Mom Says Hospital Fouled Childbirth - Twice

re: Mom Says Hospital Fouled Childbirth - Twice

al — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:15:25 GMT

I think people are being to hard on this mom. It may be that she didn't realize that it was caused by the doc until there was a pattern. Maybe, her insurance wouldn't cover a C section unless this incompetent doc recommended one. This doctor may have been doing his best, but it needs to be investigated. Either way, we don't know all the facts from this short story. We should take away from this that we always need to be as proactive as possible in our healthcare.

re: Mom Says Hospital Fouled Childbirth - Twice

Mamallama — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 22:38:56 GMT

My first daughter got stuck and it was hell getting her out. Lots of pulling and pushing with two doctors and two vacuums (first one broke). Thankfully everything worked out all right and we she was perfect (I wasn't in such good shape afterwards though!).

I was concerned about the birth of my second daughter so we kept up with measurments and induced one week early to be on the safe side as she was measuring on the bigger side. I wanted to deliver again vaginally because I wanted to experience it without the trauma. Smooth sailing the second time around!

re: Mom Says Hospital Fouled Childbirth - Twice

Mar — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:42:20 GMT

While a previous shoulder dystocia is a risk factor for future dystocias, the reality of shoulder dystocias is that they are so unpredictable that risk-factor identification is pretty much useless. Here's a pretty easily digested reference article: www.aafp.org/.../1707.html

My understanding of the current standards of care and my experiences of dealing with shoulder dystocias lead me to think that the doctors probably did nothing wrong. And considering what a dire emergency a shouler dystocia can be, they probably deserve commendation for saving those babies' lives. I'm of the opinion that Erb's palsy is a million times preferable to death. Furthermore, enough time has probably not passed to know if the Erb's palsy is even going to be permanent for those children.

As a side note, the majority of shoulder dystocias occur with normal sized babies. So, serial growth measurements of a fetus to rule out vaginal delivery for a "large" baby are unlikely to prevent a shoulder dystocia from happening.

re: Mom Says Hospital Fouled Childbirth - Twice

Trace — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 15:53:00 GMT

Why on earth would she stick with this one OB-GYN? And why didn't she elect for a c-section, knowing her first delivery wasn't so smooth? Having went through a labor and delivery, of a child who had the shoulders of a football player, I think it's prudent in my future to have sizing measurements done frequently towards the end of the pregnancy... does this woman not think about these things? Yes, the doctor is liable? And yes it is sad that these children have issues now, but this woman should not receive monies, she should have received monies before the second child was born, if it was the doctor's fault. Second time, she has nobody to blame but herself.

re: Mom Says Hospital Fouled Childbirth - Twice

clara — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 22:19:12 GMT

What happened to her, shoulder dystocia, is very unpredictable & can be very scary. Erbs plasy is a common outcome, but s.d. can also be fatal if the baby is not delivered in time. The dr. may have been doing the best he could do to save the babies lives. I am surprised he recommended a vaginal delivery after she already experienced one birth injury. Why take the chance?