Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Mar
15
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“If I Don’t Suction Your Baby, She Will Aspirate And Could Die.”
“If I don’t suction your baby, she’ll aspirate and could die.” -OB to parents when they requested he only suction their newborn if it was medically necessary.
There are 26 comments to this post.
attached2mykids had this to say,
Mar 15, 2010 @ 6:14 am (Quote)
Again, I’m sitting here wondering how humans got this far without OBs and all of their medical interventions!
[Reply]
Huh, my 19-month-old must be a zombie…
[Reply]
Becca Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 6:43 am (Quote)
you totally stole my answer! I must have a zombie 16-month old toddling around. huh.
[Reply]
Heather P Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 9:15 am (Quote)
Yep, I’ve got a two year old zombie too.
Other things that should have killed her,
She was born in water, she could have drowned.
She had the cord around her neck twice.
My water was broken for 36 hours before I went into labor.
She was born at home.
We didn’t cut the cord right away and she didn’t breathe right away.
She developed mild jaundice and I didn’t rush her to the hospital.
[Reply]
Knitted in the Womb had this to say,
Mar 15, 2010 @ 8:04 am (Quote)
And do you have some actual research to back that up, or do you just like making up your own “facts?”
Hint…the research only supports suctioning a baby who does not start breathing spontaneously at birth or who has HEAVY meconium staining. Even with light meconium staining, the research supports no suctioning if the baby breathes and is “vigorous.”
[Reply]
when did this occur and how old is this doctor? I see that older docs suction every baby whether they need it or not. of course, that is quite jump to say baby would die if not suctioned! such hogwash! and what about the damage done by vigorous suctioning?
[Reply]
not to defend the physician, but if this was said in a situation with meconium present it is a valid statement, a harsh one that could be said in other ways, but valid. Babies that aspirate mec can get very very sick…
[Reply]
Kat Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 11:16 am (Quote)
Based on the entirety of the post, it appears this was being discussed at a prenatal visit, as the parents were inquiring about common interventions at the birth.
Rather than listing specific circumstances in which suction might become medically necessary, it appears the doctor was claiming there *is no* situation in which it is not medically necessary, a blatantly false statement.
Either the doctor was intentionally being deceptive (scary) or he was completely ignorant of the evidence surrounding the intervention being discussed (scarier).
[Reply]
MJB Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 4:52 pm (Quote)
I guess I’m confused about what the problem is with suctioning. It’s called a preventive measure (also sometimes a treatment). If our society would follow more preventive measures, we wouldn’t have the problems we do, in general.
What is the medical reason NOT to suction?
[Reply]
Reality Rounds Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 5:02 pm (Quote)
Routine neonatal suctioning has been shown to have no beneficial effects. Deep suctioning, which requires inserting a large bore catheter down the babies mouth (which was routine when I first started nursing many moons ago), can be harmful. Oral and nasal suctioning has been shown to illicit a vagal response in infants (a decrease in heart rate and apnea), and it can also cause oral aversion in infants. This mostly happens in preemies, but full- termers can also show signs of difficulty in breast and bottle feedings due to the noxious stimuli of suctioning. They essential do not want anything near their mouths.
One last thing, routine suctioning can cause an infant to gasp, which could actually increase the “risk” of aspirating any sort of delivery fluid.
Hope this helps.
[Reply]
MJB Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 5:10 pm (Quote)
I’m looking for the evidence against suctioning. I’m truly interested in finding the source of this evidence you state.
[Reply]
Reality Rounds Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 6:34 pm (Quote)
Sorry I can not directly link you to the studies which are all at work 
If you go to http://www.aap.org and click on NRP, you can wade through a lot of evidenced based research regarding suctioning at delivery in the 2005 guidelines. AAP only recommends suctioning if there is an obvious blockage of the airway of mucous and the infant appears compromised because of it.
The other research about oral aversion is from neonatal developmental care research, which I love and have read extensively. If you search for Heidi Als, you should find studies on suctioning and oral aversion.
[Reply]
Katiecnm Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 6:55 pm (Quote)
Here is something for you to check out, MJB. I’d like to see the evidence FOR suctioning. Suctioning, like any other tool, has its place if it is used judiciously. I’ve found that the nurses are quick to suction if I don’t. So it’s not just the docs that believe this.
Semin Fetal Neonatal Med. 2008 Dec;13(6):375-82. Epub 2008 May 13.
The pros and cons of suctioning at the perineum (intrapartum) and post-delivery with and without meconium.
Velaphi S, Vidyasagar D.
Department of Pediatrics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. velaphisc@medicine.wits.ac.za
Routine oronasopharyngeal suctioning (ONPS) of the infant at delivery is a common practice in the delivery room. ONPS is performed to remove lung fluid, meconium, or other secretions from the airway, thereby improving oxygenation and/or preventing aspiration. However, there are controversies regarding this practice, as it seems to be associated with complications. In the presence of clear amniotic fluid, routine ONPS in infants born vaginally and by cesarean section is associated with bradycardia, apnea, and delays in achieving normal oxygen saturations, with no benefit. Intrapartum ONPS and post-natal endotracheal suctioning of vigorous infants born through meconium-stained amniotic fluid (MSAF) does not prevent meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS). Although depressed infants born through MSAF are at risk of developing MAS, there is no evidence that endotracheal suctioning of these infants reduces MAS.
PMID: 18474453 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
[Reply]
As the doula that submitted this comment and was present at this birth I can confirm that there was no meconium present, and the baby was vigorous and breathing. I will NOT out the doctor, but I can tell you that he was an older fellow and quite a jerk (in my professional opinion).
[Reply]
Judith Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 6:41 pm (Quote)
MJB:
as I mentioned earlier, the book”Impact of Birthing Practices on Breastfeeding” by Mary Kroeger has a section on suctioning of newborn and the possible complications on pages 137, 196 and 197. Babies are able to clear their air passages just fine most of the time. so many things in OB are done because we were taught to do them without any evidence of effectiveness and actually, at times yrs later, it is discovered that what we were trying to prevent, we made worse.
[Reply]
Umm Abdullah had this to say,
Mar 16, 2010 @ 6:50 am (Quote)
Funny thing, my DS WAS suctioned with that silly bulb(which really has NO power) but had aspirated on the way out, did have a ton of fluid in his lungs, which was sucked out with something else, and guess what? He came no where close to death! He was in the NICU for a day or 2 on precautionary abx because he *might* have transmitted GBS, but turns out he didn’t, he was fine.
Because you know, whenever you don’t do it the doc’s way, your baby most likely will die *rolleyes*
[Reply]
kb Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 8:20 am (Quote)
I’m glad that your baby came no where close to death and I don’t always believe that the doc’s way is the best way, but these precautionary things are done to prevent bad outcomes and I have seen some very very bad outcomes from fluid aspiration.
[Reply]
Judith Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 8:45 am (Quote)
Dear KB: and did you read the studies that show that suctioning did not improve outcomes?
[Reply]
Umm Abdullah Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 2:17 pm (Quote)
My point is, suctioning with those bulb syringes really does nothing but hurt the baby unless there is actually something there that is suction-able(unlikely, as by the time they suction, theres nothing around to aspirate) I believe my DS must have aspirated the fluid that was trapped behind him as it came out(as opposed to something that was just hanging out in his nose/mouth)
[Reply]
This is the same attitude I got when my daughter was born. She had no meconium or asperation and was breathing just fine but they insisted on suctioning her…again and again and again. They literally had the suction tube in her nose or mouth and down her throat for nearly 15 minutes straight, just because she wouldn’t cry. So the tortured her just because they had this preconceived notion that babies should cry. (I couldn’t tell them to stop because I had no idea they were doing it until weeks later when I watched the video my sister took)
[Reply]
Add Your Comment.
Previous Post
« “Are You A Flexible Doula?…” Next Post
“…So Much Pain And Still A Ways To Go.” »
« “Are You A Flexible Doula?…” Next Post
“…So Much Pain And Still A Ways To Go.” »
“Oh, scare tactics! I recognize those! Awesome job — I almost didn’t catch that. So back to not suctioning the baby: not unless it’s necessary. Okay?”
[Reply]