corner of the room to finish filling out paper work but continued to ask me questions so she could fill it all out.

About 20 minutes after the epidural was placed and effective, nurse was still focused on the paperwork but I could feel my baby moving down my birth canal. Everything had changed and I could feel her coming down and out! I notified my husband about this and thus we turned to the nurse filling out the paper work and I said “Um, I think you should check me.”

Without looking up she said “Let me finish this paperwork first, and then I’ll check you.” I looked at my husband in a kind of panic because my baby kept getting lower and lower and I wasn’t pushing yet!

I don’t think she thought I was that “far along” in the whole process because I had only been there 3 hours.

Still when she went to finally check me all she saw was the baby’s head.

My DD was born in about 3 pushes after that. I totally believe if they had actually checked me before placing the epidural I wouldn’t have been able to get one.

Because of THIS birth though . . .I have gone on to have 5 au natural births at home unassisted and in water. I am pregnant again and we’re planning our 6th unassisted home water birth in July 2010.

(my first birth was a scheduled c/s for breech presentation)