Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Jun
29
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“How Many Weeks Are You Supposed To Be?”
“How many weeks are you supposed to be?” -Ultrasound Technician at an ultrasound at 10 weeks to confirm a pregnancy. An OB was immediately called in to confirm a miscarriage.
There are 19 comments to this post.
I was so grateful for the u/s tech’s compassion when my own pregnancy. I could tell by the look on her face that what she saw on the u/s wasn’t good, but before she started giving me any details, she made eye contact with me (the first person who had really bothered to do that) and said, “Ma’am, I am so sorry to have to give you this news.” It didn’t make hearing it any easier, but I at least felt like my feelings were validated. I wish all people working in maternity care could have her same degree of sensitivity.
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Not sure I see this one as an issue. Here the technician would not have my chart. It would be for my Dr’s use only. He would provide information that would be later added to my chart but that would be it.
To the OP, I am very sorry for your loss. Having had two miscarriages myself I really feel your pain.
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Jane Reply:
June 29th, 2010 at 4:51 pm (Quote)
Are you sure they wouldn’t have had some information to go on? Usually the orders that were sent to the tech were something like “Level II scan, 22 week fetus, previous pregnancy diagnosed with anencephaly.” For a suspected miscarriage, wouldn’t the tech have something to go on along the lines of “suspected miscarriage, 10 week pregnancy”?
I would hope most doctors don’t send a woman to the radiology department with written orders saying “Guess what’s going on with this woman!”
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Brenda Reply:
June 29th, 2010 at 5:06 pm (Quote)
It depends, I think, on where the op’s ultrasound was done, and the circumstances under which it was done. If it was done at seperate office or department, sure orders should give more info, but if, like at my dr.’s office, it was simply a quick scan done down the hall just to date the pregnancy or find a heartbeat when one couldn’t be found on doppler, I can see the tech not having any more info.
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Lindsay Reply:
June 29th, 2010 at 7:37 pm (Quote)
Here it is done in a seperate office. When I went for my u/s in may to see how far along I was the radiologist had no idea that I had previously miscarried and had not had a cycle in between. So when I seemed confused about the date he replied to me “I’m going off when your last cycle would have been for dating not when you would have concieved” (I thought DUH! but I didn’t have a MP!)
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Sarah Dorrance-Minch had this to say,
Jun 29, 2010 @ 7:42 pm (Quote)
I hope that foot tasted good.
Ouch.
Whoever submitted this quote: please accept my condolences on your loss.
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I don’t necessarily see a problem with it. Its kind of like being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The tech I had did ask me how many weeks etc at my u/s, but I think she was just trying to make conversation.
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Sarah Dorrance-Minch Reply:
June 29th, 2010 at 8:14 pm (Quote)
It’s the computerized “information age.” I wonder if there would be a way to make certain records available to any outside lab technicians prior to the mother’s appointment, to avoid train wreck situations like this? Obviously she’d have to sign HIPAA papers granting permission for her records to be used in such a way, but that’s not a massive obstacle in itself.
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At every single ultrasound I’ve ever had (viable and not) the tech has asked how many weeks I was. I was never offended by this, even at the ultrasound for my miscarriage. Perhaps something else was said or I’m missing the tone of voice.
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rachel Reply:
June 30th, 2010 at 12:50 am (Quote)
i think the problem with this is its “how many weeks are you SUPPOSED to be?” I’m assuming this was mid scan, and the tech was seeing a fetus at a very different stage in development. Its implied that the information the tech is trying to gather is, “how long ago did the baby die?”
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The contributor didn’t provide information about when the statement was said. I’ve been asked how many weeks along I was at an ultrasound. The “supposed to be” might be because some women aren’t sure when their last period was, and the ultrasound is for dating purposes. The tech may have been looking for the mother’s best guess as to the gestational age.
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If the baby had been fine this quote never would have been remembered. But because this is probably how the mother realized something was wrong it is forever etched in her mind. It is very sad. And OP I too am sorry for your loss. I doubt that these techs get the training they need to say the right thing. Plus the right thing to one person can be meaningless to another. It is a very hard position for the tech to be in. The tech legally isn’t allowed to diagnose anything. All he or she can do is call the doctor. And during that time the mom is left to wonder. It is almost like the U/S room needs an emegency button like the silent alarm at the bank. So the tech can make small talk while the doctor is paged to come assess the situation and potentially deliver the bad news.
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Sarah Dorrance-Minch Reply:
June 30th, 2010 at 9:37 am (Quote)
“It is almost like the U/S room needs an emegency button like the silent alarm at the bank. So the tech can make small talk while the doctor is paged to come assess the situation and potentially deliver the bad news.”
That’s a really good idea – I’m surprised nobody’s done it yet. I’ve also heard about miniature alarms that professional escorts carry in the toes of their shoes, in case the client gets violent. Somebody should invent a form of technology like that. It could be used by nurses, technicians, etc who are dealing with a sensitive situation and aren’t allowed to be the ones to deliver bad news to the patient. Not just in obstetric medicine, but all kinds of medicine.
Like all forms of modern technology that facilitate swift communication, it could probably be abused as well, but I suppose one has to take the bad with the good. I like the idea of a “bad news, come immediately and handle with care” signal.
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AussieO+G Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 6:12 pm (Quote)
We had this system at my old hospital – we were paged urgently if a foetal death in utero/miscarriage was noted by the tech so we could get in their quickly and back them up.
Of course the patient generally figured out pretty early that if the doc was being paged their was a problem. Our techs were very good though and did the best they could.
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As with many things on this site, it is not necessarily what they said, but how they said it. The question needed to be asked but it could have been phrased more tactfully.
A simple “How far along are you?” would have sufficed. Leave it alone and go find the OB. I had the most fabulous tech when I miscarried. He got me up on the bed, looked around for about 2 minutes, asked a couple of non-threatening questions “Is this your first?” “How far along are you?” And then quietly excused himself for a moment. The OB came in took one look at the monitor and told us our baby had died in utero at 8 weeks (I was supposed to be 14). There was nothing but remorse on the poor tech’s face, and even the OB was quiet comforting and answered all our questions.
OP, I am sorry for your loss. I am sorry that the tech didn’t have as much tact as is required for such situations.
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I’m sure this is a case where a picture (or video) would be worth a thousand words. I’ve mostly had good techs, who give you some info or chitchat, or just SMILE at you, but I’ve also had those who act like they are totally bored with their job and seem to have no human emphathy left to calm your worries. I too have had a miscarriage, and when peeking to confirm a heartbeat on my first pg after my miscarriage, the tech was all sorts of “don’t care”. Really plays with the mother’s emotions, since they’re already nervous enough. Little things said or done can be huge – bad or good – in the mother’s eyes.
OP – So sorry for your loss 
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Add Your Comment.
To the OP: I’m sorry for your loss.
Techs see it all the time. It wouldn’t have killed the tech to look at the chart.
There’s an old joke where a guy is drinking with his buddies and drops dead. His drunk buddies stagger down the block to go tell his wife, and outside the house they pick one guy because he’s the most tactful. So they send the guy to the front door, and he knocks on it, shouting, “Widow McCarthy? Widow McCarthy?”
It’s almost funny when it’s a joke. Not so funny when a tech does that to confirm a miscarriage.
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