Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Jul
3
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“If You Don’t Push Now, I Have To Yank This Baby Out By Myself.”
“If you don’t push now, I have to yank this baby out by myself.” – Midwife to mother after the baby’s head had been born.
There are 15 comments to this post.
Not mine, but they did this to me too. Baby’s head born on one contraction, which ended, and then on the next one the baby’s body was born.
A true dystocia is an emergency situation, and you don’t want to fool around with it, I’m not sure that’s a real dystocia. In between contractions, you just can’t get the same oomph when you push.
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Mary Reply:
July 3rd, 2011 at 10:53 am (Quote)
That was my experience, too. Head born. Rest until start of next contraction, body born. It’s during that “rest” that baby finishes rotating to facilitate shoulder delivery. Yanking before that rotation is complete is not smart, and can cause babe to get sticky shoulders.
What in the world is wrong with waiting what, 2 minutes or so to let mom feel the urge to push again?
Nature….generally she knows what she’s doing. Let her work.
True dystocia is an emergency. In that case, try the Gaskin maneuver and then go from there if that doesn’t work.
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Jane Reply:
July 3rd, 2011 at 11:06 am (Quote)
I”m thinking a situation like this tells you the difference between a great provider and a mechanic. A lousy doctor or midwife knows that the baby has to be born within seven minutes of the head emerging and looks at the clock, then panics when the contraction ends.
A great and experienced doc or midwife will be able to tell the difference between “stuck” and “resting before the final push.” There won’t be the panic and the terror that ZOMG WE HAVE SEVEN MINNITZZZ PUSH PUSH PUSH!!!
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Heather Reply:
July 3rd, 2011 at 6:56 pm (Quote)
I was told to rest and relax while the doctor removed the nuchal cord and then when I contracted, the baby shot right out. I was never even asked to push 
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Lisa Reply:
September 8th, 2011 at 8:11 pm (Quote)
This happened to me too. The baby actually squawked on my perineum (freaked the midwives out). Then I pushed about two more times and he was out. He also did a complete 360 turn, because he was posterior. He still turned, but right back into the regular position.
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SculptorAlison had this to say,
Jul 3, 2011 @ 10:50 am (Quote)
Isn’t it normal for the baby to be born in two pushes? One for the head and the next for the body? That’s how both of mine came. What’s the freaking hurry?
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Sabine Reply:
July 4th, 2011 at 11:22 am (Quote)
That was my impression too. *confused*
I was told to stop pushing once the baby was crowning to allow the head to emerge as gently as possible. Then I rested for a moment since the contraction had subsided (mine were only about 20 seconds long). Then I was told to go ahead and push when I felt like it to deliver the rest of the body.
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it took 5 extremely painful (more painful than any other part of labour) minutes to get him out. Thankfully I narrowly escaped an episiotomy… I really hope I don’t have to go through that again.
Bonnie B Matheson had this to say,
Jul 3, 2011 @ 11:20 am (Quote)
Is it possible that this doctor did not know that there are waiting periods in between urges to push? Is that really possible? Who teaches these people???
I disagree about calling the urge to Push “Contractions”. Contractions are contractions. They are what helps the body open up and efface the cervix and theoretically get to be a 10.
The contractions stop when a baby is about to be born. Some women have a resting period of many minutes before the urge to push comes. When it does there is no mistake about it. It is an uncontrollable urge. And it is so strong it is almost frightening to a woman when she has her first baby. The force is amazing and designed to be so. How else whould you expel an object the size of a baby? No one should interfere with a woman when she is pushing. Let her do her work. NEVER grab the baby’s head and try to pull it out unless there is some kind of grave emergency which would include also the Gaskin maneuver.
I am not a midwife, so forgive me if I have left something out. But I AM a mother of 5 and I KNOW that feeling of needing to push. You cannot imagine it if you have not experienced it. Unfortunately epidurals generally dull that feeling so that staff must tell the woman when to push. NOT nearly as effective, believe me.
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Bonnie B Matheson had this to say,
Jul 3, 2011 @ 11:28 am (Quote)
I just reread this and notice that the attendent was a midwife. Sad. VERY very sad. I wonder what the story is and why she is trying to play “doctor”. But just like doctors some midwives are better than others. Be sure to get references and testimonials if possible. If not, why not? If they are good their clients will adore them.
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This is mine. It happened 2006 in Finland where all the births are attended by midwives. This particular midwife was an old experienced one.
I had a (mild) spinal anaesthesia and a routine episiotomy. I went to the same hospital 4 years later when pregnant with baby nr.3 and the records showed no reason for the hurry. They even routinely take ph samples from the cord in this hospital (meaning immediately cutting the cord to get the sample) and it was fine.
I’m greatful for your comments because her words have been bothering me all these years and I’ve been wondering if I’m just overreacting and oversensitive about this.
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During the same birth, when declining an epidural for the time being, she shook her head silently as to say “what a poor stupid girl”.
And when beginning to push, half sitting, feet up in stirrups, I twice said that I needed to get into more upright position. There was complete silence. They just ignored me, so I just kept pushing.
After the birth I said that I will NEVER do that again. She smugly said that “those who say that are back in two years.” 1 year 11 months later I had my second baby – AT HOME.
I’ve had another home birth since and the latest was a super healing, wonderful, painless but intense one.
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Jenny Islander Reply:
July 4th, 2011 at 8:48 pm (Quote)
If conditions permit, I think writing a letter to this MW, or somebody who has authority over this MW, might do some good. At least it might be cathartic.
Also, my old, experienced midwife would’ve ripped this one a new orifice and kicked her out of the room!
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Add Your Comment.
I guess this “midwife” never heard that after the head is born, the baby rotates to make delivery of the shoulders easier, and that by “yanking”, she’s actually increasing the risk of, or causing, shoulder dystocia?
Impatient much?
I guess mom should have pushed with no urge then? And caused perhaps an intact perineum to tear?
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