Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Jan
3
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“Silly Goose! If I Don’t Check You, I Won’t Know If Your Baby Is Breech…”
“Silly goose! If I don’t check you, I won’t know if your baby is breech, or you could be dilated completely and you could get home and your baby could just fall right out! Next time I *WILL* be doing a cervical exam, and an ultrasound too.” – OB to mother who declined a cervical check at her prenatal appointment at the end of her pregnancy.
There are 41 comments to this post.
Silly goose, most decent OBs can tell how the baby is laying by palpating. If I’m fully dilated, I’m pretty sure the urge to push will let me know. If only the baby could just fall out, no one would ever need ways to cope with pain and no doc would feel the need to count to ten. I don’t know how you plan on doing either because I WILL be keeping my clothes on.
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Anyone wonder whether Doctor Goose is just annoyed because he wants to do a membrane sweep and can’t if the mother keeps her pants on?
Also, Doctor, did you just insult the person you’re working for?
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Sara Reply:
January 4th, 2012 at 3:24 am (Quote)
What, you think they actually think they’re working for US? No, no, no. They work for the insurance companies.
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jaed Reply:
January 4th, 2012 at 1:18 pm (Quote)
They may get paid via an insurance company most of the time, but the mothers mostly are the ones to decide who to hire and who to fire (excepting situations where there’s not much choice of providers in your area), no? No women choosing your services, no checks from the insurance company.
(It *is* a bad dynamic in a lot of ways that most medical service payments go through an insurance company [or Medicaid/Medicare] – it insulates doctors from patients in a dysfunctional way, and that’s one of the major problems of US medical care – but even with that, they still need to please patients if they want any customers.)
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Sara Reply:
January 4th, 2012 at 1:42 pm (Quote)
Of course that’s how it should work, but we all know of the bad doctors who still have women running down their doors, even when there are lots of doctors to choose from. :/ And they don’t see themselves as selling a service, they’re *saving* us, after all. We should be lucky they even let us into their presence!
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Michelle Potter had this to say,
Jan 3, 2012 @ 7:05 pm (Quote)
I’m amazed at the number of medical professionals who think a baby can just “fall out.” Even stranger is the implication that this would be a bad thing!!
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Wow! How many ways can you go wrong in one comment? Let’s start with “silly goose.” Seriously, she’s not a two year old! Second of all, it’s a sad day when a OB can’t tell position via palpation! It really isn’t rocket science, folks! Third of all, I’ve never seen a baby “fall out.” Not to say it can’t happen but let’s not make it sound like an everyday occarence. And why would that be a bad thing anyway? And to wrap this up, telling a woman that “you will” do anything is a really, really bad plan!
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Im the OP! This same OB also spoiled our gender surprise the week before, and was super ugly to me at the delivery, telling the nurses “Dont encourage her, she doesnt push as well”. After that lovely appointment, I refused to go back to her until I was in transition. I did try to change doctors at the end, which was complicated by two sets of incompetent medical staff, an insurance change and moving/house buying issues.
Additionally, I’d been baby mapping and had told her for weeks that baby was head down and posterior and that I was concerned about his positioning. She totally blew me off. During delivery, he WAS posterior, which then turned into a complicated shoulder distocia which led to her breaking my sons arm in delivery after refusing to use any other maneuver than McRoberts to resolve the distocia. I ended up with 3 nurses in my bed folding me in half and putting pressure on me while she pulled on his head. It’s a miracle she didn’t kill him. I am not exaggerating, she literally had her foot on the bed and was pulling on his head. I was kind of in and out of it (no epidural or meds)due to the number of people pressing on me, I couldn’t really breathe.
I will NEVER doubt my instincts again.
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Tee Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:31 pm (Quote)
Oh my word. Speechless. I’m speechless. So sorry, so very sorry.
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BeckyJ Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 10:13 pm (Quote)
I am almost in TEARS! PULLING on his head. Oh GOD! 
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Wow, OP, just wow. I’m sorry you had such a horrible experience with this doc!!!
I hope your son is ok? How is his arm?
I don’t mean to make jokes in light of your delivery story, but I find it so very odd that this doctor had NO IDEA how to relieve a shoulder dystocia. Perhaps, she actually thought that babies “JUST FALL RIGHT OUT”????? Perhaps she should read up on that chapter in the textbook….
Oh and I guess he wasn’t breech either…
I hope you and your son are able to heal from this experience together…
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My son is fine, though we were concerned he had nerve damage and it took 6 months of therapy to losen his shoulder joint because it froze up during healing. The great news is that he’s perfect and healthy and has no long term effects from this crazy quack. I feel horribly guilty that I put his life in her hands though. If I had chosen better, his first months earth side would have been far less painful.
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Tee Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:53 pm (Quote)
“If I had chosen better, his first months earth side would have been far less painful.”
Callie, this made me sad. We are taught to trust that doctors have our best interests at heart and while some do, I have found that the majority don’t. Please try not to feel too bad that you and your son went through this. You’ve learned for next time and that’s a good thing!
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Details Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 9:32 pm (Quote)
OMFG, and of course you have done everything you can to remove this crazy woman from the medical field permanently! and the hospital he was born in now has your son’s name on it!
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Rebeca Reply:
January 4th, 2012 at 7:16 am (Quote)
If only. Chances are if this went to court the OB would bring in experts which would talk about how dangerous shoulder dystocia is and how she saved the baby, the mama and possibly the person mopping the halls, and act like Mama was out to get money when her baby made a full recovery instead of being dead.
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Details Reply:
January 4th, 2012 at 4:18 pm (Quote)
Court, who said anything about court! Go to hospital administrator, Go to the state lisensing board. 3 nurse folding her in half and you don’t think somebody would move to another state just to shut her up! I totally agree that court is not the way to go when mama and baby both make a full recovery. But that isn’t your only option. Use your voice woman!
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OP, I’m so sorry that you and your son were treated this way. First the condescending comments and then the incompetence! Maybe the quack doctor cheated in med school?
Anyway, I’m working on a book project with Solace for Mothers and was wondering if you (or any of the ladies on here) would be willing to share your story. For details, click my name. The link should be the Solace for Mothers website with the details for the project, including where to send submissions.
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Michelle Potter Reply:
January 4th, 2012 at 10:24 am (Quote)
Q: What do you call someone who graduated last from med school?
A: Doctor.
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The only ONLY positive spin I can put on this is that there is no way the hospital wasn’t informed that your doctor did something wrong. No matter what, she can’t cover up a newborn with a broken arm. There had to be an investigation into that. Still, I hope you sent a letter to the board or plan to.
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1) I am not a goose. I am an educated, adult woman who is making informed decisions about my own care and the care of my child, as is my legal right.
2) If you were competent you would be able to tell if my baby was breach without a cervical check. Learn your job.
3) If I was fully dilated the baby would not “just fall right out.” However, I assume from your statement that you are a fan of women birthing in a vertical position so gravity can help their babies “fall” out.
4) Next time, like this time, you will be doing only the procedures which you have received consent for. Anything else is assault.
5) Please have your staff give me a copy of my records right now before I leave to make it easier for me to find a new provider.
OP, I am SO sorry, your story is horrifying. Glad your little one is doing well now!
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They might not know anyway. I got to full dilation before anyone realized my baby was breech.
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Michelle Potter Reply:
January 4th, 2012 at 10:26 am (Quote)
One of my daughters *wasn’t* breech the day before labor — we didn’t find out she’d turned until her feet popped out!
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Amber Reply:
January 6th, 2012 at 10:44 am (Quote)
Well I knew he was breech and had been telling the OB that for weeks… but what did I know, I was just the patient. I was in labor for almost 2 WEEKS. During my emergency c-section (that I was told I needed or he would die, back before I was educated) the OB said “No wonder you have been having all these contractions and no dilation for so long, no pressure from his head to help you dilate.” Gee, ya think?
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Michelle Potter Reply:
January 6th, 2012 at 11:00 am (Quote)
Silly goose, how could you possibly know as much about what is going on in your own body as the doctor?
Sigh.
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Samantha had this to say,
Jan 4, 2012 @ 6:28 am (Quote)
I’m do glad to see your comment Amber. I had 3 midwives and one chiropractor (who specializes in turning breech babies) all miss my son being breech. I asked my mw to check me after 9 hours of labor to discover I was 7 cm but my baby was breech. After he was born I realized he had his little head turned and tucked into his shoulder. Plus he has dropped deep in my grand canyon of a pelvis.
OP I am so glad your son is ok.
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perfectionist had this to say,
Jan 4, 2012 @ 1:00 pm (Quote)
That’s not a goose, that’s my lucky chicken. And shouldn’t you be addressing the patient, aka ME? Rude.
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The baby could just fall out? Sweet! Guess I don’t need you then.
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