Feb 23

Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.

“The Epidural Sounds Really Good Right About Now, Doesn’t It?”

“That epidural sounds really good right about now, doesn’t it?” -OB to mother during the pushing phase.

67 people dislike these words.

There are 23 comments to this post.

CLT had this to say, Feb 23, 2010 @ 4:39 pm (Quote)

Jerk. Besides, pushing is when you absolutely don’t want an epidural. Why do something to make it harder to push effectively? And why make rude comments ten feet from the finish line? SUPPORT in labor, people.

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tiffany had this to say, Feb 23, 2010 @ 4:45 pm (Quote)

IDIOT.

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Rebecca had this to say, Feb 23, 2010 @ 4:54 pm (Quote)

I am a huge fan of epidurals but “I told you so” is a REALLY lousy way to motivate someone. Doctors shouldn’t gloat!

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Lucia had this to say, Feb 23, 2010 @ 4:57 pm (Quote)

Not really, pushing feels GOOOD!

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Heather P Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:05 pm Heather P(Quote)

This was my thought. Pushing was not the worst part. NOT pushing was the worst part. Pushing was a relief. An epidural during pushing does not appeal at all. Transition is a different story.

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Lucia Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:10 pm Lucia(Quote)

Definately! Transition is when we SAY we want an epidural and when a good practitioner tells us no you don’t need one, and we don’t!

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Sheva Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 5:09 am Sheva(Quote)

I always felt the same way – pushing was a relief, but I have heard women say it was very painful for them.
That said, I think the reason why he may have said that is because the woman was making normal pushing sounds that sound like she was in pain. And he had probably never heard those noises before – since he sounds like a practitioner that is overly fond of epidural-ed, drugged up patients.
So the unfamiliar sounds were making him uncomfortable. And we ALL know how important it is for the doc to feel emotionally balanced during the birth! (dripping sarcasm)

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Tze Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 8:55 pm Tze(Quote)

Yeah, by the time I was up to pushing, my body felt relieved and I certainly didn’t want an epidural (even though a few minutes beforehand I really did).

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Kelly Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 9:10 pm Kelly(Quote)

Oh, I definately agree!! Pushing was the only part of my labor that brought me some sort of relief.

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Brittany had this to say, Feb 23, 2010 @ 5:23 pm (Quote)

How rude! I had a nurse say something similar to me during transition, and unfortunately because I was so tired of dealing with her I had an intrathecal. : ( But I couldn’t feel to push so I had to wait for the medicatión to begin wearing off before I could push effectively. And I agree, that wasn’t the worst part, having a few tears stitched was. : p

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Candice had this to say, Feb 23, 2010 @ 5:33 pm (Quote)

What a douchebag!

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The Deranged Housewife had this to say, Feb 23, 2010 @ 6:18 pm (Quote)

During the pushing phase?! Little late for that, isn’t it?

Good job to this mom!

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Nikki had this to say, Feb 23, 2010 @ 6:38 pm (Quote)

I dunno…how’s about I kick you in the nuts and you tell me how an epidural would feel, you inconsiderate jackass?

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Lauren had this to say, Feb 23, 2010 @ 10:36 pm (Quote)

Actually, smacking your snotty face in sounds WAY better! C’mere!

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Meg had this to say, Feb 24, 2010 @ 6:39 am (Quote)

I hope that doc also knew to warn the patient about the risk of sudden drop in blood pressure, stalling of labor, position problems, and assorted longterm problems if something goes wrong with the epi, plus the chances of it not working? Oh, wait a minute! All those complications add up to greater revenues! So of course an epidural is risk-free and wonderful!
Complicated labors and more c-sections are good news for hospitals and docs.

Then again, what would I know? My second child was born at home without meds, and due to being much more happy and relaxed, having spontaneous natural labor instead of artificially forced labor, and genuinely supported and respected in labor by homebirth midwives, I didn’t “need” drugs to manage it.

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Meg had this to say, Feb 24, 2010 @ 6:45 am (Quote)

But punishing the mother or otherwise seeking to ‘teach her a lesson’ if she dares to defy their conveniences or seek natural anything, is a common enough practice. Even nurses get personally insulted if anyone suggests that the way they are used to doing things isn’t acceptable.

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Andy had this to say, Feb 24, 2010 @ 7:39 am (Quote)

And, they don’t work if you have them sited in the second stage.

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Larissa had this to say, Feb 24, 2010 @ 10:33 am (Quote)

For me, my dilating phase was very easy and pushing was hard, my baby was posterior and didn’t turn and came out face up. However, I remember thinking….”man ok would I want the epidural now if I could”?…..then I thought nope, this is still better than my last experience with the epidural!

The only time I wished for pain relief was afterwards with a big ol tear. Even though I was numbed for the stiching my whole lower half was still very uncomfortable. Still glad I didn’t get it!

What a rude comment to make to a mom, trying to say “I told you so” when the mom is working so hard and obviously doing fine without the epidural!

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Heather had this to say, Feb 24, 2010 @ 12:32 pm (Quote)

Remember the old saying, if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all? Guess Mr. Sensitive never heard it. Gotta wonder how he’d feel if someone said that to his wife while she was giving birth.

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KT had this to say, Feb 25, 2010 @ 8:07 am (Quote)

I’m the Mom that submitted this. The OB was a WOMAN, not a man.

She was a piece of work. The two comments above this one (about being on the strip for 5 out of 15 minutes & nursing) are mine, as well. I went from 7cm to complete within half a minute and my body was pushing as it wanted to. Once I gathered myself, I pushed him out in 3 pushes. My first baby was born with 5 pushes (and he was a “big baby” – 9 pounds, 4 ounces).

This woman pushed a nurse out of the way, tethered me to a chair, and threatened me multiple times because I wouldn’t do what she wanted me to do. I’ve filed complaints with the practice, the hospital and the state. My regular OB was out of town – the first time off he’d had in months – and was very supportive of a natural delivery. This woman was not. She wanted me flat on my back, with an epidural, so she could control the entire situation. If she had known that my first baby was larger-than-normal, she would’ve tried to bully me into a section.

After that experience, I will never, ever have a baby in a hospital again. Next one will be born at home, into my hands.

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KT had this to say, Feb 25, 2010 @ 8:18 am (Quote)

Oh – I should mention that I met this OB when I walked into the office the morning before he was born. My doctor noticed contractions during my visit, told me that I was definitely in labor, broke the news that he was going to be out of town and walked me down the hall to meet the on call OB (the woman). He told her what was going on and her immediate response was, “Well, if you were my patient, you’d be going to the hospital for a pit drip and an epidural.”

I told her that I was planning a natural delivery after having an epidural with my first and she laughed in my face before telling me that I would change my mind. She was just a bitch.

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Lindsey Carr-Ruck had this to say, Feb 25, 2010 @ 1:08 pm (Quote)

KT, I hate that you had that experience. I’m guessing you didn’t kick her in the face because you were doing such a wonderful job birthing your baby. Since you did that well in such a crappy environment, you’ll probably have a wonderful homebirth with your next.

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