An OB's Birth Plan

I'm sorry that this physician did not share this information with you at the first prenatal visit.

Best to you in your search for a new provider, and may you have a healthy and uneventful delivery.

Aside from the fact that many of the statements in this OBs "Birth Plan" are bold face lies; I am glad you are getting some one else. I am just like WOW! So sad in so many ways.:cry: (the OB not you moving on, Kudos to you!)

Oh my. I am speechless, though not surprised. Your provider is no different than many or most OB/GYNs; maybe I should give him points for honesty; many tell their clients whatever they want to hear and then proceed to do exactly what yours is telling you he will do. I hope there are midwives in your area; if you want options in your birth that is your best bet. I am not saying this just because I am a midwife; I felt that way when I was an L&D nurse, and before that when I was having my children and could not find a midwife. A book that you might find helpful is " A guide to effective care in pregnancy and childbirth" by Murray Enkin (and others). It has lots of references to actual research. Your current doctor does not seem like he is going to be open to anything other than his own narrow ideas but it may be helpful as you look for another provider. I wish you the best and would love to know how the rest of your pregnancy and birth experience go!

Sorry ....but I was a L&D nurse out of school for a bit in a hospital that did 300+ deliveries a month. I hate to tell you this...yes most doctors don't actually type this all out and call it a birth plan and this is a bit weird...most talk about this stuff --to you and your spouse/partner.........HOWEVER, that being said........I can't say as I disagree with one single thing in this "plan". Yes it is blunt but it is to the point. He is there for your and your babies best interest and I think you took this in the wrong way. Especially if you liked him in person, if he had good bedside manor. I hate to say this but this is how most docs practice even if they don't put it into writing like this doc did. I might suggest that you find a midwife. And honestly I am a huge believer that at home deliveries are just stupid. I have seen bad things happen REALLY fast in what was EXPECTED to be a totally normal and routine delivery. Times when if that delivery was going on at home both mom and baby would have died!!! A matter of a few minutes between --all is good and holy crap get into the OR NOW!!! We got about 10 seconds to get this baby out....I've seen a mom go into DIC and end up almost dying and in the ICU for weeks afterward--totally unexpected. That is a HUGE risk to deliver a home. Stupid if you ask me. As far as the Bradley method-- done by the book so to say this plan is a huge pain in the butt!! And my biggest problem with it is that it tells not to have a baby getting the meds that are standard to give on delivery-- The shot of Vit.K which is needed for the baby to be able to clot his own blood--adults produce Vit. K in the intestinal tract, by bacteria there...this does not happen right away in babies. They should get Erythromycin ointment in the eyes to prevent infections from causing blindness......this method tell parents not to allow these meds......the other benefit the baby gets from the shot is that yes they cry a bit...but in a brand new baby that is good, the crying helps them to clear their lungs....I have seen babies that didn't cry at all until that shot, despite many efforts and this was what got them crying to clear the lungs.....something they have to do.

So despite the fact that this is a kind of inpersonal and blunt way to tell you what he needs to be able to care for you the best way he knows how.......I totally agree with everything. Sorry. Too many woman forget that childbirth is serious and babies die and moms die when doctors are not allowed to do everything they can to protect thier patients. OBs are suied a lot and if your baby died you would be the first to sue if this stuff was not done.

And really things like being required to have an IV.....I always have though this should be done. Its there if you need it in an emergency. No wasted time. Your life and your babies are worth it.

I would have no problems working with him as a nurse

nor would I have any problems with him delivering my babies........of course if he also had a good bedside manor. I would know that me and my baby were safe and getting the best care possible. And BTW I have had 2 of my own and so this is a mom speaking too!! lol -- I wis I would have had an IV early --they blew mine 3 times in a row and then it was too late to get my epidural.

I really think if you like this docs bedside manor and he seems nice you might want to rethink this........he may be a really good doc. I worked with many that were wonderful and the patients loved and yes they said these things a little more nicely but most of them had the same ideas!!!

good luck and I hope all goes well with the delivery!!

I hope my honesty helps......

so despite the fact that this is a kind of inpersonal and blunt way to tell you what he needs to be able to care for you the best way he knows how.......i totally agree with everything. sorry. too many woman forget that childbirth is serious and babies die and moms die when doctors are not allowed to do everything they can to protect thier patients. obs are suied a lot and if your baby died you would be the first to sue if this stuff was not done.

to each his own....it sounds like this would be a good doctor for you, but not the op. i firmly believe that having faith and trust in your birthing professional is an important factor in having a positive birth experience. if this letter makes the op feel uncomfortable, she will undoubtedly not be comfortable at her birth. if any complications would arise, she will go home with a sick feeling in her stomach since she let that a**hole near her. and that feeling will last her a lifetime.

this doctor sounds very narcissistic and misogynist. :angryfire he got into ob because he couldn't hack neuro or ortho surgery, and he's angry that he has to work with a bunch of women all day who ask "too many" questions. in his mind, he probably thinks "how dare they want to have any control over their birth experience!" ohhhhh, the audacity!!!!!!!!!:barf02:i'd run from this guy and find a midwife!

I have to admire this doc's candor but do not agree with his stance on so many things. The evidence strongly suggests that many of the things he is intent on doing are either a) not helpful; or b) downright harmful.

And honestly I am a huge believer that at home deliveries are just stupid. I have seen bad things happen REALLY fast in what was EXPECTED to be a totally normal and routine delivery.

And on the flipside, I have seen things happen in hospital deliveries resulting in very very bad (unnecessarily so) outcomes that would not have happened had the delivery occurred at home. The evidence strongly suggests that home delivery is safe in low-risk pregnancies, and in many industrialized nations, birth takes place at home all the time, with very very few preventable bad outcomes. Have you by chance looked at Ina May Gaskin's numbers?

As far as the Bradley method-- done by the book so to say this plan is a huge pain in the butt!!

A pain in the butt for whom? It's her birth experience, not mine.

And my biggest problem with it is that it tells not to have a baby getting the meds that are standard to give on delivery-- The shot of Vit.K which is needed for the baby to be able to clot his own blood--adults produce Vit. K in the intestinal tract, by bacteria there...this does not happen right away in babies.

This is not quite the catastrophe it's being made out to be. The human race survived for many many years without Vitamin K. It does little or nothing to prevent early onset HDN, and the incidence of late-onset HDN is around 7 in 100,000 in babies that don't get the Vit K. Did I get it for my son? Sure. But do I get all in a hot mess if parents don't want it? Not at all.

They should get Erythromycin ointment in the eyes to prevent infections from causing blindness....

....infections that mom has been tested for (at least in my facility) upon admission. If she comes back GC & Chlam negative, there is absolutely no good reason to give the drops. Again, I got them for my son. But the next baby, I might forgo them. No need to treat for an infection Mom doesn't have.

Too many woman forget that childbirth is serious and babies die and moms die when doctors are not allowed to do everything they can to protect thier patients

Forgive me for disagreeing so much, but too many doctors and nurses (I'm including myself here) forget that childbirth is a normal, common experience that has worked well for millenia, if not millions of years. Women and their babies are made to be able to handle it. The Creator is not a careless mechanic. Babies die and moms die when doctors intervene too much too. We have got to get out of this collective mindset that normal lady partsl delivery is a retrospective dx.

And really things like being required to have an IV.....I always have though this should be done. Its there if you need it in an emergency. No wasted time. Your life and your babies are worth it.

You know, I didn't have a problem with having IV access during my labor. But there are several nurses/midwives on this board practicing in other countries that do not routinely put IVs in laboring women....and have never had a problem getting access when seconds count.

I am sorry if this comes across as a personal attack on you, because it's not. I just strongly disagree w/ many of the ideas. It's been my experience that we cause more problems than we fix with all our interventions, well-intended though they may be.

Amen!!

I could not agree with you more!!

My first question is why didn't he discuss this with you on your first visit? Most of this type of thing was discussed with my fiancee and me when we had our first appointment with the OB that would be delivering our baby (she was living in another state when we first found out she was pregnant and after telling her doctor she planned to move 4 months into the pregnancy, he didn't feel like discussing birthing issues and proceedure was nesscary). Now my second question is why was the paper handed to your husband and not you? I know personally that I feel like all of that information should be presented to my fiancee. While some of the things we might need to discuss, she is the one who will actually be going through labor, not me. It almost seems like a sexist move. That action actually makes me more uncomfortable than the whole issue with the birth plan. If you're not comfortable with it find a new doctor. That's the best advice anyone could give you. I know after something like this my fiancee and I would have to have a long discussion about if this was the right doctor for us.

Now my second question is why was the paper handed to your husband and not you?

Because he's misogynist!!!!!

Because he's misogynist!!!!!

If this is a true statement then my fiancee would have to do some serious convincing if she really wanted this man delivering our baby. The idea of a misogynistic OB delivering my child and handling my pregnant fiancee just makes me uncomfortable.