Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Aug
1
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“You Have A Tight Pelvic Girdle…You’ll Just Be Spinning Your Wheels.”
“You have a tight pelvic girdle…you’ll just be spinning your wheels.” – OB to mother who inquired about the possibility of a VBAC after an unplanned cesarean.
There are 24 comments to this post.
Sarah Dorrance-Minch had this to say,
Aug 1, 2010 @ 4:54 pm (Quote)
Mothers of the world, unite! You have nothing to loose except your obsolete Eisenhower-era foundation garments!
(Yes, I spelled it “loose” on purpose.)
Yo. Doc. Pelvic “girdles” open. Ever heard of this amazing hormone we produce in pregnancy called “relaxin?” It lets us shave ourselves around our fundi. It makes us more liber than Russian gymnasts. It helps us open up to give birth without needing to call for the Jaws of Life to come and fish the baby out abdominally for us. Try looking it up. You might learn something.
And by the way, I think I’ll find another professional to help me maintain my “girdle.”
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Sarah Dorrance-Minch Reply:
August 1st, 2010 at 4:55 pm (Quote)
PS. And stop being such a… a… PANTYWAIST about VBACs. Crud.
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Suuuure…just like my 37w3d body needed the “kickstart” from the Pitocin to “get things going” since it was my first baby and I’d been “walking around dilated to 4cm for a month”…obviously uteri can’t figure things out on their own in their own time…
They just can’t manage to give up any control, not when there’s something they could *do* to you! Even (especially) when all it takes is just a little “harmless” lie…
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Alyson Miers had this to say,
Aug 1, 2010 @ 8:11 pm (Quote)
It’s the Magic 8 Ball of C-Section Excuses! *shakeshake* “You’re too short to birth vaginally!” *shake* “You’re too fat to birth vaginally!” *shake* “You’re too old, you need a C-section!” *shake* “Too thin, need a C-section!” *shake* “Partner’s a different race, need a C-section!” *shake* “Having a big baby, can’t mention trial of labor!” *shake” “You have a tight pelvic girdle!”
Okay, I made up the one about “too thin.” Wouldn’t surprise me to hear some OBs have used it, though.
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Sheva Reply:
August 1st, 2010 at 8:48 pm (Quote)
Are the crystal balls and Magic 8 balls the same thing?
Hysterical!
And, yes, the ‘slight build’ excuse is out there, too.
Along with Gestational Diabetes, Baby too small, Mom young and inexperienced, Has a birth plan…
Anyone else?
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Serene Reply:
August 2nd, 2010 at 12:38 am (Quote)
Blood pressure too low to risk you trying to push
Blood pressure too high, you might stroke out
you are asthmatic
Have heard the “too skinny” one too…
Most of these I heard while working in a private hospital, not at the hospital where I actually had my kids. My doc didnt even suggest a c-sect and I am a type 1 diabetic with a thyroid condition and secondary heart condition! 3 vaginal births, no epidural. If I can do it, so can you.
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Heather P Reply:
August 2nd, 2010 at 8:46 am (Quote)
I was labeled “two thin” and “small pelvis” before I was even pregnant the first time. I gave birth to vaginally to a baby with a 14.75″ head with a nuchal hand just fine. The OB who attending my first baby’s birth was very surprised that such a baby came out of my tiny form.
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Alyson Miers Reply:
August 2nd, 2010 at 10:12 am (Quote)
You just never know what a mama can do until you let her try, huh? Rock on with your badass birthing self!
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Which parts of me, exactly, are the wheels? (Because after studying A&P, female anatomy, I haven’t come across it, so I’m confused.)
Also, a pelvic girdle? I don’t wear those anymore, they give me cramps. I actually threw mine out a few years ago.
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Sarah Dorrance-Minch Reply:
August 2nd, 2010 at 1:40 pm (Quote)
Dunno, but Einstein’s first words (spoken at the age of three) were, “Why doesn’t my sister have wheels?” or something along those lines…
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Oh, my OB didn’t need a crystal ball. The way he made it sound like he **KNEW** pretty much all along. After commenting on my “girdle,” he said that he had thought I only had a 50/50 shot at a vaginal birth ever since the first vaginal exam. He didn’t want to tell me that, though. He said he wanted to give me a chance. (I just wish he had told me right away…then I could have fired him.)
When I asked if there was anything I could do to “loosen my girdle,” he said nope, that is pretty much the way I was born. He said that after he examined a 60 year old woman with a pelvis like mine, he wasn’t surprised when he reviewed her obstetric history and found she had a c/s.
So this is the OB that led me and my husband to believe a c/s was necessary because of late decels, even though after reviewing my medical records I see now that he told the nurse to keep the Pitocin on until he could get there to speak with me. When he came to talk, he didn’t mention the possibility of turning off the Pitocin. He just said that baby is not handling labor well, he is just too big and not coming out that way.
It happened to be a Friday afternoon.
But to be fair, in his mind I was already going to end up in c/s since my 50/50 odds were suddenly heavily stacked against me when I came in with SROM. I clearly was not progressing fast enough to beat the 24 hr. clock…which is why I agreed to the Pitocin. At the time the decision was made for surgery, I was 19 hours in, 7 of those at the hospital going from 4cm to 6cm.
Of course, I wasn’t progressing b/c they had me bed bound, wouldn’t even let me get up to use the restroom, offering me a bed pan instead. (Of course, I say “let” here, but I know better. I could have fought them, but for some reason it never crossed my mind to fight them.) The OB and nurses said that I had to stay in bed b/c I came in with SROM and there was a risk of chord prolapse. Even though my baby’s head was already engaged!!!
So, yeah, I guess I should not surprised that this OB wants to discourage me from trying a VBAC. The funniest thing is when I asked if he attended VBACs, he said not normally, but that does not me he does not allow them. He has had a couple of patients have VBACs, but in my case, ***drum roll please*** I would be just spinning my wheels. I later found out from another source that he has attended 2 or 3 VBACs in the last 10 years or so!
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Jane Reply:
August 2nd, 2010 at 3:45 pm (Quote)
Wow. I’m so sorry you got stuck with this guy. 
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JulietsButterfly Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 6:57 am (Quote)
Did he forget that there’s a 50/50 chance of having a c/s or vaginal birth? I mean, they come out one way or the other. To my knowledge there isn’t a third option of exit other than the vagina or an c/s cut. That’s like a 50% chance of a boy. Baby’s going to be boy or girl, no third option (well there is but it’s very technical).
I can’t believe he treated you so poorly. You made it pretty far, who’s to say for certain that your pelvis couldn’t expand a bit and get the baby out? I hate when moms aren’t even allowed to try a second time!
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Isn’t there some hormonal advantage to going into labor on your own, even if you’re going to have a c-section anyway? Cause I’m pretty sure there is. Some study was done (sorry it was on mice) that baby mice born by c-section had a better chance at life if they had fake ‘contractions’ performed on them. So maybe its good for our babies to get a little squeezed…
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Alyson Miers Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 7:09 pm (Quote)
I think the concern with human babies is that if they’re delivered before spontaneous labor, then they could have used more time in the womb.
Another issue is respiratory problems, which probably does have to do with being “squeezed” some before coming out. Though by that logic, induced labor would do just as well.
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Jane Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 9:33 pm (Quote)
William Sears discussed this in The Birth Book. In part it was the mother’s hormones start changes in the baby that make birth easier, and the baby is getting the moms’ endorphins for natural pain relief against the tugging and removal of the c-section, plus the hormones prep the baby to breathe.
(Keep in mind I’m writing this at midnight and I’ve just effectively said moms who get epidurals are subjecting their babies to birth without pain relief because they aren’t producing endorphins once they’re not feeling labor pains any longer, but my own brain is a bit clumsy right now. LOL. My point just is, the hormone cocktail is not present on a scheduled c-section the way it is if labor has begun on its own.)
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CCindy Reply:
August 9th, 2010 at 11:19 am (Quote)
I don’t know about the mice, but you are right for humans. I gave away all my books. (literally, my doula got a good stack and then my daughter just recently took the rest) So I can’t quote you from anythng, but it is better to go into natural labor and then have a c-section than to schedule. A very important thing to remember if they tell you baby is breech. A scheduled c-section is like baby being woken up in the middle of a good dream.
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Add Your Comment.
“Is that a medical diagnosis? I have wheels?” :-b
Crystal Ball Obstetrics at its best.
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Serene Reply:
August 2nd, 2010 at 12:34 am Serene(Quote)
*sings*
Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’…
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