Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Feb
10
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“…I Don’t Really Think Ay Doctor…Will Let A Patient Labor Without An I.V.”
“Mmm….I don’t really think any doctor in this practice will let a patient labor without an I.V.” – Midwife to mother who stated that she would be declining an I.V. during labor.
There are 27 comments to this post.
Lol. If I come in pushing, how will they feel about the IV then? No doctor wants to assist in an elevator birth!
For anyone who is interested, I gave birth to my third boy on the first. It was an intense labor, but I was well supported by my CPM, sister, husband, and two sons. The baby was 10 lbs 11 oz. There was a minor shoulder dystocia, but my midwife is extremely competent and the baby was out very quickly with apgars of 7 and 9. I’m so glad that I chose to birth at home, where I received appropriate care that did not injure me or my baby. We named him Hugo, and he is nursing alongside his older brother and gaining like a champ.
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AmyW Reply:
February 10th, 2013 at 11:15 am (Quote)
Congrats, genniemom!! What a nice, healthy weight for your son. It’s wonderful that you had such a positive experience and a highly skilled midwife. Who knows what kinds of problems being in a hospital would have caused you and/or your son. All the best to you and your family.
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The terrible thing, this was said at my first appointment with my new practice, at 34 weeks 
my old office was closing otherwise I never would have switched. I have since reworded my birth plan to contain a lot of “I do not consent to…..” It’s a good thing I know my rights 
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AmyW Reply:
February 10th, 2013 at 12:21 pm (Quote)
Just unbelievable! And there’s that nasty word “let” again. Grrr.
What’s the deal with IVs anyway? Are they saying that these “highly trained and skilled nurses” are so incompetent that they’re incapable of inserting an IV in an emergency? Isn’t that why we birth in hospitals…because they have such good care for when emergencies arise?? And what if that IV they give you somehow gets clogged or accidentally ripped out by something catching on it? What are you going to do if an emergency arises right after that…say “Sorry, only one per customer!”??? No, I think a nurse would get that new IV in there like lightening. So, why not just do that IF, not WHEN, just IF the need arises?
If you’re going to birth without painkillers or pitocin, there’s no need for one. If the need arises and you consent to one of those options or have an emergency, you’ll get one. There, OBs/nurses/midwives…fixed it for ya!
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Lizzie K Reply:
February 10th, 2013 at 8:39 pm (Quote)
It is super easy to pull an IV out. I accidentally knocked mine out during my last labor while wriggling during transition. (actually writhing in pain is a better term, lol, all five minutes of it)Somehow they managed to get another in 36 hours later when I needed a blood transfusion due to hemorrhaging.
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AmyW Reply:
February 12th, 2013 at 1:26 pm (Quote)
Amazing! I’ve only had a few before, and like my mom, I’m a tough stick. My record (so far) for IVs in the arm (not hand) is 9 attempts before getting the FIRST IV in. The urgent care doc was ticked that the nurses were “so incompetent,” so he took over (with an “I’ll show them how it’s done” attitude). I was giddy with pain by then, laughed, and told him “Good luck!” He gave me this weird look and said “Um, ok, thanks.” Then HE had to give it 3 or 4 tries to get it right.
Nasty little rolling veins, I’ve got! Even harder when dehydrated. But the hands are platinum territory for emergencies! Found that out with my first surgery when the nurses had to try 4 times to get one sorta in (they refused to use my hands; they’re only for emergencies) before asking if I minded being knocked out before they tried again. Um, gee, really, no, keep me awake so I can throw up on you from the pain. Funny thing is, I woke up, looked down, and there it was…in my left hand. I started laughing; Mom thought I’d lost my mind.
Guess I’ll find out if I 1) can break my own IV record and 2) manage to pull out my IV during PT when I get my hips replaced later this year. Mom’s is 11 attempts, so only 3 to go to break hers! Now that’s “healthy” comptetition. LOL.
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Carrie Reply:
February 12th, 2013 at 1:44 pm (Quote)
This sounds a lot like me. I have horrible veins, always at least three sticks before they get it. I about cried the one time I had a phlebotomist manage to draw blood on the first attempt to stick me, I was so relieved!
This is the reason with this next baby that I will definitely be having a hep-lock. I don’t want them struggling to get a successful line if there’s an emergency, I want them to be able to treat me right away.
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The funny thing is, with my sister’s delivery two months ago, the stupid nurse had to redo her IV like 4 or 5 times. As soon as they let us back in, she was ready to push. Yea, the IV was really handy (not). I will let them put in a hep lock for myi delivery just to pacify my mother and husband, but will not hesitate to pull it out
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Rene Reply:
February 11th, 2013 at 6:42 am (Quote)
What is a hep lock?
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amy Reply:
February 11th, 2013 at 7:50 am (Quote)
It is the port in your hand, just with no IV line hooked up. Then they do t have to hunt for a vein in an emergency. I have great veins all over so I may or may not consent to one.I probably will just for my mother and husband’s peace of mind.
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Nica Reply:
February 11th, 2013 at 1:09 pm (Quote)
Yep, just had a hep-lock for my 2nd birth, really more for my peace of mind than anything else. It did come in handy when I had a slight pph after birth, but I don’t think it would have been a huge issue had I not had the hep-lock.
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Kit Reply:
February 11th, 2013 at 3:23 pm (Quote)
I have had a heplock for both of mine. It was “just in case of pph” (I do have some risk factors). With my second I had “heavy bleeding,” enough that they kept me in L&D for an extra hour and a half to monitor it, but they still never used the hep-lock. It makes everyone (me, husband, caregivers) more comfortable to know it is there if we need it, but I don’t have to deal with the IV in the way. And both times it has been removed within minutes of transfer to the postpartum floor. It is my idea of a perfect happy medium.
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I was just told at my last midwife appt that I would have to have a hep lock and I said, “I am not cool with that, no”. She gave me a regrettable look, and said, “Yeah…You have to, but don’t worry, it’s not that bad”.
That night, I saw my doula (who works with my midwife group a lot) and told her about it. She was surprised and said, “No… I’ll find out what’s up with that, don’t worry about it. Put it in the birth plan, they can’t force you!” (Thank goodness for an awesome doula!)
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Michelle Reply:
February 11th, 2013 at 6:08 am (Quote)
Just to offer some support, you DON’T have to. Unless they have a court order, there is no such thing as “have to.” They need your permission for ANYTHING they want to do, you and you don’t need to consent unless you agree it’s best for you and your baby.
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mm Reply:
February 11th, 2013 at 2:03 pm (Quote)
what gets me about that kind of reply, apart from her not being aware that you could decline – which is bad enough – is the immediate assumption that you want to decline because you are worried that it will hurt or be uncomfortable, or something, rather than because you have informed views about the procedure and disagree with it. when i was declining (repeated) stretch-and-sweep offers when i was overdue with my second child, several midwives said ‘oh don’t worry, we will be very gentle, it’s over very quickly’ etc. i tried to explain that it wasn’t the discomfort of the procedure but its potential negative results that i wanted to avoid. i don’t know whether they got it.
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Mel M. Reply:
February 11th, 2013 at 8:30 pm (Quote)
Exactly. I am actually a huge needle-phobe, but I found a way to cope with it when I got pregnant the first time (beautiful, wonderful Emla cream- poof, no more hyperventilating!). So the pain thing really isn’t the issue, it is definitely the idea of doing something unnecessary, and the idea that it could easily become a gateway for more things that are unnecessary. No thanks! So unless she wants to see a laboring woman hyperventilate, she better not try to come at me with a hep lock like a sneak attack! Lol
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If I was ever birthing in hospital with an OB/nurses I would probably consent to a saline/hep lock if they wanted one. The reason is that, unlike birth with a midwife where you have 1 on 1 care throughout your labor, there is a higher chance of an emergency being ignored for a longer amount of time by nurses who have to tend to multiple patients. That being said, I have great veins and couldn’t care less about needles. I was needle phobic, or if I was terrified of my providers sneaking meds in without my consent if they had a port, then I would fight it tooth and nail. In the end, it is the patient’s choice and it should be respected.
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I was treated like this by the charge nurse when I said no, I wouldn’t like an IV. I got one later, when I got an epidural, but she was also shocked my orders didn’t come in to hook me up on Pitocin right away and get the epidural right away and blahblah. She was like, “You can’t do that!” “Yes, I can reject anything, and I don’t need one right now. If I want the epidural, and thus the IV, I’ll let you know.” My doctor, obviously, was totally cool with me not having an IV thanks to my severe needlephobia. The same nurse was irked I was walking the halls instead of hooked up in bed, but my day nurses were really encouraging of me walking around.
I’m kind of glad my dad was with me. He told the nurses he was a lawyer and would sue if they did anything without my express consent. O:-) He isn’t a lawyer at all…
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“How does the doctor stop the labor, then? Since I’ve said I’m refusing the IV, and the doctor won’t let me labor without it, how does the doctor plan to stop labor?”
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