Nov 16

“…I Won’t Let You Wait Any Longer.”

“This baby is huge, hasn’t dropped, you’re already at high risk for a section. I won’t let you wait any longer.” – OB to mother who was 11 days past her due date, during a conversation about induction.

42 people dislike these words.

There are 15 comments to this post.

Lisa had this to say, Nov 16, 2012 @ 5:42 am (Quote)

Biggest OB pet peeve? “Let”. I’m a grown-ass woman, nobody “lets” me do anything.

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Your Name Reply:
November 16th, 2012 at 8:17 am Your Name(Quote)

Oh, but don’t you know women are too stupid to think for themselves? *rolls eyes*

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Kasondra Reply:
November 17th, 2012 at 6:50 am Kasondra(Quote)

Especially pregnant women and women in labor…it makes you extra dumb.

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Toni had this to say, Nov 16, 2012 @ 5:47 am (Quote)

But in that case, an induciton puts her at even higher risk of a section, especially if she is a FTM with an unfavorable cervix. And inducing a “big baby” puts her at one of the highest risk categories for SD. At 11 days past the EDD doing tests of fetal well-being would be warranted, but if they are reassuring and there are no other causes for concern, and mom wants to give it a few more days, then there is no “let” here. I hope the OP stood her ground!

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Jane Reply:
November 16th, 2012 at 5:56 am Jane(Quote)

That was my thought, too. If conditions are totally unfavorable for the induction to work, why would the doctor force the induction? At that point, test her and the baby every day if necessary, and if there’s a problem, maybe proceed straight to a c-section…? But inducing when you know there’s a probability of failure strikes me as an inappropriate decision.

That’s even beyond the “I won’t let you wait” part.

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Kaytee Reply:
November 16th, 2012 at 10:26 am Kaytee(Quote)

I had always heard the opposite – that inductions after 41 weeks decrease c/section.
http://www.jfponline.com/Pages.asp?AID=1592&issue=November_2003

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Laura Reply:
November 16th, 2012 at 11:02 am Laura(Quote)

They probably do, because after 41 weeks, most doctors want that baby out. They’ll either section you or start an induction, if you let them. So in that case, an induction gives you a *chance* of avoiding the section.

But, if baby is doing fine, that’s not necessarily a good idea – especially if baby is still high, not engaged. Unless your Bishop score is good, the induction’s likely to fail, and a failed induction almost always means a c-section. And if baby is not engaged, there’s a chance the induction could work but there could be a cord prolapse – since baby’s head isn’t already placed to make that unlikely – and in that case, again, you need a c-section.

Now, if the doctor had said they preferred to induce and given some more reasons that *suggested induction would be a good idea*…but actually, only suspected big baby (the margin of error on that is ridiculous) and post-dates were mentioned. Baby not having dropped is a contra-indication, no mention of Bishop score is made, and the doctor “won’t let” the woman do something. Not *strongly recommends* she go with the induction, but “won’t let” her – as though he has the right to make her medical decisions for her.

God complexes are so not cool.

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Jane Reply:
November 16th, 2012 at 11:17 am Jane(Quote)

Reading between the lines, “I won’t let you wait any longer” implies the mother has already refused induction in the past; that would mean the doctor had already pushed induction at four days post-due-date (assuming the appointments were a week apart) or possibly earlier.

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himom had this to say, Nov 16, 2012 @ 7:45 am (Quote)

Translation: “I don’t wanna wait any longer”

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allie had this to say, Nov 16, 2012 @ 8:46 am (Quote)

Good thing it’s not your choice then huh? The ob i had with my younger daughter tried to force Ann induction at 41 weeks. I had told her unless there was a problem (had just had a nst that baby did perfectly on) i was not going to induce. She ignored me and told the nurse to schedule it for the next day. I told her she could schedule whatever she wanted, didn’t mean i was going to show up. I then got yelled at the next week for not showing up at the hospital for the induction *rolls eyes* baby came on her own at 42.4 weeks, and Dr was a complete ***** and did everything she could to go against my birth plan.

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Carrie had this to say, Nov 16, 2012 @ 10:53 am (Quote)

Sadly, I *did* let him talk me into an induction… (16 years and 4 births later, I wish I hadn’t. My last one was a 10 lb 43 weeker who I birthed at water in home without a hitch, thankyouverymuch!) Even more fun was when the OB, despite my “as little intervention as possible” birth plan, after about a 1/2 hour on pit and 2 contractions in, directed the nurse to hand him something while he was checking me. She asked if he was going to ‘snag the bag’ to which he answered in the affirmative. Me: You’re WHAT?! I don’t want you to break my water!!! OB: Well, do you want to be here all day?

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Kristin had this to say, Nov 16, 2012 @ 5:41 pm (Quote)

Let is be known, that from this day forward, the word LET shall be removed from the vocabulary of ALL medical personnel. Any violations of the word LET will result in a mandatory $100 fine, payable to the patient the word was used in reference to, with no limit placed on the amount of times fines may be paid to a single patient.

All in favor, say AYE!

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