Jul 11

“I Might Have To Cut You.”

“I might have to cut you.” – OB to a mother who had made it clear she preferred to tear, moments before making a second degree episiotomy.

67 people dislike these words.

There are 14 comments to this post.

Tara had this to say, Jul 11, 2011 @ 10:07 am (Quote)

“I might have to sue you.” If only that worked… :0(

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Juliana had this to say, Jul 11, 2011 @ 10:09 am (Quote)

I might have to cut you back.

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Allie had this to say, Jul 11, 2011 @ 10:12 am (Quote)

you better not>

Ugh, I remember my first labour, the doc must have been about to cut me (I told them not to) and the L&D nurse YELLED at him “YOU BETTER NOT CUT HER” as she gave me perineum support with a warm cloth (angel sent to the L&D) room, good thing they didn’t because I didn’t even tear a bit.

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Paula Reply:
July 11th, 2011 at 11:00 am Paula(Quote)

What a superhero nurse!

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Jena Reply:
July 12th, 2011 at 11:28 am Jena(Quote)

Yes! Send her a cape, a mask–and flowers!

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Kate had this to say, Jul 11, 2011 @ 10:13 am (Quote)

That is horrible that the OB did it anyway.
My midwife said that to me after me pushing for almost 2 hours and helping me stretch and I still was having difficulty getting my son’s head out. But her saying that motivated me to push a couple more times and I avoided being cut.

This OP’s situation seems much different.

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Jane had this to say, Jul 11, 2011 @ 10:43 am (Quote)

This is the state of modern obstetrics. Anything the doctor “might” have to do, must be done. Anything bad that “might” happen to a baby must be forcibly prevented. They no longer understand the difference between “might” and “will” and no patience to wait in a non-emergency situation.

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Alyson Miers had this to say, Jul 11, 2011 @ 11:10 am (Quote)

I read a birth story from a woman whose midwife cut an episiotomy on her because she’d been pushing for hours, was exhausted, and her perineum would neither stretch nor tear so the baby’s head wasn’t coming out. The difference? First they waited for her to tear or stretch, and after hours of pushing, she did neither. Second, the midwife asked the mom for permission to cut, and the mom consented. This was in a hospital.

I understand that there are a small percentage of cases in which an episiotomy is indicated to save the baby from death or brain damage, but this post doesn’t suggest any such problem. It sounds like it was just a choice between tearing and cutting, and Dr. Stabby-Hands wouldn’t respect her choice.

Would that really have been so difficult, Dr. Stabby-Hands? Would it really have ruined your day to respect your patient’s decision on what should be done to her body? Would it really have put such a cramp in your hand to stitch up a tear?

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Eden Reply:
July 11th, 2011 at 6:32 pm Eden(Quote)

Dr. Stabby hands….

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corrine had this to say, Jul 11, 2011 @ 1:05 pm (Quote)

and i might have to kick you in the head

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Lindsey had this to say, Jul 11, 2011 @ 4:28 pm (Quote)

Grrrrr! How can this happen?! In any other situation someone saying “I may have to…” Implies that there will at least be discussion or time to contemplate what “may” need to happen.

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Samantha Reply:
July 11th, 2011 at 5:55 pm Samantha(Quote)

This is just what I was thinking. Might implies that the decision has not been made. Why the BS doc? The decision had already been made, and might doesn’t soften the distress at having the OPs wished completely ignored!

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Kristin had this to say, Jul 12, 2011 @ 7:19 pm (Quote)

So this was mine.

I gave my Birth Plan to my OB’s at my 28 week appointment. It clearly stated that if I was going to tear, that they were to let it happen and not use any knives on my girly parts. I was very specific. They approved my plan with a few exceptions regarding my wishes to eat during labor.

Flash forward to 40w 3d. I had been in labor for 36 hours. My OB had been in a total of 2 times during said 36 hours. I went through early transition where I felt very anxious and panicky, with a desire to push at 5cm (midnight) that lasted until I started pushing around 7am. I pushed until 8am when they told me to stop and paged the doctor.

He had the nerve to mosey on in at 8:30am. With me wanting to push every 30 seconds or so. I was already crowning quite a bit. He walked in, took one look at me, said, “I might have to cut you,” while picking up the scissors. Before we could tell him STOP or NO, he’d already snipped. Twice. He was a fast little bugger, I’ll give him that. My son was 9lbs 8oz. Bigger than expected, but I figured he was pretty normal sized.

And he sewed up the episiotomy too tight. So the first night with my husband after the 6 week visit was fairly painful.

I’m never going back to him. Even if I do like some of his colleagues. If I have another baby, I’m getting a midwife and a doula.

PS: This SAME doctor delivered my niece 17 months before delivering my son, and also performed an episiotomy on her. (Her baby was only 6lbs 15oz). And he sewed her up WRONG. She has little polyps inside her now that made sex feel weird for quite a while. My sister of course didn’t mention this until I asked how long it took for hers to heal. SOo I didn’t know to stay away. She recommended him! As did my mom. But both of them tend to take things at face value, while I dig up every shred of dirt. SO they can keep him. I’m going to my PCP or my annual checkups from now on.

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