Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Aug
9
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“…We Don’t Use Birthing Stools Anymore…They Got Rid Of Them.”
“Oh no, we don’t use birthing stools anymore. To many women were giving birth on them before the doctor could get here. So they got rid of them.” – L&D Nurse to mother who asked for a birthing stool.
There are 34 comments to this post.
Leah Spencer had this to say,
Aug 9, 2011 @ 2:58 pm (Quote)
Fine, I’ll just use the toilet.
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But better than nothing! I wish my hospital had stools, too, though.
first time mommy had this to say,
Aug 9, 2011 @ 4:08 pm (Quote)
Fine. Let me in the tub then. Or I do like the toilet idea. I labored on the toilet at home and the hospital.
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I can’t say anything witty to this one. Its idiocy speaks for itself. Its flabbergasting.
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*gasp* you mean women gave birth without a doctor present?
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Eryn Reply:
August 9th, 2011 at 6:19 pm (Quote)
Well, of course not, silly! Don’t you know women can’t give birth without a doctor (or induction or meds)? They actually just labored until they spontaneously combusted, creating small black holes that sucked away everything “right” and “logical” in the world around them! Now do you understand why we had to get rid of these horrible stools?!
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R. Reply:
August 9th, 2011 at 6:24 pm (Quote)
I’m also curious if these are the same stools that randomly get sucked into women’s vaginas during birth…
http://myobsaidwhat.com/2010/10/01/your-poop-could-be-sucked-into-the-vaginal-canal/
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This one hurts to read…
We *had* two hospitals in town. My second child was born in the ‘midwife friendly’ hospital that had all the cool equipment… but it closed down before #3 came along.
Every birth (so #3, 4 and 5) since I’ve asked around to see if *anyone* knows what happened to all their equipment… cause the other hospital hasn’t got anything and always plays like they are so sorry but there just isn’t any such equipment available. So why not figure out what closet all that great stuff got locked in and let me buy some of it for myself? I’d love to have it.
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Imagine that, when you take advantage of gravity the 2nd stage in shortened. Whoda thunk it?
I pushed out an OP baby in 15 minutes on a birth stool. Those things are AWESOME! Of course my midwife was actually in the room with me from transition on, not rushing in the last minute.
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So instead of making the docs move their butts a bit faster, you make my baby sit in the birth canal while he moseys on up sipping coffee?
Makes sense.
To you, maybe.
I’ll just call my midwife. She actually hurries when I say it’s time.
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Sheva Reply:
August 9th, 2011 at 9:32 pm (Quote)
Also, clearly, being in the birth canal for a long time isn’t a danger to babies, since it’s preferable to making docs move faster, so why do you feel the need to yell PUSH in my face?! Take a chill, lady, it’s clearly not the emergency you insist that it is. And if it is, break out the birth stools.
Pick a side, you can’t have it both ways.
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I could be wrong, but don’t most beds in L&D units have an option to break down into a birthing stool? I read that somewhere but I’m not sure whether it’s true.
This hospital might still have birthing stools and not even know it… and guerilla moms might be able to set up and use the Secret Birthing Stool…
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Christina Reply:
August 9th, 2011 at 11:04 pm (Quote)
A lot of them have a squat bar that can be attached to the bed. Not quite the same as the stool but it’d also get you in a squatting position. The nice thing about the stools are that you don’t have to work to maintain the position, which is nice when you’re exhausted. I think if they didn’t have stool, the toilet would be the next best thing.
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Sheva Reply:
August 9th, 2011 at 11:24 pm (Quote)
I actually held up a friend once standing on her bed in a supported squat when she had her baby.
Home birth, of course. Can imagine a hospital allowing a “fall risk” to stand on her bed.
Coolest birth that I attended so far!
But if you’re squatting while supported by a strong doula or partner you can really rest your weight. Of course the doc has to be on board. That’s the big challenge, I think.
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Jane Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 5:30 am (Quote)
The nurse tried to get my feet into the stirrups when I had #2 and when she put my arm over her shoulder, I hauled myself upright into a full squat and put my other arm around my husband’s shoulders, and I pushed that way.
Nurse said, “Or….that would work too…” LOL! She really was a great nurse, but I don’t think she expected that. It was a midwife attended delivery, and frankly, Karen was so awesome that she wouldn’t have worried even if I”d been pushing while dangling by my knees from the squat bar while yodeling the Battle Hymn of the Republic.
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Kristy Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 5:34 am (Quote)
I sent in a Thoughtful Thursday on the coolest nurse manager (no word if it was accepted) when the hospital decided after #4 nearly/slightly hit the floor while I was standing to push that I *must* deliver in the bed for #5. I wasn’t told till 38 weeks and my doc (who was fine with me standing) told me to go see her and see if she could help (the ‘pronouncement’ that I could not stand had come from ‘higher up’).
She smiled and said “Let me show you something”… we went to a birthing room and she lowered the bottom half of the bed as low as it would go and told me “If you stand on this… *technically* you are *in* the bed”. And that was exactly what we did. 
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I booked into hosptial (incase of trf from a HBAC) and the midwife who did my booking appt was telling me how excited she was because they had just had new birth stools delivered and how they were the best thing since sliced bread because they were fully adjustable for height, support angle etc etc.
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Ina May Gaskin recommends a stick or a rope hanging from the ceiling. The nice thing about the stick is you can carry it anywhere you want to go. With the rope you have to stay in the one spot. But you can put your weight on your arms rather than your legs. Sounded pretty cool to me!
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Wait, isn’t ‘speeding up the process’ the excuse they use for everything else they do? Make up your mind!
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Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama had this to say,
Aug 16, 2011 @ 3:08 pm (Quote)
I used a birthing stool for my third birth. It wasn’t planned, I had been in the birthing tub, but suddenly couldn’t stand it and jumped out. They brought the birthing stool in quickly — which my midwives had with them even though we had never discussed it and I had never indicated I might be interested. I delivered my son perhaps two minutes later. Of course, they’d been sitting quietly and patiently for two hours or so while I labored so they were prepared….
WHY is this so hard?!
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So they were effective, and you couldn’t figure out how to page the doctor in time, and now all women need to suffer because the doctor isn’t present in the hospital and you can’t figure out how to page the doctor sooner than 9.5cm?
What other woman-friendly initiatives have you done away with in favor of keeping the doctor comfortable? I just was wondering if you’d tell me some stories to keep me occupied while I start phoning local midwives.
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Kim Reply:
August 9th, 2011 at 3:11 pm Kim(Quote)
Your comment is SO true… 3 of my 4 babies have been delivered by nurses because they never believe me that when I say it’s time, it’s time!
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