So angry: inducing to fit Dr's vacation

[amitymama]

My mom just called to tell me that my cousin had her baby late at night yesterday, after two long days of labour. She was induced on Wednesday morning at only two days overdue because her doctor was going on vacation the next day. :

They repeatedly gave her doses of Pitocin to 'get her going' (which obviously means her body wasn't ready yet) and after hours and hours of horrendous Pitocin contractions and a day and a half's labour, they told her she was too small to birth the baby and she had an "emergency" c-section.

I am spitting mad and so angry for my cousin, even though for all I know she is perfectly happy with the outcome and hasn't questioned any of this at all. I mean, do people not realize how ridiculous it is to induce a woman whose body is not ready to fit around some doctor's freakin' vacation schedule?! I am fuming and could barely speak to my mother, who was all nonchalant about it. I'm getting a rep as anti-medical in my very medical family (two uncles are docs, three aunts are nurses, one aunt is an anesthesiologist and my mom is a manager of a hospital clinic) so I didn't say much else besides "How horrible."

I've heard of many other cases where women agree to be induced because their doc is going on vacation. Is it really that common? Why would anyone, even mainstream mamas, think this was a good idea? I'm speechless. :

[Joyster]

I've heard it a few times. I'm trying to remember the lastest tale, but it's escaping me. I remember our contractor telling us a story of how his wife went into labour (naturally and by her sheer force of will) the day before the doctor went on vacation, because she really liked the doctor. lol

I can't imagine doing that. I do like my doctor and it would be a real drag for me to have to switch at the last moment, but it happened with my last child and I got the experience I wanted, so I wouldn't be in any hurry to induce so long as everything was okay.

[aaronsmom]

My mother had a scheduled c/s at 38 weeks because my brother was due on Christmas and the doctor didnt want to work near the holiday. Her pregnancy was perfectly healthy but he didn't even try to induce her b/c he didn't want to attempt a VBAC. But at 38 wks? WTH? :

[thismama]

They tried to do that to me too. I think it's pretty common. I refused and the doctor gave me all this 'stillbirth' scare tactics. He blatantly said he wanted to get me in the following day because he was going to B.C. for the week.

Um... yeah. Thank goodness I also had a midwife. Watch out for this! They do it, it's all about their schedules. Coz yeah, I want a horrible pitocin induced labour on your schedule so you can walk in at the very end and catch the baby... geez!

[wifeandmom]

Originally Posted by amitymama

I've heard of many other cases where women agree to be induced because their doc is going on vacation. Is it really that common?

Yes.

Why would anyone, even mainstream mamas, think this was a good idea? I'm speechless. :

Because they are sick of being pg? Because "everyone else is doing it", so it must not be that big of a deal? Because Christmas is coming and they want to be recovered enough to enjoy the holiday instead of in the hospital having a baby?

I really don't have a huge problem with inducing term babies IF mom has a favorable Bishop score AND understands the risks that an induction involves. It's all about choices, informed one preferably, and I might not necessarily agree with each choice. I do wish more women actually understood what it was they were agreeing to, what the future ramifications might be, etc.

In the current VBAC climate, it's a disgrace even more so than normal to put women in a position that we KNOW is more likely to result in c-section without counseling her first on what all that entails. I wonder if she had a favorable cervix (doesn't sound like it). I wonder if her doc discussed how many children they planned to have (with increased risk of c-section from induction before absolutely medically necessary, now she's in a position of potential complications in future pg), etc etc etc.

IF all of these things are being discussed frankly and openly, and mom still wants to be induced because her doc is going on vacation the next day, that's one thing. Unfortunately, I don't think that's what is happening in most cases.

[OceansEve]

I'm actually due new years and I'd say 95% of the people who ask me when I'm do then ask if I will induce before the end of the year for the tax break I tell them I don't believe in scheduling my child's birth, she'll come when she's ready, then they tell me about how great their induction went and how they just had to do it because a) baby was too big b) they were 40 weeks c) their doc was leaving for vacation. And they look at me like I'm wierd :

[Romana]

I think most women agree to this because the "love" and trust their OB so much and want him/her to deliver the baby.

My impression is that the next most popular motivation is being sick of being pregnant and ready to hold the baby (having baby sooner sounds great, right?)

[~Megan~]

I had a schedule c-section at 36.5 weeks. Dd was breech and at the time I didn't know about alternative therapies. Based on what I knew, aka what the doc told me, she would have been born by c-section no matter what but it didn't have to be that early.

I did find out later it done then because the doc was getting ready to leave for vacation. I was dilated but labor hadn't actually started yet (which I know now is quite common for breech babies to be born a bit earlier and mom to dilate sooner). She didn't want to wait around for labor to start so she went ahead and did the c-section. It was in the evening and I guess she wanted to be fresh and well rested instead of staying up all night with me to see if I would progress or not.

[tinyshoes]

Originally Posted by Romana9+2

I think most women agree to this because the "love" and trust their OB so much and want him/her to deliver the baby.

Yeah, that's part of why I agreed to my 39 week elective induction.

After my babe was born and the OB was stitching up the routine episiotomy I received, he let me know that he was going to Mexico, so his associate would discharge me in 2 days. :

[njbeachgirl]

My MIL has mentioned that she was induced with DH because of doc going on vacation.

I don't know how anyone could agree to it!!!

[DoomaYula]

I can only understand it if it's for a medical reason --

with my twins I chose an induction at 34w for IUGR due to TTTS. I had been pressured since 33w, when baby B had stopped growing. Anyway, "my" doc was the "twins" doc in the high risk clinic I attended, and I believed my best chance of a vaginal birth was with him, so I picked a Friday afternoon, when he was scheduled to be on-call Saturday morning. Guess what? I gave birth before he came on call.

However, for a typical singleton pregnancy with no issues, I'd never choose an induction.

[sunnymw]

My SIL was induced at 40 weeks and 1 day and was flaming mad and pissed because they wouldn't induce her earlier. You know... OMG I can't believe they make you DO THIS SO LONG!

...and she had care with a hospital midwife, too. (This is the one MIL recommended I get care with, even though I wanted a NO intervention MW or a UC.... yeeeeaaahh.....)

[queenjulie]

Yikes. I thought that kind of thing disappeared in the 1960s. I guess it's a little different when you know your OB--our practice has about two dozen of them, and you never know who will actually catch the baby; it's just whoever is on call at the time. And honestly, I can't imagine caring--the OB doesn't do anything except run in at the last second and grab the baby; the nurses are the ones who really care for you, in my experience.

[Quindin]

I am a member of another board where they are discussing how so often, OBGYNs will do what is best FOR THEM, not the woman. Half the people there truly believe it is a conspiracy theory by "hippies who hate doctors and medicine" After all, their doctors were so wonderful and saved their babies!! :

[Gilby]

Yeah, my friend is 12 weeks pregnant and told me last night "My doctor wants to induce me this time. He's the only doctor in his practice now and since I had such a fast labor last time he thinks it's better." She labored a good 8 hours last time and made it to the hospital in time to TAKE A NAP once she got her epidural.

She laughed and told me she knew I'd get a kick out of that.

My other friend had a baby last week when she was induced at 38w4d because she lived a WHOLE 45 MINUTES from the hospital. This was her first baby.

[patchynurse]

My mom was induced with me at 38 weeks. Her doc wanted all his "ladies" delivered before he went on vacation. Nice -eh!

[Nicole R.]

A sick variation on the "I chose to be induced because my OB was going on vacation" story is when the doctor TELLS you he's going out of town and therefore needs to induce you before you're full term, but he's lying. In fact he's not going on vacation -- he just wants to induce you before the weekend!

Yes, this OB really exists. I'm friends (sort of) with three women who all see him. He works alone and boasts that he delivers over 90% of his own patients, but it turns out he accomplishes this through inductions. (He gives his patients a binder full of his own in-house studies / outcomes from his previous patients on how safe inductions really are.)

Naturally all three of these women were induced by him -- they've all had two babies so far, and most of the births featured Pitocin for one reason or another. Several of the inductions were because of the false "I'm going out of town" story. It wasn't until the three of them talked to some of the OB's other patients that they began to think there might have been some deception going on.

They were talking about this at a party we were all at recently, and I overheard it. "Oh," I asked, "are you talking about Dr. Wells? I thought you all liked him." They totally closed ranks on me, claiming that they DO love him, and that he's a terrific doctor. They didn't want to talk about it with me because they think I'm a natural birthing lunatic.

Oh, I could tell horror stories about their births! But that would be off topic.

[JessicaS]

My OB wanted to induce my dd as he was going on vacation.

I went into labor on my own, before his vacation, but it still really annoyed me. I wasn't very nice about it.

[Quindin]

Originally Posted by Nicole R.

They totally closed ranks on me, claiming that they DO love him, and that he's a terrific doctor.

and then...

Originally Posted by Nicole R.

Oh, I could tell horror stories about their births! But that would be off topic.

Isn't it sad how blind and brainwashed some women can be?
They LOVE the doctor, yet they have horror stories about their births to tell...

[Irishmommy]

Originally Posted by Romana9+2

I think most women agree to this because the "love" and trust their OB so much and want him/her to deliver the baby.

That was my motivation. Except replace OB with midwife, and 2 days over wtih 2 weeks over.