Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Jul
2
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“A VBAC Is Like Jumping Off A Bridge…”
“A VBAC is like *jumping off a bridge* in which mortality is close to 90% with a uterine rupture!” -OB to a mother during a consultation.
There are 27 comments to this post.
“And you’ll print me off copies of studies proving this, yes?”
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Jennifer B. Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 5:13 pm (Quote)
Yeah… I asked for proof of one idiotic comment once and was told “You ought to know this with all the research you do!” I, in fact, had a copy of a study showing that the doc was wrong, and handed it to her… she simply said that “You can’t believe every study out there.”
It doesn’t matter how much evidence you have sometimes, the doctor is ALWAYS right 
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Jane Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 5:30 pm (Quote)
But it’s so much funnier when you can laugh at the ridiculous statement because you’re holding in your hand a copy of the study as published in a peer-reviewed journal, and all they have is a flimsy scare tactic.
I think at that point, though, you pretty much have to find a new doctor. :-b
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THe Deranged Housewife Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 4:58 pm (Quote)
Seriously! You’re criticized for “reading” and doing “research,” which they like to totally laugh at – yet they are the same damned journals they themselves read. WTH?!
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Jen Reply:
July 7th, 2010 at 5:53 am (Quote)
I think there’s a fundamental problem with the above statement; it implies those physicians are staying up to date with the data that is being published.
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THe Deranged Housewife Reply:
July 7th, 2010 at 9:04 am (Quote)
I’ve had several instances with more than just an OB that definitely proves that’s the case, sadly.
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Birth Unplugged had this to say,
Jul 2, 2010 @ 5:54 pm (Quote)
Holy scare tactics, Batman! It is totally misleading that the rate of uterine rupture in VBAC (about 1%) is not mentioned. And where is this OB getting his/her statistics? The mortality rate for VBAC uterine rupture is not 90%. From googling, I’m finding a mortality rate of about 6% when there is a uterine rupture in VBAC.
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I know that there are some people who go undercover into other shan’t-be-mentioned facilities and record outrageous statements. Would anybody here be willing to wear a wire to get some of these obstetric lies on record??? I’d actually start using You-Tube! LOL!
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The Deranged Housewife Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 5:00 pm (Quote)
I thought I was crazy for totally wanting to do this! Now I see I’m not! LOL I do have a mini-tape recorder in my purse, actually, so I’m getting ideas …. It’d be an expensive venture, paying out of pocket for a “pretend” consultation or whatever, but interesting, nonetheless!
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Cmat had this to say,
Jul 3, 2010 @ 7:08 am (Quote)
If my doc starts coming up with some good ones when I’m pregnant again I’ll look into a wire. lol
This statement is just dripping with stupidity. How about the OP has the VBAC (with another doc) and this doc jumps off a bridge and we test their theory?
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DaJennible had this to say,
Jul 3, 2010 @ 9:33 am (Quote)
“Are you sure you’re not mistaking that statistic for your unemployment percentage of VBAC patients?
Either way i’d just LOVE to test your theory. You go jump off a bridge, and i’ll go have my VBAC. Whoever survives.. wins. Deal?”
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The Deranged Housewife had this to say,
Jul 3, 2010 @ 5:01 pm (Quote)
This must explain why I’ve been feeling so dead lately. Not because my nearly 4-year-old VBAC “baby” runs me ragged all day long. 
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The WellRounded Mama had this to say,
Jul 3, 2010 @ 6:10 pm (Quote)
Ugh. I hate it when docs pulls stats from nowhere (well, we actually all know where they are pulling them from….somewhere the sun don’t shine!) and misquote risks to women, esp on VBAC.
It’s also really frustrating when YOU know the stats better than your docs and you even have a copy of the studies involved….and they STILL won’t believe it.
Obviously, there’s more to this than simply reporting accurate info on benefits and risks. It’s also about what your providers WANT to believe and the fear level they have about things.
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Re: secretly videotaping these outrageous statements and posting them on YouTube. Not sure that would do any good, since similar examples of coercion, twisted facts and non-evidence-based care are available for the world to see 2x a day on TLC. See: every episode of “A Baby Story” that doesn’t feature a midwife (and some that do…) Apparently, no one else watches these breathtaking train wrecks and wonders if maybe there is something wrong here…
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The Deranged Housewife had this to say,
Jul 7, 2010 @ 9:22 am (Quote)
This comment reminds me of a “discussion” I had months ago on a BabyCenter forum. The original poster was wondering whether she should have a VBAC or RCS, and of course she opted for the RCS – based on the misinformation of several posters who responded, including the bad advice of a physician who regularly logs on and offers “advice.” His numbers of rupture were among the highest given – in other words, he finds the highest rates of rupture in statistics – that might or might not even be true – and represents this as fact to women, who believe it. Never mind that other studies have shown the rate to be much lower. And, because I’m not a doctor, whatever I (and several other commenters) say – even though I have had a successful VBAC – means nothing. Even when I said that he had an opinion, but he was just one person – not the end authority on VBACs – it didn’t matter and I was ripped to shreds by the other women commenting.
*sigh*
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I left that entire OB practice and found a practitioner that didn’t use scare tactics. I had a successful VBAC and am now a Labor Doula & Birth Educator.
When that OB told me that death was inevitable with a VBAC and likened it to jumping off a bridge, my mouth dropped. When I reported some uterine rupture stats he said “where’d you get your information? It’s completely false.” Riiight. Later, dude.
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You expect me to believe that?!? Nice try, Doc. Try again. Good grief.
I wish I could come up with a snappy bon mot for this one that would leave everyone in stitches (except the mother, who, I hope, did not need stitches in her abdomen when all was said and done, nor stitches anywhere else).
But I can’t. This statement was so utterly stupid that it rendered me witless.
Oy.
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