[kJad29]

This is my first time posting here. I work as a Lactation Consultant intern at a local private practice in my area. I was doing a bra fitting and I in my curiosity asked the mother when she was due. She told me her EDD is Sept. 6th, but that her sOB wants for her to come in for an induction at 38 weeks.

: I asked her whether she had any health problems like PIH or GD or something and she said no and that her pregnancy has been very healthy. I was very upset. I basically told her that what her doctor was practicing was not evidenced based care and that she needs to remember that she is her OB's employer. This will be her second child. Her sOB told her that since she had the first baby so easily, it would be easy for her to have an induction and that she could have her baby early before the HOLIDAY WEEKEND!!!! Basically this sOB (who btw happens to be a WOMAN) is obviously gunning and pushing the woman to have an induction because she wants the weekend off for Labor Day! I told her that she needs to take her DH with her and ask if it is medically indicated that she needs an induction. I told her about pitocin and it's affects on the body and birth and how she's basically signing a ticket to have a c-section. The c-sec rate at the hospital she's going to birth at has an over 41% rate (you read it in the latest edition of Mothering Magazine). I knew that I wanted a midwife and a homebirth and was considering going to an OB as a back up, but now I'm just too through with them at this point. I will absolutely NOT go to an OB unless I have a serious problem that makes them necessary!!! All of my care will be done by homebirth midwives. Did I mention that I'm a new doula?

 

[babycatcher01]

That burns me to no end! What is the doctors code of ethics? do NO harm! They dont want to be bothered by woman who have amind of their own, but there are also the women who will do anything their docs say because they are doctors and they are always right. I think that the women who are edcuated and informed have a big job to do in their communities. To make sure that there is information out there for mothers who have questions but no answers. Once a month we hold a midwife/birth/pragnancy group, that is free and anyone ,age, pg or not are incuraged to ask questions about female health and pregnancy and birth. Woman need to let docs know, its their bodys, their babies, their birth.

 

[kJad29]

Exactly! I was so upset I'm surprised that I kept my composure. The poor lady is a bit timid by my estimation and she may go with it just because it's a doctor in spite of my and my mentor's warnings (she told her the same thing I did). It just really hurts me to my core that women are getting cut up and beat down during their births. I see this every day. I rarely see just a vaginal birth what to speak of a natural birth in the office. Yeah, we're there to help with the problems of breastfeeding, but I find that most of those problems start with the actual birth! I see many babies with birth trauma and mothers whose births leave them with their bodies doing more repair than milk making. It's so sad!

I hope that this mother will stand up for herself.

 

[USAmma]

I have an online friend who was just told by her doctor that she will probably have csection because her b/p is a bit high. They will take the baby if it gets too high after a certain period of gestation (can't remember which) and if she goes full term she will have a section anway. I just can't understand what her high b/p has to do with her ability to push a baby out. I can understand an extreme emergency c but to just tell her to expect a csection -- it makes me furious.

 

[charmander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kJad29 The c-sec rate at the hospital she's going to birth at has an over 41% rate (you read it in the latest edition of Mothering Magazine).

OMG - that is insane. INSANE!

 

[caned & able]

This has been going on for a along time.

 

[gemasita]

I'm planning a homebirth too and I WON'T go see an OB for backup because I don't need all the negativity. That HAS to effect people when someone puts doubts in their mind. It has effected several of my clients...so sad.

 

[guestmama9924]

our local rate is about 60% ( Miami) so I sympathize. As a doula, as a homebirth mama, as a mw assistant and an LC!!!

BUT 10 years of this tells me
a) women will tell you ( the advocate) what you want to hear
b) women are under enormous peer pressure to "conform"
c) Physicians make suggestions and throw it out to see if women will bite and most do!
d) women will CONVINCE themselves that this is what they NEED

 

[gemasita]

:

 

[kJad29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KeysMama our local rate is about 60% ( Miami) so I sympathize. As a doula, as a homebirth mama, as a mw assistant and an LC!!! BUT 10 years of this tells me a) women will tell you ( the advocate) what you want to hear b) women are under enormous peer pressure to "conform" c) Physicians make suggestions and throw it out to see if women will bite and most do! d) women will CONVINCE themselves that this is what they NEED

:

I totally agree with what you have to say about this. That same mom if she chooses to follow her "doctor's orders" will be in our office talking about how she doesn't understand why her baby is so sleepy and is having trouble with latching on at the breast. That her baby was whisked away to the nursery and she didn't get to really bond with him/her, how the nurses fed the baby bottles and has a nipple preference and so on and so on. It's the same story over and over again and I get so irritated because I know that 98% of these women if they had chosen to birth in the normal way wouldn't be talking about the "failure to progress" or the fact that they were given pitocin after the water broke because the rushes didn't start for X amount of hours and all the other little panicky things that OBs do to get you to doubt yourself.

I don't need that crap.

 

[MamaRabbit]

The supposed "best" hospital here that all of the foreigners flock to... 80% c/s rate. 99% of the vaginal births are with epidurals. The only natural vaginal births are those attended by an outside doula coming in...

Every chance I get, I tell women I meet who are going there to think about the rates and what they want for their birth.

Oh, and I know someone who had a c/s birth there because their baby was... TOO LONG.

 

[kJad29]

Yup! Of all of my girlfriends who have had births at the hospital, only ONE had a natural birth and she had a doula. All my other friends had vacuum extractions (just one) and c-secs. I thought that the c-section was for emergencies, but it seems that the docs are so afraid of malpractice suits and obviously don't know a pile of crap about normal birth that it's easier for them to do surgery rather than let well enough alone. I can't just blame the docs though because it's the women too for refusing to do their research and become well informed about their choices. Or they know about their choices and still end up going into birth hell bent on getting an epidural. They get them at freaking 2-3 cm open! WTF?!

: So you can't blame the docs all the way for the rates. It's women's impatience as well and the fact that they have been conditioned to view birth as a medical event. You almost feel sad for them because they choose to be ignorant. Anyways, I'm just happy to be a part of a group like Mothering where women do their business and birth their babies for the most part.

 

[lorijds]

I would like to add that there are plenty of educated, informed women who simply think differently than we do, and choose, even pressure, their physicians into scheduled inductions and c-sections. I have been on the receiving end of this (from clients) and it is disconcerting, to say the least. All of the blame cannot be laid on the backs of OBs and the medical community; insurance, people who sue, and women themselves also bear some responsibility.

It is diffcult to believe, too, that some women, who are well educated and have done their research, will come do a different conclusion about birth than you or I. I have had to come to terms with that, and I am now comfortable with my feelings that women have the right to choose how they birth, including making choices that I feel are, well, wrong. It's disappointing and frustrating, but I really feel that part of respecting and honoring women includes respecting and honoring them even when they choose a different path.

Just wanted to put that out there, because, well, it's the internet--everyone's opinion counts and MUST be added, right?!

 

[cathicog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by USAmma I have an online friend who was just told by her doctor that she will probably have csection because her b/p is a bit high. They will take the baby if it gets too high after a certain period of gestation (can't remember which) and if she goes full term she will have a section anway. I just can't understand what her high b/p has to do with her ability to push a baby out. I can understand an extreme emergency c but to just tell her to expect a csection -- it makes me furious.

(playing Money by Pink Floyd in the background)
It's about covering one's behind, convenience, and bucks for the hospital and NICU...bottom line. Unless we as women learn to develop a backbone and stand up and quit taking it lying down, I predict an 80% c/s rate in about 20 years, maybe less...

and *that* is why I am becoming a midwife at 50!! so that we can offer choices to women who wouldn't normally be given any!!

 

[cathicog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lorijds I would like to add that there are plenty of educated, informed women who simply think differently than we do, and choose, even pressure, their physicians into scheduled inductions and c-sections. I have been on the receiving end of this (from clients) and it is disconcerting, to say the least. All of the blame cannot be laid on the backs of OBs and the medical community; insurance, people who sue, and women themselves also bear some responsibility. It is diffcult to believe, too, that some women, who are well educated and have done their research, will come do a different conclusion about birth than you or I. I have had to come to terms with that, and I am now comfortable with my feelings that women have the right to choose how they birth, including making choices that I feel are, well, wrong. It's disappointing and frustrating, but I really feel that part of respecting and honoring women includes respecting and honoring them even when they choose a different path. Just wanted to put that out there, because, well, it's the internet--everyone's opinion counts and MUST be added, right?!

Lori, you are absolutely correct. Painfully so. But it is sometimes that pain(and for some they don't mind it) that causes them to question thier original choices, then start looking for alternatives....
One birth at a time....
So Slow....better late than never.

 

[cathicog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lorijds I would like to add that there are plenty of educated, informed women who simply think differently than we do, and choose, even pressure, their physicians into scheduled inductions and c-sections. I have been on the receiving end of this (from clients) and it is disconcerting, to say the least. All of the blame cannot be laid on the backs of OBs and the medical community; insurance, people who sue, and women themselves also bear some responsibility. It is diffcult to believe, too, that some women, who are well educated and have done their research, will come do a different conclusion about birth than you or I. I have had to come to terms with that, and I am now comfortable with my feelings that women have the right to choose how they birth, including making choices that I feel are, well, wrong. It's disappointing and frustrating, but I really feel that part of respecting and honoring women includes respecting and honoring them even when they choose a different path. Just wanted to put that out there, because, well, it's the internet--everyone's opinion counts and MUST be added, right?!

:
Lori, you are absolutely correct. Painfully so. But it is sometimes that pain(and for some they don't mind it) that causes them to question thier original choices, then start looking for alternatives....
One birth at a time....
So Slow....better late than never.

 

[BirthFree]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kannon99 Oh, and I know someone who had a c/s birth there because their baby was... TOO LONG.

That is outrageous... absolutely disgusting.

The end of pg is not only a highly suggestable one, but a highly uncomfortable one. Even me as a doula and a MW assistant... I KNOW it's better for babies to stay in there but at about 36w I start telling baby "anytime!"... and I would never do anything to get baby here sooner, but I feel the impatience from the inside out.

So if you are thinking that a cesarean or induction is no big deal (since, gee, it's done every few seconds across the US (and etc.)) and it won't affect you or baby... and it gets suggested to you... you have to either know the real facts, or it sounds appealing. I can't even tell you how many stories of "Well I had a cesarean/induction and it was no big deal" I hear - and cringe at. It can happen... but thousands of women have complications, infections, damaged bodies and babies, trouble breastfeeding, emotional complications, difficulty with conception and ever attaining the decreasing-option of a VBAC should they even want that.

Providers know what they are doing when they choose that time to suggest induction/cesarean for whatever assanine reason they have - or choose that time to encourage Mom to be patient and trust in her body and baby.

 

[kJad29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lorijds I would like to add that there are plenty of educated, informed women who simply think differently than we do, and choose, even pressure, their physicians into scheduled inductions and c-sections. I have been on the receiving end of this (from clients) and it is disconcerting, to say the least. All of the blame cannot be laid on the backs of OBs and the medical community; insurance, people who sue, and women themselves also bear some responsibility. It is diffcult to believe, too, that some women, who are well educated and have done their research, will come do a different conclusion about birth than you or I. I have had to come to terms with that, and I am now comfortable with my feelings that women have the right to choose how they birth, including making choices that I feel are, well, wrong. It's disappointing and frustrating, but I really feel that part of respecting and honoring women includes respecting and honoring them even when they choose a different path. Just wanted to put that out there, because, well, it's the internet--everyone's opinion counts and MUST be added, right?!

I couldn't agree with you more on this. There are educated women who know the risks and take them anyway and think it's no big deal. This frustrates me to to my core, but you are correct in this. I did state that we can't just blame the OBs or the medical community, but it lays on women as well. I'm all for women choosing the way they want to birth in any setting whether it's at home with or without a midwife, birthcenter or in a hospital with an OB or midwife. I just wish that more doctors practiced evidence based care and didn't give into these extreme requests for inductions because a relative is coming over and they want to see the baby, or because they need someone to take care of their child at a specific time (both real examples told to me by the mother and father themselves on two separate occasions). When was having a child so inconvenient that you need to schedule thier birth to fit in with what you want? Why bother having them if one feels that they are an inconvenience? I don't want to start in on that one. I just feel strongly about children and women who want the choice to birth how they want and it's for the most part being taken away from them.

 

[heidi_m]

Quote:

Originally Posted by USAmma I have an online friend who was just told by her doctor that she will probably have csection because her b/p is a bit high. They will take the baby if it gets too high after a certain period of gestation (can't remember which) and if she goes full term she will have a section anway. I just can't understand what her high b/p has to do with her ability to push a baby out. I can understand an extreme emergency c but to just tell her to expect a csection -- it makes me furious.

i wanted to tell you what my mw has told me during this pregnancy (my 3rd). i am about 35-40 lbs overweight, and with my first had higher BP and slightly higher with my second. this time i've had severe sciatica and other back problems and so have been unable to exercise AT ALL... i keep expecting my BP to be high but it's been GREAT - always roughly 120/70, in that range.

anyway, my mw (who does births at two area hospitals and also HB) told me that she has **never** seen a client who has had BP problems that was getting enough protein and magnesium in their diet. i take a great prenatal vit with very high absorption levels, so i assume that's where the magnesium comes in for me, and i've been taking a protein shake every day since near the end of my first trimester, so i gather that has helped with the protein. might be something to suggest to your friend (although since her sOB has already noted the BP it may be too late to change his/her mind... ugh!).

anyway, don't know if it will help - may be too late with that OB - but perhaps it might do some good.

heidi

 

[smeep]

I have always felt that way about OBs. Only if I had a seriously high risk pregnancy would I go, and then I would search for a great OB and demand that a midwife of my choosing be there as well. lol

Unnecessary inductions drive me nuts. One woman told me she was HOPING for a cesarean!

: