Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Nov
14
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“Just Because It Happened Once Doesn’t Mean It Will Happen Again.”
“Just because it happened once doesn’t mean it will happen again.” - OB to a mother who was calling because she’d had very high blood pressure all morning and wanted to come in and be checked. The mother had lost a 35 week baby to sudden onset pre-eclampsia and HELLP Syndrome and was concerned.
There are 27 comments to this post.
Oh, this makes me so angry! Why is it that a doctor will do every unnecessary check and test in the book but refuses to do something when the mother requests it! Especially when the mother has a history of said problem? I don’t get it!
::banging head against wall::
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I’m sorry doc, that you are too busy to examine a patient that might be in an emergency situation.
All you had to say was, “I think you should go to the ER to be checked in case they want to transfer you to L&D. That way you will already be there if it really is an emergency.”
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It’s so interesting to me that an OB would say this–how many things do they do to laboring and pregnant women that are based on their prior experiences? Why should this doctor expect this mother to approach this pregnancy with new eyes, when he never approaches pregnancy or labor & delivery with them?
Perhaps doctors comfort themselves by believing that pregnant women are all emotional lunatics. I mean, what was she thinking? How dare she come to a logical conclusion based on her prior experiences! *snickers*
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Mama Wrench had this to say,
Nov 14, 2011 @ 4:44 pm (Quote)
Well, thank goodness you had an OB, who is trained in dealing with high-risk women and can act quickly to prevent catastrophic outcomes. Unlike those irresponsible women who see midwives with absolutely no medical training who wouldn’t consider medical history when…
… wait. oh. nevermind.
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Yes, this statement is true. If the mother was expressing concerns about it happening again before any symptoms occurred, this statement would be a positive reassurance. However, the person in question is showing symptoms of it happening again so it is prudent to check it out to make sure there isn’t a problem, or you can do something to stop it from happening.
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Jessica had this to say,
Nov 14, 2011 @ 6:00 pm (Quote)
I guess that’s what the bp chairs at the pharmacy are for. Pity I can’t take my own blood and send it to the lab, huh?
If someone is concerned and needs reassurance or needs extra medical attention, regardless of the field, they deserve to get it. Mothers shouldn’t be made to feel stupid for wanting to ensure healthy pregnancies.
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BabyBabyBaby had this to say,
Nov 14, 2011 @ 6:16 pm (Quote)
This was my friend. She had taken her own BP so she knew it was high. She’d lost her other baby extremely quickly so she was in hysterics when she called and spoke to a different OB in the practice. That OB told her to wait until her scheduled appointment and that it wouldn’t happen again just because it happened once already.
Luckily, my friend called again and spoke to her OB, who immediately had her come in for a urine test, which was clear. The high blood pressure was an isolated incident and she went on to deliver a living baby boy after many miscarriages and the stillbirth.
She was truly scared, though, and that OB was just heartless to her, which is the point. Even though it didn’t end up being pre-e, it doesn’t hurt to check!
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Jen Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 8:37 pm (Quote)
I’m so glad your friend’s story had a happy ending. I’m a 3-time PE survivor, and this doctor’s attitude makes me livid.
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Claire Reply:
November 15th, 2011 at 6:57 am (Quote)
Glad there was someone with sense for her to talk to!
Do you know if your friend has been tested for Hughes (Antiphospholipid) Syndrome? With her history she has a 1 in 5 chance of having it (probably higher as she’s had so many different things go wrong). It’s my soapbox subject so I often say it but I honestly believe, and I’m not alone, that all pregnant women should be tested for it and every woman who loses a baby and hasn’t had a test yet should be tested.
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Jane Reply:
November 15th, 2011 at 7:32 am (Quote)
I’m so glad she called back and was able to get her own doctor! Why a doctor wouldn’t spend five minutes having a nurse do a urine test and take her blood pressure is beyond mind-boggling, and I hope her OB talked sense to the partner later. At great volume. >:-(
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krp_2000 Reply:
November 15th, 2011 at 12:44 pm (Quote)
I’m so glad everything turned out ok! No, having it once doesn’t mean it will happen again, but recent studies show that HELLP survivors have about a 25% chance of getting it again in a subsequent pregnancy, and I cannot believe that an OB would be so stupid as to blow her off. If her appointment was in 4 hours, ok, but I’m assuming it was several days away? I had HELLP and went from fine to c-section in 72 hours at 34 weeks.
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“Just because it happened once doesn’t mean it will happen again. Remain calm and come on in. We are here to check on things like this. I’m sure it will be fine, but it is always smart to check.”
There I fixed that for you.
Baby Baby Baby I’m glad your friend and her son were okay.
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A friend of mine was also dismissed just this quickly when she swelled horribly overnight and didn’t feel well. Her mom, who is a nurse in an industrial setting, took her blood pressure and it was high so she called the docs office. They told her that a little swelling was NOT going to get her a note to get out of work, and basically to quit being a baby. She proceeded to deliver her son at 29 weeks in a few days time because of the pre-eclampsia!!! Docs are so quick to dismiss real problems but they sure can invent them on the spot when it suits their purpose!!!
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The Deranged Housewife had this to say,
Nov 15, 2011 @ 8:03 am (Quote)
“Um, doctor, but it *is* happening again. You heard that part about my high blood pressure, right?” Dolt.
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Wow. I also had a stillbirth after developing HELLP, and would not react well to hearing that from a doc in the future. I’m so sorry she had to deal with that, but thrilled to hear that she had a healthy pregnancy and delivered a healthy baby.
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Oh, okay. So then, needing a C-section once doesn’t mean that will happen again? I’m sorry, you’re saying it actually DOES? So is your profession lying about risk factors now, or are they lying about risk factors when they want to cut a woman open again?
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Add Your Comment.
And checking hurts… what?
Also, I have nothing to back this up, but I have a suspicion that your risk of pre-eclampsia is increased if you have had it before.
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Tee Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 3:12 pm Tee(Quote)
You’re right. You have a slightly higher risk of pre-eclampsia if you’ve had it before.
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Kate, Ren's mama Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 3:16 pm Kate, Ren's mama(Quote)
It is increased if you’ve had it before, kind of. A multip with a history of pre-e has the same risk as a primip, but a multip who did NOT have bp issues has a significantly lower risk than a primip.
Regardless, dismissing a mother’s concerns is heartless no matter what. I hope everything worked out, OP, and you were able to get some piece of mind and your baby was OK.
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Jane Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 3:38 pm Jane(Quote)
It’s not even that checking hurts — the equipment is THERE. It’s FREE. The *nurse* is the one who uses the blood pressure cuff on the mom, not the doctor. If the mom goes in to get her BP checked, the only reason they’d bother the doctor is if the blood pressure reading is high and remains high even with her side-lying.
In which case, YES, she needs a doctor and maybe a scan and a heartbeat check. I don’t have a medical degree and even I know that.
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Jen Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 8:41 pm Jen(Quote)
Yes, if you’ve had it before, you’re at risk for having it again. The earlier and/or more severely you had it the first time, the greater the risk of a repeat. I’m a 3-time survivor. The research I looked at in my second pregnancy put my risk of a repeat at 40% (first time was rapid onset severe at 35 weeks.) Having had it twice before and being pregnant with twins, it was pretty much a given I would have it again the third time around. I was very vigilant about my treatment, and amazingly my twins were not growth restricted while my singles were.
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Claire Reply:
November 15th, 2011 at 6:50 am Claire(Quote)
It is higher with the same father, with a new father the risk is reset.
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