Nov 5

“I Don’t Do Twins Vaginally…”

“I don’t do twins vaginally. You’ll need a cesarean section.” – OB to mother who arrived in labor and was planning to birth her full term, vertex twins vaginally.

68 people dislike these words.

There are 30 comments to this post.

kelly had this to say, Nov 5, 2011 @ 10:13 am (Quote)

and i don’t let idiot doctors like you cut me open to deliver my babies, especially without even giving me the chance to do it on my own. .

[Reply]

Liz had this to say, Nov 5, 2011 @ 10:15 am (Quote)

OP, I hope you had the birth you wanted.

[Reply]

BeckyJ had this to say, Nov 5, 2011 @ 10:22 am (Quote)

Hopefully this idiot wasn’t the only one they could get to help this poor woman. If you could even call what he was trying to do “helpful”!

[Reply]

Eve had this to say, Nov 5, 2011 @ 10:26 am (Quote)

Oh OP. :’(

[Reply]

Erin had this to say, Nov 5, 2011 @ 10:27 am (Quote)

I hope you got the birth you wanted! My OB wanted to do C/S for twins because that’s just what you’re supposed to do… nevermind I’d had two singletons vaginally. I ended up doing an unassisted birth because I refused to be cut open.

[Reply]

Safiyah Reply:
November 5th, 2011 at 1:29 pm Safiyah(Quote)

You… gave birth to twins unassisted?! You are INCREDIBLE.

[Reply]

Lil had this to say, Nov 5, 2011 @ 10:29 am (Quote)

…Why not? Do you object to having to come into the room twice to ‘catch’? Do you get an extra bonus payment for a 2 for 1 C-section? Do the midwives/L&D nurses annoy you if you hang out in a labour room for too long? Do tell, because I’m betting there’s no medical reason behind your statement.

I’ve heard numerous OBs, midwives and even GPs spout this nonsense…I’ll have to put a few submissions of my own in!

[Reply]

Robyn Reply:
November 6th, 2011 at 3:50 pm Robyn(Quote)

please do! They’re calling out for more submissions.

[Reply]

Stephanie had this to say, Nov 5, 2011 @ 10:41 am (Quote)

Who’ll need a c-section? Doesn’t sound much like the mother was the one in need.

[Reply]

Jessers had this to say, Nov 5, 2011 @ 10:52 am (Quote)

Am I the only one who cringed at the porn reference from the Facebook headline “I don’t do twins vaginally”?

[Reply]

road2vba2c Reply:
November 5th, 2011 at 11:07 am road2vba2c(Quote)

No, you’re not alone. It gave me the creeps.

[Reply]

Mama Wrench Reply:
November 5th, 2011 at 12:07 pm Mama Wrench(Quote)

Considering that it’s MOSW that wasn’t at ALL what popped into my head.

[Reply]

Jessers Reply:
November 6th, 2011 at 6:13 am Jessers(Quote)

Unfortunately, inappropriate remarks of sexual nature are commonly reported on MOSW.

[Reply]

Mama Wrench Reply:
November 6th, 2011 at 6:19 am Mama Wrench(Quote)

Yeah, but in the context of birth (which is the majority of comments here) I immediately thought of delivering twins vaginally — not porn.

I mean, seriously? You kind of have to be looking for that to see it.

[Reply]

Jessers Reply:
November 6th, 2011 at 6:55 am Jessers(Quote)

But since there are many posts on MOSW regarding complaints about inappropriate sexual comments, initially I thought the phrasing was the issue raised by the author of the entry.

I wasn’t looking for it, but since it’s a common complaint, it made sense.

[Reply]

Jane had this to say, Nov 5, 2011 @ 11:41 am (Quote)

Why was the mother not told this earlier in the pregnancy?

If this was the covering doc on duty when she arrived in labor, why did her own OB not check with the covering doc to make sure the covering doc would deliver twins vaginally?

[Reply]

The Deranged Housewife Reply:
November 5th, 2011 at 11:44 am The Deranged Housewife(Quote)

I was wondering the same thing. Surely she must have come in while her regular OB was not there; at least you’d hope that, anyway. I’d like to think that if this were her regular doctor, he a) would have told her that like five months before and b) was fully aware she was having twins – this guy does not sound that way!

[Reply]

Jane Reply:
November 5th, 2011 at 12:29 pm Jane(Quote)

If the doctor was her regular doctor and knew she was having twins and knew s/he planned to section her, but also did not tell her because the mother would have changed practices had she known — I think that would be malpractice.

I mean, good luck getting a lawyer to take the case. But lying to a patient about what “treatment” you plan to give and springing that on her at a moment when she no longer has any options — that’s wrong. And we live in a day and age where OBs can and will get judges on the phone to legally order a c-section without medical indication, so the mom might not be able to just walk out or just decline consent.

[Reply]

Heather P had this to say, Nov 5, 2011 @ 1:22 pm (Quote)

OP, I hope you were able to have a vaginal birth.

[Reply]

Safiyah had this to say, Nov 5, 2011 @ 1:28 pm (Quote)

“Well, then you’re fired. Get me someone who does because I DO”

[Reply]

HeatherB had this to say, Nov 5, 2011 @ 1:29 pm (Quote)

That’s okay, I wasn’t asking you to “do” anything.

[Reply]

Nora Rae had this to say, Nov 5, 2011 @ 1:41 pm (Quote)

How can you see the pink link on mobile? The whole unassisted twin birth thing has me extra intrigued!

[Reply]

Kristin had this to say, Nov 5, 2011 @ 2:20 pm (Quote)

YOU’RE not doing twins. I’M “doing” them, if by doing you mean giving birth. You are catching.

[Reply]

Heather had this to say, Nov 5, 2011 @ 5:48 pm (Quote)

Well, then, you better call in someone who does, because I’m not consenting to unnecessary surgery because you’re afraid of doing something new.

[Reply]

heather had this to say, Nov 6, 2011 @ 1:40 am (Quote)

this was me. i went into labor at 37 weeks and went to the hospital, but my OB was not on call at the time. when the doctor on call told me he didn’t “do it vaginally,” i told him if that was the case, i wouldn’t be having them that day, and went home. labor stopped (i guess our bodies know better than to labor when we feel we are in danger). i saw my regular OB 2 days later and after my exam, she went with me to the hospital where my twins were both born vaginally 4 hours later. while i was in labor, she read old midwifery textbooks about breech birth/vaginal twin birth to be prepared. i was her first vaginal twin birth, but not her last!

[Reply]

Kali Reply:
November 6th, 2011 at 3:39 pm Kali(Quote)

LOVE! How wonderful that you got the birth you deserved and stuck up for your rights!

[Reply]

Robyn Reply:
November 6th, 2011 at 3:55 pm Robyn(Quote)

That is AWESOME!! It’s sad that they’re taught to be afraid of multiples. However, it is 100% wonderful that your regular OB was willing to face that fear and take on the task, which seems to have set her on the road to being comfortable with it. I’m glad you had such an amazing regular doctor and got the kind of birth you wanted.

[Reply]