Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Nov
14
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“Don’t Worry, It’s Your First, So You’ll Go Late.”
“Don’t worry, it’s your first, so you’ll go late.” – OB to mother who expressed concern about the doctor’s scheduled vacation right before her due date.
There are 28 comments to this post.
We’ve seen so many quotes here where once you hit the Magic 40 Weeks date (as determined by the all-knowing plastic Wheel Of When) the doctors are desperate to induce.
But ah, if the doctor has a planned vacation, then don’t worry! You’re a first timer, and you’ll go late.
All those other moms…well, their lateness was a terrifying prospect. Yours? Just fine. Just picture the doctor relaxing on a beach, enjoying the sunset while sipping a mai tai, and your contractions will remain at bay and your baby will continue to thrive in the perfect safety of your womb.
(Although at least the doctor wasn’t trying to induce at 37 weeks because of vacation plans! and I would hope the doctor planned coverage for that timeframe.)
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3 sgc 3 Reply:
November 25th, 2012 at 11:38 pm (Quote)
I want an all-knowing plastic Wheel of When! That would come in so handy…
When will my daughter potty-train? When will my in-laws grow up? When will we move to a bigger house? When will my life get organized? Etc. etc.
Not on topic, sorry. I was just mesmerized by the thought of a Wheel of When. 
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None of my med team went on vacation but I heard this all the time when I was pregnant, especially when people found out I was due the week after the uni semester went back and I was determined to keep studying. “But you’ll go over because everyone does for their first! It’ll disrupt the whole semester and you won’t be able to do it. And what if you have a caesarean?!” I told them then I’d re-evaluate my plans but I always knew he was going to be early and sure enough, he came at 38 weeks exactly. We spent 5 days in hospital so we were home on the Friday and I was back at uni on the Monday. Booyah!
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Kathryn Reply:
November 15th, 2012 at 6:37 pm (Quote)
My due date with my first was the day after classes started for my last semester of college. So, there I was in classes at 39+6 (I got so many oh-my-goodness-when-are-you-due-why-are-you-here comments; it was rather amusing). My son ended up being born at 40+1. I had made prior arrangements with my professors, so it was no big deal that I missed one week of classes.
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Funny. Same thing happened to me. Doctor was going on vacation the week before my due date. Then after two days back he was going out of town for labor day weekend. He wanted to schedule my induction on those two days. I said no. First baby was born on 38+4 while he was on vacation.
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Funny, my first came 3 days before his EDD. My 2nd came 3 days after…out of all 8 births, they’ve been all around EDD…some a week before some a few days after.
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First child came naturally at 37.5. Doctor told me if she’d ben any closer to edd they’d induce bc I was tiny and couldn’t deliver a normal sized infant. I called him an uneducated moron. This is the same man who said “no one goes into labor naturally anymore”
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“Most first time mothers go overdue, however some go into labor early. If you happen to go into labor while I’m on vacation, I have an excellent replacement, dr. Z, who shares my views about birth. You’re welcome to see dr.Z for a few appointments. This way, if you go early, you won’t have a complete stranger attend your birth and you will have had a chance to discuss your wishes in advance with him/her.”
There, fixed that for you.
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first time mommy had this to say,
Nov 15, 2012 @ 7:54 am (Quote)
tell that my 2 y/o DS who came right on time =P.
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So usually people are terribly upset about the OBs desire to induce at 38 weeks. As a midwife I have to say that even birth professionals have lives and need to go on vacation soon. At least this one was being up front about the vacation. I know at most OB practices you get who is on call either way. Its not like this woman was going to be stranded at the hospital being told she can’t have her baby yet because there is no care provider. She just would have missed that 10-30 minutes the OB spent in the room. Have he or she write out orders for your birth plan now. OB probably needs a vacation!
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BabyRN Reply:
November 15th, 2012 at 3:24 pm (Quote)
While I disagree with the OB saying he “knows” when a baby will be delivered…..
Amen Rachel! We do have our own lives just like you all have lives outside of your job. Most docs would have NOT told anyone about their vacation. Also if you see a group of physicians there is no guarantee that this particular doc would be on when you delivered anyway. And trust me, they usually won’t interrupt their lives just bc a patient would prefer them for delivery. They would never get a break if they did!
I know I’m going to get reamed by everyone for agreeing that a healthcare professional can have a life. But just remember, I disagree with what this doc said. If we could predict when a baby would come we would never be swamped! He should have just left it as “just so you know, I will be on vaca this week.” However if anyone does figure out how to predict birth let me know! Lol!
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Lizzie K Reply:
November 26th, 2012 at 9:49 am (Quote)
Well, actually, to be quite honest, I don’t have a life outside of my job, haven’t in just over nine years. For the first four years of that, I had no friends other than people I either worked with or did the same job I did, then I became a SAHM, which means no days off and no vacations. Just saying… :p
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Jane Reply:
November 15th, 2012 at 5:29 pm (Quote)
I agree there’s nothing wrong with the doctor having a vacation planned. It’s the brush-off that bothered her. She posted the full story a couple of comments back.
http://myobsaidwhat.com/2012/11/13/honey-youre-gonna-tear-but-ill-stitch-you-up-real-good/
She asked who the backup doctor was during the doctor’s vacation, and the doctor replied with this comment. I think everyone agrees that doctors should have vacations, but the doctors shouldn’t hide that information from people who need to know, and shouldn’t then take a don’t-worry-your-pretty-little-head attitude when women *do* get worried about delivering with someone else.
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Aron Reply:
November 16th, 2012 at 6:33 am (Quote)
I don’t think anyone has a problem with a care provider having a vacation. This comment follows the earlier one about how the client would “definitely tear.” Now she will also definitely “go late.” It has more to do with the know-it-all attitude and dismissal of the client’s concerns. In her previous post she stated he refused to answer her questions and just told her she would be fine. What does that even mean?
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geez, i work at a daycare, and i really like my days off, and when i’m NOT at work, i do have a really great person who fills in for me, and every time i won’t be seeing my regulars because its my day off i tell them the other girl will be there and that she’ll take great care of the kids. is that so difficult? i don’t have to tell parents that they won’t need any care for their child that day, because we all know thats a lie, i just stick with the truth.
First baby was born at 38 weeks btw.
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I doubt anyone would argue with the fact that OBs and midwives deserve a break from their job just like everyone else. That doesn’t give them the right to brush off a Mom’s concerns, though. Part of their job is to find a substitute for Mom in case she does go into labor while the doctor is gone. If they can’t do that, then they shouldn’t be in this field of medicine.
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BabyRN Reply:
November 16th, 2012 at 8:40 pm (Quote)
There’s always a back up. In this field there is ALWAYS a plan. That’s why 95% of practitioners are in a group. It’s practically impossible to have a solo practice.
I’m not sure why the doc thought it would be easier to say this instead of just telling the TRUTH. I think some if them must get a little too used to telling the “almost truth” that it just comes out!
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mel Reply:
November 26th, 2012 at 8:08 am (Quote)
Mine with my last had a solo practice. Yes, sometimes my prenatals got delayed because a baby was coming. He was gone for a long weekend just before my baby was due. I have a history of going close to 42 weeks, so the chances were slim, extremely slim, that she’d come that weekend. He still asked me which of three local docs (who actually also work solo) I would like him to contact for in case I went into labor. I’m guessing they all work backup for each other, but it’s nice for us being almost sure of exactly who we’re going see at the hospital.
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If you’re not going to be there when the job needs to be done, you can’t take the client. Not cool. And there are generalizations when it comes to due dates, but they’re not hard and fast. My first was at 38 weeks.
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Rachel Reply:
November 14th, 2012 at 5:06 pm Rachel(Quote)
my first was 35 and my second was 37…. and it is up for debate if we try for a third
but hey if I keep going the way I have I might just make it to my due date
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Ellen Reply:
November 14th, 2012 at 5:12 pm Ellen(Quote)
That’s what I said! 37.2, 38.5, 39.1, and 39.2. Still haven’t quite gotten to my “due date.”
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