Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Nov
14
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“But, I’m Afraid The Baby’s Too Big And You’ll Tear!”
“But I’m afraid the baby’s too big and you’ll tear!” – OB who insisted on cutting an episiotomy during pushing, even though the mother stated clearly, in the moment, that she did not want an episiotomy.
There are 30 comments to this post.
It still doesn’t make sense, no matter how many times or different ways I hear it.
I’ll cut you so you won’t have the risk of tearing. (?!?!)
I’ll run you over so you won’t get randomly hit by a car.
I’ll sneeze in your face so you won’t catch the flu from a stranger.
I’ll shave your head so you don’t go prematurely bald.
It doesn’t make any sense!!
[Reply]
Jane Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 7:53 am (Quote)
The only way this makes sense is if surgical damage is not actually damage.
In other words, tissue that’s been cut is undamaged, whole and healthy tissue that only needs a few dozen stitches to be as good as new.
[Reply]
Jane Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 7:54 am (Quote)
I suddenly realized it sounds as if I believe the above myself, but I do actually know the definition of “damage.” 
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 1:28 pm (Quote)
Hmmm, but then how do they reconcile their general opposition to VBAC?
[Reply]
Jane Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 1:31 pm (Quote)
Because Dangerous Things can happen during a VBAC, like the uterus exploding, whereas a surgical cut leaves behind no damage whatsoever.
Remember that the doctors we see on this site are telling themselves they save people. Therefore in their minds, anything they do is better than anything they don’t do.
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 1:43 pm (Quote)
Oh I know, I think my tone didn’t come across before. Somehow that exploding uterus couldn’t possibly be due to the previous surgical cut in the first place. The lack of logic in their thinking just continually baffles me.
[Reply]
Jane Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 1:50 pm (Quote)
Oh, I see — I thought you meant the surgical cut of a repeat C versus leaving skin intact in a VBAC.
But they don’t even see why a woman would want a VBAC in the first place, since they see a c-section as “no big deal.” Just another way to get the baby out.
[Reply]
Been there. Done that. Too afraid of the doctor now to go back even though I did not heal properly and sometimes I think I have prolapse.
My doctor didn’t even make an excuse to cut me. He just said, “I might have to cut you,” as he was bringing the scissors to my girly parts. Before anyone could stop him, 2nd degree cut I DIDN’T want.
Anyone know I good doctor in the 30127 zip code area? Because I know some bad ones.
[Reply]
How about if upon walking into the L&D we ask the nurse to remove the scisors from the tray!
[Reply]
Jane Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 9:20 am (Quote)
I like this idea a lot. You could also drop the scissors on the floor so they’re no longer sterile.
[Reply]
Ashley Bean Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 9:59 am (Quote)
My husband and mom were watching like hawks to make sure my dip shit on call OB didn’t cut me. My mom would have taken the scissors if he tried. I like you’re idea better though. thankfully I’ll be delivering with midwives at a birth center this time and they don’t do episiotomies unless truly necessary and they haven’t done one yet =] Of course, its kinda hard to do an episiotomy when most of their moms have water births. lol.
[Reply]
Rosemary Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 12:39 pm (Quote)
This is exactly what they have done in the hospitals in my area. There aren’t any scissors on the delivery tray. There are some in a drawer across the room, and it only takes a extra 15 seconds to get, but it is enough to stop dipstick doctors.
The staff just took them off the tray.
[Reply]
Allie had this to say,
Nov 14, 2011 @ 6:12 am (Quote)
You see “doc”, the reason I asked NOT to be cut, is because I may NOT tear, but if I do, I’d rather tear than be CUT!!
With DS1 the OB was about to cut. The nurse literally yelled at him “don’t you dare cut her” while holding warm compresses on me between pushes (I LOVED that feisty Irish lady) good thing he listened because I didn’t tear at all!
[Reply]
first time mommy Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 9:40 pm (Quote)
awesome! submit that for Thoughtful Thursday please!!!
[Reply]
I got episiotomy first time around, it took a while to heal and was painful and needed a sitting donut.
Second time, I tore and though I needed stitches, I healed right away, I was able to sit right after birth and even walk around normal.
so I hope she didn’t get cut
[Reply]
This is mine. I was young and this was my first child.
I really did not want an episiotomy, and amazingly had the presence of mind to tell him NO when he told me he was going to do it (I was pushing, exhausted, and in pain from pit and them breaking my water in the middle of the night). He said this, and I was so desperate to just get it OVER with that I agreed.
I tore in addition to the cut, of course, and it was pretty bad. It took weeks to heal and months for me to get back to normal.
Of course, this doc did other crappy things–I was induced for “low amniotic fluid” and “baby getting big”. The doc pulled the dead baby card to get me to agree to the induction instead of waiting and rehydrating and rechecking me the next day (which was a Friday, btw, and he was going out of town that weekend).
I ended up birthing on my back, with my legs up in stirrups and nurses counting at me. I was so out of it, I don’t even remember much of the pushing except this quote, and pain. I barely remember the moment my daughter was born.
After DD was born, the doc yanked the placenta out by the umbilical cord, and I’m pretty sure that this is what caused me to hemorrhage. I almost needed a transfusion and couldn’t hold DD at first while they were doing crap to get me to stop bleeding.
I didn’t even realize until my son’s birth in June just how…disempowered my daughter’s birth made me feel. I felt like a piece of meat, like I was inconveniencing everyone around me, and like I had to submit and be a good little girl. With my son’s birth (different office, actually with a great group of CNMs), I felt in charge and in control. I birthed him on my hands and knees, pushing on my own with no direction, and was completely PRESENT for every second of it. We had delayed cord clamping and the placenta came out on it’s own. I barely tore and didn’t even need stitches. His birth was so very, very healing for me…and it wasn’t even until he was born that I realized how much I needed to grieve about what occurred during my daughter’s birth.
[Reply]
The Well-Rounded Mama had this to say,
Nov 14, 2011 @ 4:58 pm (Quote)
This doctor, like many, was probably taught that a “nice straight cut” was safer for the mother than a “jagged tear.” He was no doubt taught that episiotomies saved the perineal floor, especially with a big baby.
Turns out, though, that tears actually usually heal better than episiotomies, and that episiotomies plus big babies often result in very serious extensions. Most of the time, a tear results in less damage…and often women don’t tear at all.
Research is very clear that most of the time, episiotomies do NOT improve outcome and often worsen it. But when you’ve been taught to believe one thing with all your being, it’s hard to switch over, despite the research.
I love the idea of having the scissors far away. I bet that does reduce a lot of unneeded episiotomies. And yes, waterbirth does indeed greatly reduce the occurrence of episiotomies.
My former babysitter is studying to be an OB. She attended the birth of a 10 lb baby with an OB she knows well. He did an episiotomy and the mother tore like crazy. That’s how docs get the idea that big babies are so damaging to women.
She was totally amazed when she learned that I birthed my last baby, 10 and a half pounds, in the water and without a single tear. The OB (who was mostly a good one except on episiotomies) had told her that it was routine for women with big babies to have major damage.
I told her, it is if you do an episiotomy first!
[Reply]
Add Your Comment.
How is cutting better than maybe tearing? Have you even looked at the research or did some a$$wipe of instuctor tell you that cutting is better than tearing? You don’t know do you! You think you know because somebody told you during a sleep deprivated stupor. But you never looked it up! You don’t kow. You never looked it up. And you are operating based on fear rather than facts! Get the hell away from me!
[Reply]