Jan 2

“When Are You Going To Cut Her…?

“When are you going to CUT her? CUT HER!!!!” – L&D Nurse to OB, referring to a laboring woman who had been rude to the L&D Nurse.

114 people dislike these words.

There are 26 comments to this post.

Nicole had this to say, Jan 2, 2012 @ 10:32 am (Quote)

Words fail.

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Laura had this to say, Jan 2, 2012 @ 10:39 am (Quote)

OMG, I don’t want to “dislike” these words, I want to HATE them.

OP, I am so sorry.

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Dawn R had this to say, Jan 2, 2012 @ 10:40 am (Quote)

So, a c-section isn’t the way to save a baby from dying, it’s a way to punish a mom. No words. Just no words.

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Laura Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:07 am Laura(Quote)

Or an episiotomy, not that THAT should be a punishment for mom either. *shudder*

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Jessica had this to say, Jan 2, 2012 @ 11:24 am (Quote)

I’m wondering if the “rudeness” was actually assertiveness by the mother upholding her right to decline routine procedures.

I really hope the OB didn’t oblige the nurse and that she was reprimanded.

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Cris Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 2:04 pm Cris(Quote)

I suspect that you are right Jessica, it was likely assertiveness not rudeness. Sadly it sounded like the woman did end up with a C-section. I hope that it was for more legitimate reasons than simply because the nurse did not like her. So sad but it was not an environment that promoted labor progression. If the patient had felt safe and supported perhaps things would have been different.

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genniemom Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 5:39 pm genniemom(Quote)

Even if this woman was just plain rude, she should not be ‘punished’ with extreme surgery. Plus, she’s in labor. She should not have to waste energy with pleasantries, and anger would also be understandable. When I was having my son, it was extremely hard to refrain from snapping at anyone who broke my concentration. I don’t know what I would have done in the hospital, having to rate my pain and submit to vaginal exams. This comment is 100% on the person who said it. Completely out of line, and I would consider it a firing offense, regardless of how provoked she may have been.

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Melissa had this to say, Jan 2, 2012 @ 11:27 am (Quote)

I was once rude to an L&D nurse. She told me I wasn’t pushing hard enough and would need an episiotomy right before I finished delivering my 3rd child – after pushing for 6 minutes without breaking a single blood vessel in my face. I believe I told her to suck it. *shrug*

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Cris Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 2:05 pm Cris(Quote)

It is not the laboring mom’s job to be nice or polite!

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WellBegun Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 6:07 pm WellBegun(Quote)

The only L&D nurse I’ve ever had (first baby), I flipped off. I’d just gone through transition (didn’t realize it, as it wasn’t that bad – just five minutes in the dark bathroom, rocking), and I had a contraction before I could get back to the bed. I was standing by the bed, moaning and swaying (and grunting!). Mid-contraction, Nurse Granitehead told me I HAD to get back in the bed. I put up one finger (my index finger), and moaned, “juuuuuuuuuuuuuuust a minute…” She YELLED at me! She was like, “no, now! Not ‘just a minute,’ RIGHT NOW!” I turned my hand, flipped her off, and moaned again, “juuuuuuuuuuuuuuust a minute…”

Silly nurse. She wanted me in the bed so she could do CFM, because they “couldn’t get a good strip.” They were tracing the baby’s heartbeat just fine, but they couldn’t read my contractions. (Amazingly, the contractions were still happening, my cervix dilated, and my baby came out, without any help from her stupid tocodynamometer. Concept!)

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Sheva Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 6:23 am Sheva(Quote)

Any nurse who can’t read the contractions of a mom who is grunting and moaning should get a different job. Who needs a monitor – all you need are ears and eyes. Sorry, but this nurse deserved what she got.

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Darsy had this to say, Jan 2, 2012 @ 11:37 am (Quote)

This is seriously terrifying.

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Jane had this to say, Jan 2, 2012 @ 11:57 am (Quote)

My wishes, in order:

1) that the mom did not get cut
2) that the nurse received an official reprimand from both the hospital and whatever group licenses nurses in her area
3) that the nurse found new employment which never under any circumstances involves contact with patients
4) that the mom received an apology from both the doctor and the hospital for this nurse’s behavior

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Cris had this to say, Jan 2, 2012 @ 1:34 pm (Quote)

I heard this comment repeated by the nurse while I was working with a laboring mom as the doula. She was very talkative and loved to tell stories. She was recalling a rude mother she had worked with who had a lot of rude family members present for the labor. She said she tried to be nice but when they continued to treat her poorly, she went out and made the above comment to the OB. “Eventually”, she told us, “the patient consented to a C-section”. I was horrified hearing this as the doula (not to mention my poor laboring client having to hear this) I wondered where the documentary filming crew was when I really needed them. This nurse would have been perfect to interview for a hospital birth documentary. My client rocked out a vaginal birth despite much opposition from the staff.

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Details Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 1:53 pm Details(Quote)

OMG and nobody had her removed! Encourage your client to go have a talk with the hospital administrator.

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Eileen Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 3:07 pm Eileen(Quote)

This is so much more horrifying than I could have even imagined. So not only did she flat-out say this BECAUSE the mom was “being rude,” she was so confident in her ability to do so that she shared it as a story with a future patient and her doula?? Wow. Words fail.

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Cris Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 4:48 pm Cris(Quote)

Exactly, I couldn’t believe she had no shame about repeating this story to us. It is bad enough that it happened, but to repeat it to another patient in smalltalk… and she was extremely animated as she said, “CUT HER!!!”

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Kristy Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 4:54 pm Kristy(Quote)

Sounds like she thought she was telling a light hearted story about her work. Freak.

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Details Reply:
January 6th, 2012 at 8:58 am Details(Quote)

It sounds to me like she was trying desparately to get somebody to tell her she was justified in acting like a monster because she knew in her heart just exactly what a POS she was, but she was waiting for a “You probably saved that baby’s life” type comment. I still want the hospital administrator to haul her in for questioning, make her apologize and send her to sensitivety training. In addition to terroizing the mother in labor, she also broke HIPPA laws talking about another patient like that! The hospital is responsible for her behavior and should be notified.

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Mama Wrench Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 4:09 pm Mama Wrench(Quote)

Not that it matters but did she say what made the patient “rude,” other than just a personality conflict with the staff? If Nurse Gossip just wanted to chat I’m guessing she’s probably embellishing both her influence on the OB’s decision to c/s *and* the mother’s behavior. Still, if she thinks of c-section as a good way to punish patients she needs some SERIOUS job training.

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Robyn Reply:
January 6th, 2012 at 7:25 am Robyn(Quote)

After reading the pink link, it doesn’t sound to me like the nurse was doing it as “punishment” so much as she was tired of the “rude behavior” and wanted the whole ordeal to be done and over with. It very well could have been a punishment thing, but that’s not how the words feel to me.

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PetraStrider Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 8:39 pm PetraStrider(Quote)

I can picture this nurse telling her brutal stories at dinner parties, but sadly I cannot picture anyone IRL telling her off for being an abusive sadist. . . . . . .

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jaed Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 6:59 pm jaed(Quote)

It also occurs to me that this may have been a veiled threat to your laboring client – not just a lighthearted and totally inappropriate story. If a nurse was telling such a story I’d be afraid to ask her to leave for fear she’d look to get revenge. It strikes me as not just inappropriate, but controlling of the patient she’s telling these “stories” to.

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