Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Jul
31
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“You Have A Terrific Uterus…Would You Like To See It?”
“You have a terrific uterus. One of the best I have ever seen. Would you like to see it?” – CNM Midwife to mother *during* a cesarean, while massaging the uterus.
There are 65 comments to this post.
Mama Wrench had this to say,
Jul 31, 2011 @ 6:41 pm (Quote)
Um… WEIRD?
I mean, I guess it’s kind of complimentary… and I know some people are just really into anatomy… but, seriously??
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Julie Reply:
July 31st, 2011 at 7:46 pm (Quote)
This was my thought. Strange, and no, I probably wouldn’t want to, but it’s definitely not the worst thing you could be told.
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Sarah Dorrance-Minch Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 8:41 am (Quote)
I am probably the only woman here who would have taken the midwife up on the offer. My biggest regret about my unneCaesarean was not that it could have been prevented (although it could have), but that the epidural only worked on my left side, and I had to be knocked out with general anaesthesia. I WANTED TO WATCH! When will I ever get another chance to see my own intestines and uterus? I missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
That said, the question seems kind of creepy. I think one’s own organs are things that one should ask to see, rather than have someone else compliment one on and offer to display for a show-and-tell session.
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Kit Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 8:45 am (Quote)
I would have too… I’m facinated by my own body and that might be the bright side to having a c section.
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C.Pratt Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 11:31 am (Quote)
You aren’t the only one who is fascinated by this sort of thing. I chose to only have local anesthesia for getting my wisdom teeth out almost purely out of curiosity. I can’t say that I think I’d be in an emotional state to apreciate much of anything during a c-section though, but that is a personal control issue for me, and I am pretty sure I would end up with PTSD no matter how respectful my practitioners were in that scenario. But that is a whole different matter.
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Sarah Dorrance-Minch Reply:
August 3rd, 2011 at 7:25 am (Quote)
Wait. People get offered general anaesthesia for tooth pullings? Nobody told me that when my wisdom tooth needed pulling (I only had one, but it had grown in sideways and was badly decayed, too, by the time I saw a dentist for it – no, I don’t get regular checkups, I’m a bad girl). I just got Novocaine and a scrip for two days worth of Darvocet.
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Aron Reply:
August 3rd, 2011 at 7:57 am (Quote)
It’s the standard here in my neck of the woods. I wish VERY much I had taken that option when I had mine pulled (all four out at once). That was the day I found out just how fast I metabolize (insert-a)-caine meds. Took twice the usual dose to numb me, then it wore off half way through the surgery just as he shattered a tooth. Big emergency, couldn’t stop to numb me again right then, and by the time they did and it finally began to work the surgery was basically over. In other words, half of that event was experienced completely live and resulted in my current fear of all dental work. Moral: general anasthesia = GOOD, (insert-a)-caine = BAD!
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Susan Peterson Reply:
August 5th, 2011 at 6:18 am (Quote)
I think you are mistaken to think they are giving general anesthesia for tooth pullings. What they are giving is “conscious sedation.” To the patient it feels as if she is”out” and she doesn’t remember what happens, but during the procedure she can respond to some requests, doesn’t lose all body tone, etc. Regular RNs can be certified to do conscious sedation, which is commonly used for tooth pullings, colonoscopies etc, but general anesthesia requires an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist, who has an advanced degree and training.
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Jade Reply:
August 5th, 2011 at 7:17 am (Quote)
My niece and nephew both had to have GA. had to be done in hospital in the OR.
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Susan Peterson Reply:
August 5th, 2011 at 2:16 pm (Quote)
In the hospital in the OR could really be general, but if the oral surgeon does it in his office, it is conscious sedation, so called, not general anaesthesia.
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Jade Reply:
August 3rd, 2011 at 8:44 am (Quote)
Certainly not normally where I am. The only people that get offered general for dental work are generally children so that you avoid too much fear of dentists, but even that is as a very last resort or when it is clear that LOTS is going to need doing. eg my 4 year old niece needed 6 BIG fillings, they gave her general. My 6 yr old son needed a big filling, they just used local but couldn’t get the best filling in cause he was scared, if it needed redoing they would have used general. I am sure there are exceptions to the rule but they are the minority by far.
My hubby has had 4 or 5 pulled recently, general was never even mentioned.
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Holly Reply:
August 4th, 2011 at 12:49 pm (Quote)
Yes, you can have GA with a tooth pulling. I opted for it during my wisdom teeth removal as I was terrified of the huge needles coming at my mouth. I went to sleep, I woke up, I was done. Now I find out that I didn’t *need* my wt removed.. but I didn’t know that then..
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Kristy Reply:
August 4th, 2011 at 12:56 pm (Quote)
I had GA with one of mine as well. Why they did each of mine separately as they came in instead of waiting and doing them all at once… I don’t know. But after the first one didn’t go so well the dentist told me he’d be sending me to be knocked out next time… but then he tried again in the office for the third and it went pretty well. Now the fourth one I had done somewhere else… and they had the gas… I’ve discovered I *love* the gas… lol. Wish that was available in labor here.
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Jade Reply:
August 4th, 2011 at 4:02 pm (Quote)
Kristy, in theory it is less traumatic to have them out separately, both physically and emotionally. It still allows you to use half of your mouth (not very well though) and the procedure obviously takes less time. My hubby had 4 or 5 out in 3 or 4 visits. I think he would have preferred to have them all out at once or even just 2 visits because after every single tooth pulling his mouth was sore for days/a week.
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Jade Reply:
August 4th, 2011 at 4:04 pm (Quote)
Gas is pretty awesome, I used it a bit during my first labour but I have also had it for other things 
like getting IVs inserted, I am a bad patient when it comes to needles, I don’t like them very much, I tend to faint and or spew and to add to that I have terrible veins that usually require 2-3 sticks and wiggling the needle around etc EEWWW
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Kristy Reply:
August 4th, 2011 at 4:59 pm (Quote)
I do thing the ‘less traumatic’ theory might have held true with me. I recovered from each pulling pretty well… it was just the time in the chair itself that got to me. But with that gas… man… they could have had *all* my teeth with that gas and I wouldn’t have cared at all. LOL… and that is really all I need in labor… something to calm me down and keep me from working against myself. I would guess a placebo would probably do the trick, honestly. I tend to get all the way to 6cm and then even though I tend to go *quick* from 6cm to 10cm I get freaked out and start thinking ‘if this goes on much longer I don’t know if I can do it’. I *know* it is almost over… but I start wondering if this will be my first really loooong labor… so I freak a bit and ask for a ‘half dose’ of Stadol which worked so well to calm me the first time I gave in and asked for something that it is my big ‘temptation’. I just always wind up kicking myself cause it barely has time to take effect before I’m done… everytime. LOL
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Stephanie Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 5:34 pm (Quote)
I would have taken her up too, although I saw my uterus during my c-section by stealth. The reflector for one of the lights made a wonderful mirror, and happened to be aimed perfectly for me to watch the whole surgery. So wonderful to see my baby being born, no matter how she came out.
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I love it when my midwives (I’ve had three children and two different teams of midwives) have said that about my *placentas* — what a great placenta, so healthy and strong, let’s look at it together, etc.
But I think in the context of a cesarean section, talking about a mother’s uterus, this comes across as totally rude and insensitive!
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Because it’s on here,I’m assuming the mother showed no interest in seeing her uterus. To me, it seems like the same idea as the placenta. Some women want to see it, some don’t. I can see how the uterus would be MUCH weirder to be offered to see than the placenta, but it was the only thing I could think to compare it to.
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Alyson Miers had this to say,
Jul 31, 2011 @ 7:04 pm (Quote)
What makes this icky IMO is that the CNM is highlighting the fact that the woman’s uterus is currently outside her body. That’s the second scariest part of a c-section to me, right after the part where they cut through the peritoneum. I realize that major surgery is sometimes necessary and that saving lives isn’t pretty, but that doesn’t mean Mama needs to have that picture in her head while she’s on the operating table.
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VW Reply:
July 31st, 2011 at 7:08 pm (Quote)
Yeah, I’m not squeamish in the least, I love the idea of a mother-assisted c-section (to the extent I love the idea of a c-section), but I’ve heard it can actually make you feel awful when the uterus is lifted out and I’ve specifically requested for it not to be done if I do end up with a c-section.
If you’re really into anatomy, I guess you could request for a picture to be taken of it to look at later.
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Mama Wrench Reply:
July 31st, 2011 at 7:12 pm (Quote)
They offered me a mirror at my son’s c-section… as much as I love anatomy, that doesn’t mean I wanted to see MY OWN! lol
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Susan Peterson Reply:
July 31st, 2011 at 7:37 pm (Quote)
No one offered me a mirror for my C section, and I wasn’t really sure I would want to, but afterwards I decided that if I had to have another one I would look, and that was one of the things I asked for, if my VBAC didn’t work, that I would be able to watch the C section. My VBAC did work, so I never got to see if curiosity would outweigh the “this is my insides” weirdness factor for me.
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Antonette Reply:
July 31st, 2011 at 9:10 pm (Quote)
The Anesthesiologist held up a mirror for me to watch during my section. While I appreciated it (from the standpoint that I had labored on my own for 36 hours prior to being cut open, and was feeling very detatched to the whole “having a baby” experience in the OR), it didn’t help because I wasn’t alowed to wear my glasses during surgery, so I couldn’t see a damn thing anyway. Now, had my OB had the consideration to talk to ME during the procedure, instead of chatting with the resident about some event taking place at Temple the previous week, I probably would not have had quite the PPD afterwards at feeling as though I was the only person NOT involved in my son’s birth.
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Renai Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 11:54 am (Quote)
THIS. The fact that the uterus has to be outside the mom in order to see it is kind of creepy. I’ve had a section, and wanted to see it but wasn’t allowed to. Now, I’m glad I didn’t see it, now that I know they lifted my organ out of my body to finish the surgery (didn’t find out what’s involved until a few years later). The OB did talk me through the surgery, though, which I appreciated.
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Lisa had this to say,
Jul 31, 2011 @ 7:06 pm (Quote)
I didn’t think CNMs had surgical privileges…
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Mindie Reply:
July 31st, 2011 at 7:11 pm (Quote)
Yeah, that has me confused too. Unless she was just there to support the mom or something.
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Jaci Reply:
July 31st, 2011 at 7:50 pm (Quote)
At the hospital that I had my c/s I believe that a CNM was always in the OR assisting for any c/s that they were in the building for.
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Sarah Dorrance-Minch Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 8:47 am (Quote)
They ARE trained as nurses, not just as midwives. Part of nursing school, as I understand it, involves a rotation in med-surg. While CNMs can’t do the actual surgery, they are able to assist the surgeon; my CNM was in the OR assisting when my first baby was extracted from my abdomen.
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Details Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 9:08 am (Quote)
While I don’t mind that a midwife sometimes find herself helping with a c-section every once in awhile. I do find it rather shocking that a true midwife would be thrilled to be in surgery and excited enough about it to declare a uterus terrific based on how it looked. Shouldn’t she be more concerned about how it worked? It seems that someone whose main goal after a healthy baby and a healthy mother is a natural delivery should not be quite so happy about slicing someone’s abdomen open! I suspect a MEDwife or a surgical nurse who got into CNM as a way to see “happy” surgeries rather than get babies off to the best start possible. If she was trying to be supportive thought the mother might want to watch she should have asked before suregey started if she would like a mirror rather than declaring the world’s most terrific surgery right in the middle. She might have also added in the possiblity of future VBAC if the mother’s uterus was so wonderful that she should have no trouble next time. Very very strange. Not very midwife like at all.
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Debra Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 10:11 am (Quote)
I think it’s strange to expect all midwives to only be fascinated by one thing – natural birth – and not be fascinated by all the aspects of a woman’s body.
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jaed Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 12:01 pm (Quote)
Being fascinated in the abstract is one thing. Being so very fascinated that you lose track of what’s going on – which is that a mother who had hoped to give birth is instead undergoing surgery to have her child extracted, because it was needed (or worse, even though it wasn’t), is something else again.
That seems like a weird attitude to have, given the context, even for someone who is very interested in surgery, anatomy, details of organs, etc.
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Details Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 12:31 pm (Quote)
Thank you, it is a very odd thing to say when your prime focus is supposed to be mom. If she wants to be facsinated be fascinated in silence. Of all the people in the room I would expect the CNM to be the most concerned with how the mother is handling the situation emotionally and this CNM failed completely because she let her own fasicnation outweigh the mother’s state of mind. that is what a MEDwife does. Not what a midwife does. I didn’t say she wasn’t allowed to be fascinated. I just don’t expect it to be voiced without any consideration for the mother’s vulnerable position.
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Charity had this to say,
Jul 31, 2011 @ 7:08 pm (Quote)
I’m sorry, what? How is it that not having a hep-lock is going against hospital procedure, but offering to show a woman her insides doesn’t? This is just crude! And if momma had such a great uterus, why the hell are they doing a c-section?
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Sarah Dorrance-Minch Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 8:50 am (Quote)
I think I have a great uterus, but I still wound up with a c-section. I don’t think emergency c-sections reflect the uterus so much as they reflect unusual situations. And of course, non-emergency c-sections like mine reflect on the care providers. 
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August had this to say,
Jul 31, 2011 @ 7:45 pm (Quote)
So…I have a potentially dumb question and I can’t think of a nicer group of ladies to ask:
When having a csection, do they also remove the placenta, or do you pass it vaginally after? I had one, but the details are very fuzzy.
Thanks (and sorry this isn’t on topic).
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Erin had this to say,
Jul 31, 2011 @ 7:49 pm (Quote)
I guess to me, while slightly strange,i don’t find this as horrifying as many of the other posts we have seen. But then I work with ears and ear wax, which many people fine gross and I always offer people the opportunity to see. And at least she had something nice to say, it wasn’t like she said well no wonder you had to be sectioned you have the most defective parts I have ever seen. Or, aren’t you glad you got to have a section.
But, OP I am sorry this bothered you and I hope you got the opportunity to explain to the cnm why her behavior was inappropriate.
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Um, thank you for the compliment, but please just sew it back up inside where it belongs? I can understand geeking out on the biology stuff, but I like my insides INSIDE, thankyouverymuch!
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silverhawkwarrior had this to say,
Jul 31, 2011 @ 11:29 pm (Quote)
GAAAAAH!! Put it back, put it back, put it back! Never mind passing it around the OR like Show ‘n’ Tell, just please put it back inside!
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belliesoflove had this to say,
Aug 1, 2011 @ 1:45 am (Quote)
I found this refreshing. It didn’t seem like the cesarean was being downplayed. But yet, what else can you say in a situation like this? Should the caretakers just keep their mouths shut completely? From the CNM standpoint, she may have been giving one of the most heartfelt compliments she could! Many people that are in the health field find different things amazing. She found this mama’s uterus amazing, and wanted mama to know. Offering to share was nice, and all you have to do is say “Thanks for the offer, but I’m really not in the mood to see my own uterus right now”.
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Aron Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 5:23 am (Quote)
I agree. And lots of people would have said “yes!” I’m sorry the OP was disturbed by the thought of seeing it, and c/s can certainly be scary enough to the one on the table, but I don’t think what this midwife said was terrible.
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Debra Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 10:15 am (Quote)
I agree with you. I had 3 unwanted but necessary surgeries in the last year, including a hysterectomy. While I was glad I was unconscious during the procedure, I would have loved to see it on tape. Years ago, I had a laparascopic appendectomy and they gave me a videotape of it. I was fascinated – and regret that I threw it away when I moved.
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Mery Reply:
August 23rd, 2011 at 5:40 am (Quote)
I know that I would say yes! The first C-section I had, it all happened so fast and I just wanted them to finish up and get me to recovery so I could see the baby. My husband was giving me the play by play from the other side of the curtain. I suppose if the medical staff knew what he was telling me (he was not speaking English) they’d have told him to knock it off. But this time I wonder if they’d let him video for me. I am very fascinated by the way my body works.
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Jespren had this to say,
Aug 1, 2011 @ 4:18 am (Quote)
I think this is an example of how medical personel have to be very careful because not everyone shares the same: humor, interests, gross-factor, etc. They might find something funny, or interesting, or really cool, but due to the intimate nature of their profession, a mis-reading of their patients and an un-wanted share has the (emotional) possibility to do more than the type of ‘yeah, that’s not funny’ or ‘ok…’ response triggered when the guy who gets your coffee says something bizare. I don’t find this weird, but if I was going to have a c-section I would have refused to let them put a drape between me and the birth. The notion of seeing my insides isn’t weird, gross, or horrifying, I also know I’m in the minority on that. People in the minority should expect to have to let their wishes know (no drap!), while doctors should always assume their patients fall into the most conservative ‘norm’ about anything questionable. There would be a lot less misunderstandings.
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This one didn’t bother me too much either, though it must have bothered the OP since it’s here. Though in a bit of a different context, I asked to see everything during my IF testing/treatments – inside of my uterus, aspiration of my ovarian cysts via u/s, embryo transfer (would have watched my egg retrieval too if I weren’t twilighted during the procedure!) because, to me, it was pretty darn cool. I realize that not everyone thinks that way.
My RE’s office was good about everything and just asked “Do you want to take a look?” Yes or no, they moved on appropriately. These days, though, they don’t even ask me anymore, they just show me. LOL!
It just reminded me of this post because I had an office hysteroscopy 2 weeks ago and the RE said “Your uterus looks beautiful, just perfect!” Made me happy because I’d like to have another kiddo!
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I think this is one of those “pay attention to your PATIENT” things. How disjointed can you get from (most) mother’s experience?
If she’s just been through hell in an attempt to have her baby, if a c-section is exactly what she was trying to avoid, if she’s worried about her baby, if she’s scared of being awake for the surgery, etc….she’s not gonna want a chipper invitation to view her insides WHILE THEY’RE OUTSIDE OF HER BODY.
“But how will I know? I’m not a mind ready, sheeeesh.” That’s why you ask. Find out before you cut her open why she’s there. Learn her name, and her baby’s name (if that’s already decided on). Ask her how she’s feeling. If she’s nervous. Excited. Feeling woozy. Worried for her baby. If she’s panicking because the anesthesia is making it hard to breathe. And then, if she’s just chatting away, and you think she might share your interest in cool anatomical stuff, ask her if she’s interested in medical shows, if she wants to know more about what’s going on, what you’re doing.
But from the perspective of most women experiencing this, such an invitation is at best jarring, and at worst, traumatic. If a woman is feeling cheerfully, clinically detached from the fact that she’s getting a baby cut out of her while she’s tied to a table, great. But please, please, please pay attention to reality from the mom’s viewpoint as she lays their on the table. Don’t expect her to share yours. This is your job; for her, it’s her baby’s birth. Treat it accordingly.
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I was interested in seeing our placenta, but have to say I’m not interested in seeing my insides on the outside. My midwives and I talked about this sort of thing-seeing/keeping the placenta (even with a section), cord cutting etc, before the birth
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Yeah, because I totally want one of my internal organs lifted out of me and then try to have if smooshed back into place.
Though I personally like watching surgeries, I hope the CNM meant with a MIRROR.
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Jade Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 7:32 pm (Quote)
it’s already lifted out anyway 
if mum had taken up this offer, it would not have meant pulling it out more.
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I think this is very, very weird. Sure some people would want to see it out of curiosity, but if the mom was that kind of person, she would probably ask for a mirror or something. I mean, having major surgery in order to get your baby out is a big deal emotionally and mentally as well as physically, I cannot imagine saying such a thing to a woman who is trying to wrap her brain around the fact that her baby isn’t coming out her vagina…
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This question in no way offended me, though it seems to have offended many readers. I was actually hoping it would be posted on Thursday. It was just a really bizarre question, and I did decline to look, but the Midwife was very supportive and awesome through the whole ordeal.
My c-section was not something I was upset about, but an unfortunate and inevitable conclusion to approximately 35 hours of labor. I was doing a natural birth for a good 31 hours or so, with just my husband’s coaching and a TENS unit for pain management. It was not until complications prevented me from dilating further and the contractions began stacking up that they even offered an epidural, and even after that, they allowed a couple more hours to see if the problem would fix itself before finally letting me know that a c-section was necessary.
My entire encounter with that hospital and especially the Midwife was wonderful and encouraging. I was allowed to follow my birth plan, I walked around, had a birthing ball, a spa tub, anyone I wanted could be in the room with me, and no one made me feel like my choices were wrong. Even the surgeon was excellent and did not force or belittle me into the section. Oh, and the anesthesiologist was so amazing he surprised even the nurses and Midwife. While I was doubled over holding onto a side table trying my best not to move, he calmly and quickly *threw* (think darts)the needle into the exact perfect spot in my spine, avoiding timing problems with my contractions, additional pokes, etc. He made my husband’s jaw drop and seriously was my hero at that point.
This Midwife was wonderful and supportive through the whole thing, checking in often and suggesting alternate positions and procedures for pain management and re-positioning the baby as needed. She was calm, casual, and light-hearted, and I think that’s where the comment came from. It was a bit surreal to have her ask that while holding my organ, but I politely, and while laughing, declined and they moved on. She also made a point to tell me and my husband while the surgeon was working that we were the best father-mother team she had seen in a long time, and that my husband was absolutely amazing in his strength and calm while I was in the worst part of my labor. At a time when most women were apparently begging for drugs (or so they indicated), I was staring into my husband’s eyes and trying my best to stop crying that I have to push right now. He was a wonderful coach, and she made sure he and everyone in the OR knew it.
Before you think I romanticized everything too much, I was in a lot of pain and quite exhausted by the end of this birth. I sincerely hope any future pregnancies end much better. And there was one nurse who was in my room early on who ignored the fact that the nurses were told to be careful during any vaginal exams because they caused me severe burning and pain (the worst pain of the entire labor). However, this nurse (who had a generally bad attitude) bullied her way in and started an exam that hurt a lot, and afterward checked the monitor and stated, “Oh, yeah, it looks like you were having a strong contraction while I was checking.” I never saw her again, and I only recently discovered that was because my husband left the room and informed the hospital staff that that nurse was no longer allowed anywhere near me. Her replacement was a wonderful woman who followed my birth plan and respected our wishes, and who later commented while watching me have several strong, close contractions on the monitor, “I can’t believe you haven’t asked for any medication yet. You are amazing.”
We were forced to move 100 miles away from the town this hospital was in, and the fact that any future births will occur elsewhere made me more upset than any other aspect of that move. I wish all hospitals functioned that way.
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I, also, viewed this as a potentially positive comment. A way for the midwife to praise the mom’s body, in a situation when so many women are made to feel like a failure. And to acknowledge a healthy strong uterus, possibly to encourage future VBAC, when SOOOOO often in the OR the MD says things like, “your uterine scar is so thin, no way you can have vaginal births/more children/etc” or “there’s no way a baby would have fit through here vaginally.” I can see how it could be viewed as either positive or negative depending on the patient’s wellbeing, the situation in the OR, the relationship. But I personally think this would be lovely thing to hear a midwife say during surgery.
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Aug 22, 2011 @ 8:02 pm (Quote)
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That’s beyond bizarre. 0.o???
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