Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Jun
29
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“You Have To Turn Over Now So The Doctor Can Get The Baby Out.”
“You have to turn over now so the doctor can get the baby out.” – L&D nurse to mom who was laboring and pushing while on her knees, leaning over the back of the bed.
There are 30 comments to this post.
Lisa in Texas had this to say,
Jun 29, 2011 @ 6:28 pm (Quote)
I did HAVE to turn over with one of my children but that’s because there was a problem with her and my midwife needed better access. Under normal circumstances, though, it shouldn’t matter what position the mom is in…and I think that baby will come out on it’s own. The doctor doesn’t need to “get the baby out” in a normal delivery.
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Miranda had this to say,
Jun 29, 2011 @ 6:35 pm (Quote)
Yup Allie, I thought I did the pushing! Pretty sure the doc only catches. I delivered on my knees too, all my attending did was make sure bub didn’t hit the floor (had been in the shower till transition hit, then I went to my knees and nothing could make me get up!)
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Okay, this makes no sense to me whatsoever. First, the doctor is not the one getting the baby out. Second, the mom is leaning over the back of the bed. She’s in a perfect position for doctor to catch. He/She wouldn’t even have to hurt his/her back.
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I was told a very similar thing. I didn’t do it though. Why should I change position because you aren’t good at your job?
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Sheva Reply:
June 30th, 2011 at 6:03 am (Quote)
That’s awesome! Practical question – how did you refuse them? Because I’ve had trouble with this detail, helping clients of mine. Any tips, please?
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Jen Reply:
June 30th, 2011 at 5:28 pm (Quote)
I was a hospital transfer, intended on a birth transfer, and so the student midwife from the practice I had been going to was at my birth along with my doula. (It would have been $800 to have the actual midwife some to the hospital, and she she still would have been there as an assistant rather than a care provider). I was very much in labor land and had no idea who this person was trying to get me to change position. I wish my partner had spoken up for me and told the ob to mind her own business but no such luck.
After trying to get me to change positions the ob left and said she would be back in a few minutes and then “we” would change positions. My doula and the student midwife coached me to push and my daughter was just about out when the ob came back. Although I was glad the ob didn’t get her way, I wish I hadn’t “had to” be coached and this is the part of my birth I would change if I had it to do over – I wasn’t having an urge to push and I ended up tearing. So, I guess my advice is to get the husband or partner to speak up if at all possible.
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Sarah Dorrance-Minch had this to say,
Jun 29, 2011 @ 8:56 pm (Quote)
Poppycock. That’s my job, not the doctor’s, and I can get my baby out all by myself! I do it by “pushing.” It’s really amazing. It works quite well, provided I’m not on my back with my legs in the air or my knees by my ears, without any leverage or gravity, or numb from the waist down due to bupivicaine -
Oh. Wait. Never mind.
You’ve never seen birth, have you, Nurse? You’ve only seen “deliveries.”
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Kat Reply:
June 29th, 2011 at 10:20 pm (Quote)
-Oh. Wait. Never mind.You’ve never seen birth, have you, Nurse? You’ve only seen “deliveries.”
THIS expresses it so clearly! So many medical professionals have never seen a single *birth* but they have seen hundreds or thousands of “deliveries.” To the point where birth becomes a mythological thing, and a dangerous throwback to the “dark ages” when “most women DIED” because they birthed their babies instead of having a doctor there to “deliver” them.
TRUST birth? That monster could kill ya!
“Delivery” is what happens to a pizza order. Birth is what happens when a woman has a baby, and it generally goes better around 90% of the time when the doctor doesn’t get any grandiose ideas about “delivering” anything or anybody.
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‘Scuse me? Doc doesn’t do anything, dahlink. I do the work. Go get him a catcher’s mitt and get out of my way.
And, btw, mom kneeling and leaning against the back of the bed gives a doc a perfect view of the goings on. If doc can’t deal with that position, he’s a pathetic excuse for a doc.
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This one is mine. I was the mom’s doula. She was going for a VBAC and was with the most VBAC-friendly OB in town. He is very laid back, and pretty much goes with the flow, but he ALWAYS “delivers” with mom in the lithotomy position.
The mom did not go into labor until over 41 weeks and she was NOT threatened with a section or induction.
So the mom’s labor was beautiful, about 11 hours long. We were at their home until the contractions were about 2 minutes apart (and dad was Very anxious). Only a five minute drive to hospital. Mom was very quiet and very much in laborland. Once we got to the hospital, she was on CFM, so movement was rather restricted.
Once she started pushing, the hands and knees position worked very well for her, so we just kept her there. The nurses tried to do the cheerleading bit “PUUUUSSSHHHH!”, “Hold your Breath for the count of 10!”, and the mom just ignored them. As the baby crowned, the doc requested mom turn over onto her back for the rest of it. Mom ignored him. The main nurse in the room yelled very loudly “YOU HAVE TO TURN OVER SO THE DOCTOR CAN GET THE BABY OUT!!!” and glared at me like I was supposed to force the mom to do this ridiculously unnecessary movement.
Mom ignored the nurse, pushed again, and birthed the baby onto the bed without anyone actually catching.
THEN she turned over, lifted her leg over the umbilical, sat down, scooped up her baby and looked up at everyone, who were just standing around staring at her.
Her instinctive birthing, and just ignoring everyone who was being annoying made this one of the best hospital births I have ever supported, despite the outrage of the staff at her not letting them “help” her.
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Elizabeth Reply:
June 30th, 2011 at 7:20 am (Quote)
Sounds so much like my son’s birth. Except they caught him and took him off to suction him because he had some meconium. >_< It was still a pretty rockin birth though.
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Kat Reply:
June 30th, 2011 at 8:17 am (Quote)
Wow. What an amazing story. Way to GO to her for not letting the stoopid people get her down during her birth.
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Jena Reply:
June 30th, 2011 at 10:36 am (Quote)
That is beautiful. (Except the nurse’s behavior, of course.) Thanks for filling out the whole story for us.
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silverhawkwarrior Reply:
June 30th, 2011 at 10:42 am (Quote)
OP, thank you for this awesome story! I’ve now got the greatest mental image of this mom catching her breath and holding her baby and looking up with an expression of “Whew, that was some hard work right there . . . I really needed to focus to get that done . . . Okay, now, was somebody yelling something?”
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Dee the Doula Reply:
June 30th, 2011 at 11:26 am (Quote)
What a great story!! And what a focused mommy! That’s fantastic! Maybe this doc will lighten up on the lithotomy position after this? 
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shannon Reply:
June 30th, 2011 at 1:58 pm (Quote)
LOL! This is the best story ever. It cracks me up a little that when she didn’t “obey” the medical professionals in the room didn’t know what to do with themselves. Like, the dr. didn’t jump in and think, “Okay, well, I’m still the designated baby catcher, so I’ll just work with this.” Nope. He just stood back and watched the baby land on the bed. Which was a fine place for the baby to end up. The mental picture I got of mama scooping up her own baby while the room full of staff gawked at her really made my day. Thanks!!
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Mandie Shoemaker Reply:
June 30th, 2011 at 2:10 pm (Quote)
Amazing momma!!! Very cool that she was able to ignore everyone! I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall of the nurses station after that!!
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Add Your Comment.
Not mine, but my doc told me the same thimg, after I had selivered the head.
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