Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Jan
13
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“You Have All Kinds Of Bad Bacteria Down There That Will Make Your Baby Go Blind.”
“You have all kinds of bad bacteria down there that will make your baby go blind.” - Pediatrician to mother when discussing declining the eye antibiotics at birth.
There are 82 comments to this post.
They should really do some studies in places like Australia. I’ve never heard of people talking about eye ointments after birth, except a brief reference in ‘what to expect: the first year’, in which they basically say ‘the doctor knows all and if he does something, even if 99% of other doctors do not, just go with it and be a good patient’
Seriously though, if eye ointment is routine in Australia, it certainly wasn’t in the hospital I went to, it wasn’t even a consideration. I’m quite certain our blind population is not higher, as I myself am blind, and know just how few of us there are. Funny, I’ve never had any blind friend tell me they became blind because of birth infection.
(Because I always get this, a quick explaination, blind people can use computers and the internet with text to speech software, screen magnifiers, and braille keyboards/readers. In fact I know a blind programmer, and blind tech support people. You’d be suprised how many people insist I am lying people ‘blind people cannot use computers’ *sigh*)
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Antonette Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:17 pm (Quote)
That makes perfect sense to me. As a sign language interpreter, I routinely get asked if I’m fluent in Braille. And my Deaf friends get handed Braille menus when going to fast food restaurants.
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Christie Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 11:11 pm (Quote)
im in Aus too id never heard of eye ointment till i started reading American forums and watching American baby shows.
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SculptorAlison Reply:
January 30th, 2012 at 6:40 am (Quote)
I used to be a reader and a driver (and all around helper, lol) for a blind woman when I was young. She was president of the NFB for a bit and told me all about the braille keyboards. They are so cool.
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Britney had this to say,
Jan 13, 2012 @ 5:12 am (Quote)
It’s illegal for them to not give the drops here. The nurse/OB/midwife can loose their license over it.
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Miranda Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 5:26 am (Quote)
No, there is ALWAYS an exemption form you can sign to refuse it. It may be law to administer it but you can always refuse & sign the form. Oh & they won’t lose their license if they have you sign the proper forms. They like for us to believe that though
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Abby Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 6:08 am (Quote)
I find it so incredibly sad that is this day and age of information, women are still duped into believing lies such as those.
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Sigrid Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 6:16 am (Quote)
I am a newborn nurse in NYS, and it is mandatory here in NY to give the erythromycin and vit k within the first hour of birth… if I don’t give it, I could be given a “citation.”
From the website: http://ffitz.com/nyvic/law/vitamin-k.htm:
“We have been alerted that a growing number of new parents are refusing to allow their newborns to receive a Vitamin K injection or eye prophylaxis. We are writing to remind you that both these interventions are required in New York State by both the sanitary code and the hospital code (Sections 12.2 and 405.21(e)(4)(v)(b), 10 NYCRR). Neither regulation exempts infants whose parents object to the practice. Since these treatments are mandated by state regulation, informed consent is unnecessary, and hospitals and individual providers cannot be sued for administering them. Conversely, a provider’s failure to administer these treatments could result in a citation. A parent’s refusal of these treatrnents cars be reported to Child Protective Services”
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Amy Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 7:52 am (Quote)
umm…I’m allergic to erythromycin, and my husband is allergic to pennicillyn (sp). We are extremely cautious about antibiotics. I’m more and more sure because of stuff like this that our next birth will be a homebirth.
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Jennifer Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 9:36 am (Quote)
Oh my God! I am so glad I do not live in NY! That scares me badly that they can do procedures and administer medications to my child without my knowledge or consent, especially one with no known actual benefits (erythromycin) when the mother is not infected!
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Tara R. Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 6:58 am (Quote)
In New York State, the law of informed consent does not apply to eye ointment or vitamin K administration. CPS can come and take your baby away if you refuse, and it has happened. >:0(
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Lisa Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 7:22 am (Quote)
What about religious exemptions? Or if mom or dad are allergic to the eye ointment, so the baby has a higher chance?
That just scares me…
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Chelsea Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 8:42 pm (Quote)
This. I was allergic or something to the eye stuff. All my newborn pictures I have scabs all around my eyes and look like a zombie.
My mom is extremely main stream and even she was concerned and reminded me often during my pregnancy with my first to refuse eye drops.
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Vy Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 4:16 pm (Quote)
Yup, I am in NY and can confirm that it really IS that bad… oh and that’s even for c-section babies or those whose siblings had allergic reactions to abx ointment.
In my case, my first son had a reaction, and with my second, the nurses were very understanding and basically just touched his eyebrows with it. Of course, I have read enough MOBSW posts to know that not all nurses would have done that 
(My midwives were on board with not really applying the ointment as well, and encouraged me to let the nurses know ahead of time.)
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Jessica had this to say,
Jan 13, 2012 @ 5:21 am (Quote)
Even if a doctor or nurse insists something is the law, there is always a way around it. It’s the law here that they get drops, we refused and signed a form saying we understood what we were doing, so the midwife wouldn’t get in trouble.
There has to be exemptions.
(I’m talking USA)
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With my 3rd they told me that it was for e-coli. Absolute bull.
I refused eye gunk with all 3 of my kids, and they all see just fine. I’m in Indiana. I did have to sign a form saying that I understood, blah blah blah. I also refused blood sugar testing when my son was large for his gestational age (7 pounds 7 ounces at 37 weeks doesn’t sound “large” to me), because I wasn’t going to allow them to give him formula either way so why stick him? And I refused something else, gosh I can’t even remember right now…
They made the NICU people come in and tell me (nicely, of course) what an idiot I was. I stood my ground, in spite of having just given birth and being bullied by half the hospital. I wrote about it here:
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Kasondra Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 6:13 am (Quote)
E-Coli in your vagina is whole new list of worries…
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Sarah Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 6:32 am (Quote)
The e-coli comes from all the poop sucked up by the vagina vacuum.
http://myobsaidwhat.com/2010/10/01/your-poop-could-be-sucked-into-the-vaginal-canal/
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The Deranged Housewife had this to say,
Jan 13, 2012 @ 5:30 am (Quote)
Is he basically inferring that she has an STD, even though they don’t know for sure? I’ve never understood why this is standard procedure in people who know they don’t have it, or are very low-risk. Typical.
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Jessica Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 10:13 am (Quote)
Not all bacteria is sexually transmitted. Virgins can get UTIs or vaginosis, caused by bacteria. The doctor is wrong about how much bacteria probably exists and what it will do, but bacteria is not solely an effect of sex. In fact I don’t think most STIs are caused by bacteria, aren’t they mostly viruses?
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C.Pratt Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:24 am (Quote)
Many STI’s such ase Hep, Hiv, HPV and Herpes (am I forgetting any?) are viral and not treatable with antibiotics. The eye ointment is an antibiotic intended to treat things like gonnorhea (the potential cause of blindness this doctor is evidently concerned about), as well as chlamidia, both or which are easily tested for and ARE sexually transmitted.
Last I heard UTI’s were not considered an STD, and vaginosis can be triggered by something as simple as change in PH and body temperature that occures with pregnancy. Of course, sexual activity could contribute to these types of infections as well, so some may lump them in with the other very specific pathogens historically known as STDs.
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Christina Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 1:44 pm (Quote)
Yes, but the eye drops are given specifically to prevent blindness caused by exposure to gonorrhea, an STD. So the doctor is either A. Totally ignorant of why the drops are given and assuming that any old pathogen the baby is exposed to in the birth canal can cause blindness, or B. Accusing the mom of having gonorrhea.
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The Deranged Housewife Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 4:22 pm (Quote)
^^This is exactly what I meant. Your baby is given eye drops to prevent the gonorrhea you never contracted, basically. 
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Mama Wrench had this to say,
Jan 13, 2012 @ 5:40 am (Quote)
All 50 states have either philosophical exemptions, religious exemptions or both. Of course, that won’t stop them from accusing you of abusing/neglecting your kids if you exercise that right.
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Knitted in the Womb Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 10:14 pm (Quote)
Not ALL states. In New York the law requires care providers to administer the Vitamin K shot and eye ointment. The care providers can be disciplined if they don’t, and more often the parents are reported to child protective services.
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The eye junk is basically only necessary if mom has chlamydia or gonorrhea. That’s what could make the baby go blind. So either the doctor is telling her she has an STI, or he’s not aware of what the eye antibiotics are actually for….
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Kate, Ren's Mama Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 6:08 am (Quote)
This.
Also, even if the mom DID have an undiagnosed STI and declined the abx and baby got an eye infection from exposure during birth, baby would not go blind unless the infection was left untreated.
Routine abx have been good at preventing blindness in populations that have poor access to healthcare, but if a mom knows her STD status and has the wherewithal to take her newborn to a doctor if the baby develops an infection, there is NO reason that mom shouldn’t be able to decline the abx.
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We don’t have the eye abx in the UK at all. I hadn’t even heard of it til I read What to expect the 1st year (or What to be worried about the 1st year) as abba 12 said above.
I don’t think we have a higher ratio of blind people here either.
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The most disgusting thing is the way some medical professionals try to make you doubt your husband if you attempt to refuse it. One well meaning nurse told me that even though I knew I had not engaged in any behavior that put me at risk for STD’s, but I couldn’t be sure about my husband. He was standing RIGHT THERE! I know it seems impossible, but we abstained before marriage and are monogomous afterward. What a concept.
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Amy Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 7:58 am (Quote)
My husband and I get the SAME reaction. Or, people imply we won’t be married long…..wtf?
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Just out of curiosity, do they insist on the eye ointment for babies born via caesarean as well? Does anyone know?
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road2vba2c Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 8:16 am (Quote)
Yes, I had to fight a pre-op nurse when she told me it was mandatory by law when my second child was born via c-section. She said, “We’ll just see what my supervisor says.” in a very know-it-all tone, and returned very quiet and with a refusal of consent form. 
to her!
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kate, ren's mama Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 2:54 pm (Quote)
I knew about this, but omg that really is the stupidest policy ever.
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teapot Reply:
January 15th, 2012 at 10:09 pm (Quote)
Yes, all babies routinely get their eyes treated & get stuck for Vit K, regardless of how they’re born.
I don’t know what the law actually is in TN, but I know that some mothers/doctors/midwives have gotten around hospital policy and/or state law by having the mother administer the eye drops. Oops, they landed on the blanket!! (But the mother kept her mouth shut, if you catch my drift.)
If you had a cooperative dr or nurse, perhaps something along those lines could happen with the Vit K shot. With a little sleight of hand (and blanket, wink, wink), and the baby in the mother’s arms, the vit K could just be squirted onto the blanket.
Something to consider, anyway.
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This is me! I also submitted another stupid quote from this doc, so it might show up today or sometime soon too.
So, I live in Indiana, and at least for our hospital here, if you want to decline normal things, you have to get a pediatrician to sign off. Three years ago, our wonderful FP signed off for DD, and he was actually the one who educated me about how unnecessary a lot of these things are.
Now I am 40+3 with our second, and my FP no longer does newborn nursery. So I was shopping for a ped who would agree to let us deny the “normal” procedures. My midwife suggested this guy as the most likely to sign off without a fuss, so I went to meet him.
He was a total quack! He had no idea what most of the procedures were for, or he thought I was too stupid to explain it properly, because he came out with a lot of gems (like this one) that made me want to laugh. I do not have an STD (did the routine testing at the beginning of this pregnancy because I wanted to avoid all of the “extras” the hospital would feel necessary if they weren’t sure of my status) and DH is military, so he gets tested every six months! When I told him this, he said “You have all kinds of bad bacteria down there that will make your baby go blind.” Trying to tell me, I think, that the antibiotics are not just for STDs. He also brought up my GBS status (still unknown at the time of this interview, turns out I am negative) as a reason why my LO needs the antibiotics. Huh? I walked out, told my husband no way, and we kept looking.
We did eventually find a ped who would sign off on turning down everything but the vit K. sigh.
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Britney had this to say,
Jan 13, 2012 @ 7:30 am (Quote)
No, it’s illegal.
They even have to send proof to the local health unit that they have adminstered it.
I trust my midwife to tell the truth seeing as she allowed to me sign waivers stating that I still wanted a home birth even though I tested positive for GBS and to refuse gestational diabetes testing.
There is no way around it here.
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Look, buddy.
Either this means you’re diagnosing me one of a handful of STIs with your magic medical eyeballs, or you don’t actually understand anything about what routine antibiotic eye ointment actually does.
Neither is acceptable.
Oh, you were just being manipulative and lazy? Ahh. That does explain a few things. “For my own good” too, I suppose. Nice.
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Jenny Islander Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 3:28 pm (Quote)
“magical medical eyeballs”
*undignified chortle*
I think I’ll use that the next time I explain how the OB decided that my vagina must be packed solid with fat while I was fully clothed and sitting in a chair.
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jaed Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 6:11 pm (Quote)
Well, you see, he saw that your nostrils were packed solid with fat, and therefore your other orifices were surely all… what? What’s that you say? Speak up! We all know that big women can’t hear because their ear canals somehow accumulate fat deposits! It’s science!
(Oy.)
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Ugh. Makes me like the hospital I birth at even more. Five weeks ago:
nurse: Do you want the eye ointment and vitamin K?
me: No eye ointment, yes vitamin K.
nurse: Ok, just sign this form here. 
The end.
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Heather P Reply:
January 15th, 2012 at 11:51 am (Quote)
This. My hospital birth (Oregon) I didn’t even need to sign a form. They just accepted it as normal.
My homebirth I did sign a form, but my midwives have pre-printed forms from everything to declining eye drops to cooking up your placenta. I’m willing to bet no hospital form involves that.
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Erica Douglas had this to say,
Jan 13, 2012 @ 8:44 am (Quote)
Our daughter is IVF, so we’d both been tested repeatedly for STIs. Based on our negative results, our monogamous relationship and therefore lack of reason for the eye goop, we refused. It wasn’t a problem at all for our doctor or our hospital.
We did consent to the vitamin K only because I’d been on blood-thinning heparin shots and daily aspirin for the duration of pregnancy. If I hadn’t needed those drugs myself then I would have also refused the vit K shot.
This is one of the many reasons I love my ob – she allowed me my informed consent or dissent.
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Wouldn’t this be considered a civil liberties issue? It sounds like some American needs to take New York to court (or vice versa) to get a precedent set. If it were me, I’d contact ACLU.
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Jessica Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 11:15 am (Quote)
Agreed. Although I’m not a huge fan of the ACLU. This reminds me of the law here in Texas where they can get a warrant to take your blood if you refuse a breathalizer. I was like, uhm, no, no one is taking a part of my body without my consent. (Not that it happened to me, that was hypothetical).
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Rebecca Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 5:06 pm (Quote)
The problem I see is that the courts are based on damages, and unless a child has an adverse reaction, what are the damages? Yes, its an abridgement of civil rights, but unless someone was investigated by CPS for refusal and missed work/lost their child (G-d forbid either happens) I would think it would be difficult to bring a case.
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Cameron Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 10:36 pm (Quote)
I guess then I’m hoping for a female lawyer (or relative of an awesome lawyer) to decline and get sued (in absentia, while maintaining possession of her baby of course), and WIN so that they can stop this nonsense. EVIDENCE BASED CARE people!
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Ez had this to say,
Jan 13, 2012 @ 9:59 am (Quote)
I actually have to go to a pharmacy today to pick up the eye ointment & vit k today. I’m having a homebirth & I live in NY. =\ No choice here.
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The NY law is clearly unconstitutional. That isn’t to say you can just refuse and not have consequences (court sucks, especially when your children hang in the balance). I would just take it as another reason to stay home. Or will they make that illegal when more people start doing it too? (Again, unconstitutional) Why do people still live in places that still insist they have the ultimate authority over children, instead of parents?
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Binah had this to say,
Jan 13, 2012 @ 11:31 am (Quote)
I had a homebirth in New York, which was attended by a CNM. She told me the law regarding the eye ointment and vitamn k, but did not insist on administering either. She asked me if I wanted them, I said no, and that was it. I think she had to lie on her paperwork to avoid getting herself into trouble, but I was not involved with that.
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Bonita Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 12:40 pm (Quote)
If we ever get stationed in NY (very unlikely) and I give birth I will either have unassisted birth or go out of state, or I would find a midwife like yours!
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Billie Jo Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 4:12 pm (Quote)
I know of a person that just did this. She drove for almost 2 hours to Pennsylvania (while in labor) just to birth at a hospital that would allow her to say no to the Vit K and Eye goop…
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Daisy Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 7:21 am (Quote)
OK…I’m not a huge fan of unneccessary interventions…but to birth unassisted seems extreme just to avoid eye ointment and Vit K. The consequences of freebirthing are quite severe as opposed to the consequences of those two drugs. I’m sorry that the medical establishment has lost your trust that much.
Freebirthing on purpose is terrifying to me. Granted I am only a vet but I have seen animals and moms die during births that weren’t attended.
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Ellen Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 10:32 pm (Quote)
I think I know what you meant, and in general I agree with you about unassisted birth. But it’s not clear how you saw animal moms die during births that weren’t attended if you were there attending them :}
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Daisy Reply:
January 15th, 2012 at 4:26 am (Quote)
Oh OK if you want the gory details…they brought in the bitches for cremation b/c they died at home with a large puppy sticking half out of their vagina. Or I had to sign an insurance certificate for a mare that died of a uterine hemorrhage.
I took the Bradley class which was 95% awesome…but the part about animals not having any trouble at birth was just plain misinformation!
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jaed Reply:
January 15th, 2012 at 5:51 pm (Quote)
Well, that’s a point.
On the other hand, an animal birthing alone doesn’t have a husband or friend there to give assistance, doesn’t have information resources to tell them ahead of time what might be a sign of danger and what to do about it, and doesn’t have a car to drive to the hospital if something goes wrong or a phone to call 911 if there’s a medical emergency.
So there’s also that. A freebirthing woman has a lot of helpful resources available to her, even if she’s not laboring in a hospital and isn’t attended by a licensed medical practitioner.
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AnnaBanana had this to say,
Jan 13, 2012 @ 1:44 pm (Quote)
I homebirthed and refused both eye ointment and vitamin K. I was also GBS+
My 2 yr old sees perfectly fine dumbass Dr.
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Shortly after my youngest daughter’s birth, her eyes became really bad. REALLY bad. She had dark green/yellow puss draining from her eyes. I took her to the doc, who asked me where she was born. I told him she was home birthed with just me and my dh, since my midwife never bothered to show up. He said with a huge smile “She got this from you!” So two weeks of antibiotics drops later, her eyes were just as bad. Not one ounce of improvement. I started googling and happened on this little thing called “blocked tear ducts”.
What is this wondrous thing you speak of? This “blocked tear duct”, apparently unheard of in the medical community? Well, I heard of it before and just plain forgot about it. I tossed the antibiotic drops, started putting in a drop of breast milk and massaging the tear duct 3 times a day. Just two days later, her eyes were healed. Hallelujah! It’s a miracle. No, wait. It’s just a dumb ass doctor with his head solidly stuck up his ass. He heard home birth and didn’t bother to listen to one more word. So fuck all the bad bacteria “down there”. Seriously, my 8 year old can say penis or vagina, but a grown doctor says “down there”?
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claire Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 6:08 am (Quote)
I can quite believe it, breastmilk is awesome for eye infections I had conjunctivitis while nursing my second son, squirted pumped milk into them 3 times a day and by 48 hours they were fine.
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first time mommy Reply:
January 14th, 2012 at 12:45 pm (Quote)
I had blocked tear ducts as a baby too! Only mine got so bad (I don’t think my mom knew of the breastmilk trick this was back in the ’80′s) and I needed surgery to correct them.
So if it’s unheard of, does that mean my mom didn’t have to pay for my surgery b/c apparently it doesn’t exist? 
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New York State has a truly AWFUL law there. TRULY awful. I can’t imagine having a baby there on purpose. I am going to say, though, that this is not unconstitutional. Really. It’s not a federal law, so unless it’s a law against New York’s OWN constitution, it’s not unconstitutional. The constitution (for the most part) was to protect citizens from the federal government by giving particular powers to state governments. Not that anyone with half a mind would approve of this state government’s choice, but there it is.
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Add Your Comment.
“you are dirty, and a bad mother”
Its funny, I seem to recall its only a couple infections that they’re worrying about with the newborn eye ointments, and ones they routinely test for during pregnancy.
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