Wrong baby circumcised! Yes, it DOES happen... - Page 2

[bravofrenchie]

OMG! I would be the mother from hell if that happened to my baby!

[LavenderMae]

This is so sad and one reason my next babe will be born at home. My ds was born in the hospital (insurance didn't cover homebirth, blah blah) and I was a nervous wreck that they would circ him. I swear I would have probably at least beat the crap out of someone if they had. The thought brings me to tears, ugh.
Poor baby. If I was the parents I would most definitely sue.

[joandsarah77]

Unbelievable. A nightmare come true. I'de be and so ready to sue the living daylights out of him. Man am I gald that dosn't happen over here, I'de be too scared to even leeve the baby to go to the bathroom. What a shame it sounds like his parents probably wont sue, it might have been a great wake up call to these careless Dr's.

[paquerette]

Originally Posted by hunnybumm

Also, with my local hospital the baby is taken to the nursery at every shift change for 2 hours (now it is only 2 times a day, when DS was born it was 3 times a day). I have talked to quite a few woman who have tried to keep their baby with them to no avail. So it isn't always possible to be with your baby 24/7 at every hospital. Sad but true.

I gotta wonder how these women "tried". Not knocking them, but did they say "No, I'd really rather you didn't take him" and the nurses said "but this is hospital policy; we have to" and they said "oh, okay then"? Or did they continue to hold onto their children with death grips and the nurses had to sedate them and pry their screaming infants out of their arms? I think the latter approach is what most of us here at MDC are advocating.

Incidentally, Harrisburg Hospital in PA recently overturned a mandatory separation policy after a protest this summer. Change can be made.

[njeb]

Originally Posted by Super Pickle

Yeah,I hope they sue the living daylights out of that hospital and scare them out of resuming circs.

:
Sue the doctors, too!!!!!

[Guest*]

Originally Posted by bravofrenchie

OMG! I would be the mother from hell if that happened to my baby!

Me too! Someone would have to hold me and DH back so we didn't physically harm the people who physically harmed our son!

Oh, man. I can't believe that. Poor kid.

[canuckgal]

a mom and OB nurse's perspective...

I am a lurker here but as a mom of an intact 28 mo old and an OB nurse who has seen many many circs I had to chime in.

Unfortuneately as a nurse who has worked in extremely busy city hospitals on OBS floors I can see how this happened. I live in a small city outlying Winnipeg and while I don't work at this hospital, I have spoken to nurses who do and it has gotten extremely busy. One hospital in the city has stopped offering OBS services, so for a city of 600,000+ people plus rural areas there are only TWO hospitals that offer maternity care. Cutbacks plus busy-ness equals medical errors...it has been proven with medication errors and otherwise that the "system" the error happens in is a major contributing factor to the chain of errors, which ends in the individual making the mistake. And to the poster that said that they weren't glad that those things don't happen here think again...maybe not things as dramatic as the wrong surgery, but things like assessments of your patients not being done as often as standard or meds given to late or omitted for a dose, or a dressing change not done because of some other crisis for a more acute patient, etc. In the days I worked L&D in a city hospital I remember 10-12 babies born in a span of 12-18 hours some days and it was so busy my head was spinning and it was all you could do to keep who was in what room and dialated what # of cm's straight.

Regarding this actual error...On a postpartum ward with 30 plus patients, admissions coming in constantly, people needing help to breastfeed or something for pain...it can be nuts. Still, it could have been something like 2 patients in the same room, or more than one circ done that day, etc. My guess is the parents were told that they would be back with the baby and weren't told what it was for, or maybe they were told it was a circ and they thought this was done with everyone and didn't need to give consent in writing, and most definitely the baby's nameband and a written consent was not checked before starting, even though I imagine the consent was obtained for the right baby, just the wrong baby was done when the time came and the paper work was not double checked. Actually the hospital I work in now does very few deliveries...only 20-30 per month, and this week we had 2 babies the same sex with the same last name...scary!

Before someone flames me understand that I am not saying this is right, and most definitely an error was made, as one who works in the medical system I am trying to shed light as to how it could happen....but it still makes this a horrible situation.

Regarding letting your babies out of your sight... As a mom you have every right to insist your babies stay with you! Our scale is not portable so I weigh my babies in the nursery but I always welcome a dad or visitor to come if mom is not able to get up. I found it hard to believe the person who said the babies were taken out for 2h at shift change...but it is probably for the convienience of the hospital, because they are so busy and have so many babies to assess it is easier to have them in one location and do it all at once, as you never know what hell will break loose on your shift. That being said, babies can also be checked on mom's tummy in the delivery room, or in the bassinette or bed in mom's room.

Good for you who all insist your babies stay with you! Don't let the nurses intimidate you...you have every right!

Going off to read more of this discussion...Tina, here in Manitoba, Canada with dh James and dd Stephanie (5 1/2) and INTACT ds Jonathan (2 yrs)

[polka123]

O-M-G !! :

[Paper-Bag-Princess]

I would sue so fast that their collective heads would spin.

That poor baby! I really hope that the parents of the other baby choose not to circ. their son afterall. Very sad. Winnipeg is the freaking capital of Manitoba. How does this shit happen in 2005?

Pardon my language, but this is beyond belief.

Sue

[USAmma]

There was a case years ago where a baby born to parents from India was circed without their permission. Hindu boys are almost never circed and the parents were so, so upset b/c this would have social implications on the boy his whole life. They sued and won.

[A&A]

Originally Posted by hunnybumm

I have talked to quite a few woman who have tried to keep their baby with them to no avail. So it isn't always possible to be with your baby 24/7 at every hospital. Sad but true.

They don't own your baby. IT'S YOUR BABY!! Mamas just have to grow balls (figuratively speaking, of course.)


Oh, and after having one epidural birth and one natural birth, I can tell you that it's MUCH easier to get up and fight for your baby's rights after going natural!!

[paquerette]

canuckgal, thanks for the insight.

It makes me think, though, that this is even more reason for them to stop doing a completely unnecessary procedure, if they're that busy. :

[TigerTail]

Originally Posted by paquerette

I gotta wonder how these women "tried". Not knocking them, but did they say "No, I'd really rather you didn't take him" and the nurses said "but this is hospital policy; we have to" and they said "oh, okay then"? Or did they continue to hold onto their children with death grips and the nurses had to sedate them and pry their screaming infants out of their arms? I think the latter approach is what most of us here at MDC are advocating.

Incidentally, Harrisburg Hospital in PA recently overturned a mandatory separation policy after a protest this summer. Change can be made.

yup.

it's not that they didn't try (even upon the birth of my second son, where they was MANDATORY ROOMING IN- who says there isn't change in the wind? ), it's that we said 'no' and meant it. (after the csec w/ my 1st son, while i was groggy, dh went with the baby; we had agreed that even if i was dropping dead during the process of stitching me up, you *don't leave the baby*.)

my prayers are with single moms, or moms with crappy partners (like me during the birth of my dd), who have to go this alone. i hope they have family members or friends that can step up to the plate (yet another reason for same-sex marriage; imagine being partnered to a woman in that circumstance, and not being allowed to go with the baby because you are not 'family'. )

susan

[hunnybumm]

Ok, well I am sure that the mothers didn't have to be sedated and their children removed from the wretched arms, but these woman didn't just say "Well, I would rather keep my baby... but if you insist..." It was somewhere in the middle. The nurses have (sometimes with force) removed babies from the mothers arms, put them in the bassanet and left the room. They really did try, and I have yet to hear of anyone not having their baby taken to the nursery during the shift changes. I am not saying it's impossible, but very very unlikely and difficult. I am sure a protest or letter writing could change this, but this is no longer my fight, I refuse to use this hospital unless I am actually in need of medical attention.

And yes, when my DS was born it was 'hospital policy' to take the baby back to the nursery 3 times a day for 2 hours each time. I remember this vividly, I didn't fight to keep him with me, I was ignorant and went along with everything I was told. After my son was born I got to hold him for about 30 mintues, he was then taken to the nursery for 3 hours before I got to see him again. It was mentioned to be by the lamaze instructor, the OB, as well as a nurse that one of the reasons for this was to keep track of the babies during the shift change. And that was the time when the peds looked over the babies. Also, parents are not allowed in that area. If you want they can wheel your baby to the window (if they are not too busy sitting around listening to the babies scream) but only employees are allowed through the door.

Also, from a friend who was a nurse at the hospital, many times the babies would be screaming and the nurses just didn't feel like taking the babies back to the mothers, so they let them scream until the 2 hours were up. Luckily my friend (who breastfeeds) felt bad for the babies and would take the babies back to the mothers.

Four months ago a mother from my LLL group delivered at the same hospital and they only removed her child for 1 hour 3 times a day. So I don't know if enough people complaind or if they just decided to change their policy, but at least it has gotten better. A friend who delivered 1 month ago had the same experience.

This are just a few reasons why I chose a BC that is 2 hours away rather than this hospital that is 10 mintues away.

[tiffer23]

That's why I'm not letting our baby out of our sight. If the baby has to go somewhere, DH has been told he's to follow the baby!

[Mewsin]

I'm honestly glad to be having my baby in the hospital I am. They don't have a nursery. Everything is done right beside you. I had Koivu, I carried him to the room, they weighed him and washed him right infront of me, I coslept with him in my hospital bed. He never left my sight. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Oh, and they have an alarm that they attach to the umbilical stump so that the babies can't even be brought near the door without notice.

Also, I'm wondering if the hospital wasn't downplaying their mistake by saying the parents hadn't decided yet. They may have said, no circ, but the hospital doesn't actually want to tell the general public that part.

[teniprice]

How awful for that little boy and his family.

When my ds was born, they put a sticker in his bassinett that read "NO" stating that he wasn't to be circ'd. It was also in our birth plan but no one ever said anything after his sticker was placed. Our hospital did take the babies every so often to watch them. I have heard people writing on their babies diapers "No Circ" just in case...

[Past_VNE]

It happened to my husband.

I've never felt such long-standing fury as I do hold for that doctor. I've often imagined the things I would say or do if only I had the opportunity to meet the bastard.

DH's family is firmly anti-circ and all intact. They sued at the time and won a very small settlement. Good for them for pursuing it, but sadly it also eliminated DH's option to sue for what it truly was worth.


--------------------

On a similar note, DH's brother was born with malformed, inoperative testicles. They tried to force his parents to give him a sex-change operation! I think, in the 70s/80s, they were looking for any opportunity to do it, to study the effects that it had...but that's just my little conspiracy theory.

[calngavinsmom]

I would have circumcised the hand from the wrist of that "doctor" who did that to my perfect baby boy! How disgusting. :Puke

Tara

[Maple Leaf Mama]

Originally Posted by johub

Having a baby in the hospital is no excuse to leave the baby at the mercy of the staff.
While I would have preferred a homebirth with my twins it wasnt possible, but that doesnt mean the hospital had carte blanche to do whatever they want. Those kids never left my side, not for a second.

I had my daughter 27 months ago. It was an emergency c/c.
I was told that b/c of the catheter, and the surgery, DD was NOT allowed to be in my room alone with me. Only if DH or someone else was there. For the first 4 days of her life, I was not allowed to bond with her alone/
So, I'm glad you ladies are so adament that yo9u will have home biirths and never let you babies out of your sight. But frankly, I resent the implication that I just didn't bother to do anything about it.
was a first time mother who didn't know I could buck the system.
I was mentally and physically exhausted from 3 days of home labor. And was being chewed out from the hospital ped. So I was afraid to put up a fuss.
I have grown some balls and intent to make my wishes know in the future. But please don't make statememts like I wonder how hard they really tried, because that's just nasty.