Aug 10

“…I Did An Episiotomy Because You Would Have Been Pushing For Another 20 Minutes.”

“Why did I just do an episiotomy? I did an episiotomy because you would have been pushing for another 20 minutes!” – OB to mother.

96 people dislike these words.

There are 38 comments to this post.

Billie Jo had this to say, Aug 10, 2011 @ 4:54 am (Quote)

OMG Shoot me now. Another *20* minutes?!?!?! WTH???

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Kristin had this to say, Aug 10, 2011 @ 5:25 am (Quote)

Wow, every day this site makes my stomach turn at the things people do and say… this one however has seriously turned me to trying to find a birth center / midwife for my next baby. It is sickening the things they think they know just because they went to medschool

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Jane had this to say, Aug 10, 2011 @ 5:25 am (Quote)

Number = pulled out of thin air.

TIme to cut episiotomy = 5 seconds

Time to heal from episiotomy = days? Weeks? Months? Ever…?

Total savings from this “mercy cut” = maybe 20 minutes of the doctor’s time.

Total cost = one woman’s faith in the medical system for the rest of her life

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Sheva Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 5:51 am Sheva(Quote)

And sometimes her sex life and her ability to control her bladder and/or bowels.
And sometimes the added pain of tearing badly with every subsequent birth.
But, heck, 20 minutes! That’s totally worth it!

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genniemom Reply:
August 11th, 2011 at 5:02 am genniemom(Quote)

And it’s not even true! The average time saved from an episiotomy is two minutes! They’re only for true emergencies where a very small amount of time could make a big difference.

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Debra Reply:
August 12th, 2011 at 4:39 pm Debra(Quote)

Sadly, some OBs see the possibility of missing their tee time as a true emergency. :/

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Dawn had this to say, Aug 10, 2011 @ 5:58 am (Quote)

Though my OB for my first did a lot right, she still cut an episiotomy for my 6 lb 12 oz baby to be born. She only had to stitch once, and it was very small…so I just wonder why she felt she had to do it. It hurt more than the rest of the pushing/crowning and birth. I recall the injection and cut both hurt. Glad I haven’t had one since though I tore with my 2nd born.

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Detail had this to say, Aug 10, 2011 @ 6:07 am (Quote)

Okay Doc, since you obviously don’t get it take off your pants. Now up in the stirups. Nurse hand me a clean scapel. Now I’m just going to cut a little nick in your perninum. Not a slash, just think of it as razor burn. Now walk around like that for the rest of the day/week and think about what you did. Next time you reach for the scissors I want you to think about this. Got it? Good!

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nicki Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 6:56 am nicki(Quote)

wouldn’t you just love to show them how it feels to be cut???THAT MIGHT teach them to stop what they’re doing…I doubt it though….

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Jane Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 8:43 am Jane(Quote)

This may be an urban legend, but aren’t there some police departments that won’t allow their officers to use a taser until they’ve been tased?

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Karen Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 9:23 am Karen(Quote)

Not an urban legend. I know in AZ in order to carry a taser and/or mace in a professional context you must be on the receiving end first.

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Malina Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 9:27 am Malina(Quote)

I have family in law enforcement and Karen is correct. In order to carry a taser and/or mace as part of their training they get to experience the effects.

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Billie Jo Reply:
August 11th, 2011 at 6:49 am Billie Jo(Quote)

Yep both to experience it so you can understand what is happening is it happens to you.

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Kit Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 3:13 pm Kit(Quote)

And soldiers get gassed with tear gas. It is part of basic training. Who votes for OB’s to go through boot camp?

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Sheva Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 3:43 pm Sheva(Quote)

Aye!

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Amelia Reply:
August 11th, 2011 at 3:43 am Amelia(Quote)

*raises hand*

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Aron Reply:
August 11th, 2011 at 5:24 am Aron(Quote)

Here! Here!

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road2vba2c Reply:
August 11th, 2011 at 6:15 am road2vba2c(Quote)

YES!

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xanthina Reply:
August 11th, 2011 at 2:04 pm xanthina(Quote)

Many military members are tasered as well now, as part of their further training.

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Debra Reply:
August 12th, 2011 at 4:42 pm Debra(Quote)

Then make him put his feet in stirrups and try to have a BM. Then he can see how much harder it is to push something out when it’s going uphill.

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Autumn had this to say, Aug 10, 2011 @ 6:14 am (Quote)

Wow. Just wow.

“So, I’m bored, and you’re wasting my time, so I am going to actually cut your vagina open, so that I can go do something I find more worthy than assisting you in giving birth, because I never had, or have lost, the passion for birth. I do not have respect for your mental or physical well being, so long as you and your kid survive and don’t sue me. K?”

UUUUUUGGGGHHHH. This one really pisses me off, because I was cut with out even the knowledge, and my records were falsified. It took months to heal, and sex was hit or miss for years until my second was born, and I was able to tear naturally, and heal with out intervention.

I really do hope some sort of assault charges were filed.

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Rebecca had this to say, Aug 10, 2011 @ 6:29 am (Quote)

. . . and doing the repair on the episiotomy and any further tear is much more interesting than hearing the nurses yell “PUSH” at you

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Irma Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 6:34 am Irma(Quote)

And way more lucrative I’m sure…

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Jane Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 6:42 am Jane(Quote)

Yeah, that’s something they don’t consider too. It takes maybe ten minutes to suture the episiotomy, so what time has the doctor saved?

I thought there was a study at one point that said the mean “savings” in time (just in the pushing phase) was about three minutes, but I may be pulling that out of thin air too. Because it’s not as if the baby just slides right out when the doctor cuts.

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Cassandra Fields had this to say, Aug 10, 2011 @ 6:40 am (Quote)

The fact that an episiotomy would be cut for this reason is gut wrenching enough but please PLEASE tell me the mother didn’t suffer a 4th degree!

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Jane had this to say, Aug 10, 2011 @ 6:47 am (Quote)

Henci Goer compiled studies about episiotomy and put that chapter of her book online here: http://www.hencigoer.com/obmyth/epis.html

Basically, doctors do episiotomies because about 100 years ago, someone thought they might be helpful.

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Jenny Islander Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 9:57 am Jenny Islander(Quote)

And doctors forbid women to eat during labor because if she needs a C-section and if she has to be put all the way under for it and if she vomits while unconscious, she might aspirate food particles. Ina May Gaskin ran the numbers to find out how probable this actually is in modern hospitals. I don’t recall the exact odds against this happening, but the word “million” was definitely in there.

Meanwhile, how many women who just need a damn sandwich get a cascade of interventions instead because they’re running out of energy?

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Aron had this to say, Aug 10, 2011 @ 7:39 am (Quote)

I will forever maintain that doctors (or midwives) should be required to receive an episiotomy each time s/he performs one. Every time. Might make them think a bit about how truly “necessary” they are. Especially if the cut is purposely extended to whatever depth the mother’s laceration extends. We just might discover all sorts of enthusiasm for appropriate perineal support!

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K had this to say, Aug 10, 2011 @ 7:54 am (Quote)

I don’t understand. Two items ago, they removed the stool because babies came too fast. But, once the OB arrives, they can do anything to hasten arrival?

Whose health and time are we worried about here?

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Nicole had this to say, Aug 10, 2011 @ 8:02 am (Quote)

I think this doc was thinking he/she was doing this mom a favor. It wasn’t about saving HIS time, he/she really thought it was a magnanimous gesture. That mom was saved 20 minutes of torture. Which leads me to believe this person had never had a natural birth, because if they had, they would know that pushing is the best part!

There is some outdated evidence (which has since been debunked by some other studies) that episiotomy shortens the second stage… by about 20 minutes lol. Most women would agree that that is not worth it, but maybe this doctor thinks most would agree that it is?

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Jane Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 8:46 am Jane(Quote)

Doctor: Okay, now before you push again, I’d like you to know I think this baby will be born twenty minutes sooner if I cut an episiotomy. Would you like that?

See? That would be the way a doctor who cared would handle that.

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Details Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 9:05 am Details(Quote)

Oh noes that would be informed consent!

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Sheva had this to say, Aug 10, 2011 @ 9:09 am (Quote)

Also, you don’t “do” an episiotomy. You CUT one.
You’re cutting the mom’s body. You have to ask permission before you can do that.
I watched a doctor in the ER try to take out a huge splinter (2 inches long). He ended up having to cut it out – pulling it would have risked leaving in tiny splinters to cause infection. There really was no safer option, but he STILL asked the 15 year old kid’s permission before doing it.
You just don’t cut a person unless you ask first.
Otherwise, IMO, you’re a criminal.

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Gemma H had this to say, Aug 10, 2011 @ 1:06 pm (Quote)

20 minutes? Really? As a woman who was fully dilated for 10 hours and pushed for 3 hours and 15 minutes before my son was born, 20 more minutes of pushing sounds like a walk in the park.

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Audrey had this to say, Aug 10, 2011 @ 1:41 pm (Quote)

Jenny, yes! That irks me to no end. I hate having to tell PERFECTLY HEALTHY WOMEN that they cannot even eat peanut butter and crackers. Someone who’s recovering from anesthesia? Sure. But not a healthy person.

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Sheva Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 3:45 pm Sheva(Quote)

Are you a nurse? You can look the other way. I see nurses do it all the time. They give the official list of ‘dos and don’ts’ and then they basically say ‘what I don’t see I don’t know about’.

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corrine had this to say, Aug 10, 2011 @ 5:13 pm (Quote)

yeah….. because you were late for your coffee break ????

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Naomi had this to say, Aug 12, 2011 @ 7:39 pm (Quote)

I recieved an Episiotomy for my sons delivery, no warning or concent from me, the first I knew of it was when I felt the scissors snip.

It dramatically affected my after birth experiance with my son, I am going to do a birth plan next time that has big capital letters “DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER PERFORMING AN EPISIOTOMY WITHOUT TALKING TO ME FIRST!!!” it was pathetic, I showed up at hospital 8 cm dilated, and dilated fully and was delivering my son but he kept coming down and going back up (probably because I couldnt get comfortable) I actually have a very large curve in my tail bone but aparently the only way you can help that issue is with vacume and episiotomy.

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