How do you deal with anti-OB people?

[ParasMom]

I'm half-way to obtaining my ADN and have recently discovered that there are people out there who are not only anti-OB/GYN but are against any medical interventions at all during pregnancy. I talked to my OB/GYN for over an hour last week about some of the things that are being told to pregnant women to scare them into not trusting their OBs or L/D nurses and that not delivering naturally is an "abnormal" birth ... yadda, yadda, yadda. Dr. E called them "nature nazis" which I laughed at. But more and more I am beginning to think that she has a point.

How do you deal with lay people and over-the-top doulas that will say anything to keep a woman from considering an epidural as an option for pain management or even delivering in a hospital?

My first reaction was to set the record straight to some of these women on one mommy board, but I have not only lost my moderator status, but been basically named a "troll" for not backing down from that stance that it is no one's business how a woman opts to deliver her child (we should respect any birth plan that a mom-to-be has made and not degrade her for opting for an epidural or trusting that her OB knows best). And that no one but a MD should give out medical advice to pregnant women.

I am just shocked. I've been told that since I hope to work LDPP one day that I will have to learn to deal with the, for lack of a better name, "nature nazis" real quick.

The question is, HOW. I am just at my wit's end. Are they really that common?

[ParasMom]

I don't think she's trying to "force someone to see it her way", I think she's just talking about giving truthful information to counteract outright lies. A patient who has been lied to by a nature nazi or an interventionist is not making informed decisions and it's our job to make sure that they do.

That's it. I am a patient advocate 100%. If a woman brings in a birth plan that says that she is opting for a non-medicated birth, then I will respect that. If she shows interest in pain management, but I will respect that, too.

I am having a problem with certain people who are telling pregnant women horror stories about epidurals and other pain medications, birthing in a hospital, vaccinating their children, and how the medical community only cares about how much money that they can get from a patient. It drives me insane to hear that some expectant mom has been told that in order for her birth to be normal, that she has to do it without any intervention or that epidurals harm your child.

[ParasMom]

II do have problems with lay-people giving out FALSE information, which they do all the time. I can't tell you the number of crazy obviously wrong stories I've heard from "doctors will force you to have a c-section so they can go play golf" to "my 23 week baby was born at 5 lbs".

...

They come in thinking that the nurses/docs/CNMs want to strap them to the bed, hook them up to a monitor, drug them, remove the baby surgically and wisk it away to the nursery so they can sneek it some formula to sabotage breastfeeding. That's what annoys the &^$* out of me. The vast majority of nurses and docs I have worked with in L&D support the patient in their wishes.

That summed up my entire post! Thank you so much ... you said it better than I did ... and in a much shorter form. Thank you again!

[ParasMom]

I quoted this from your original post, and bolded my parts I wanted to mention.

You say we should respect any birth plan a mom has made? What about the birth plan that involves a woman birthing at home, w/ no epidural, and a midwife, not a doctor? You certainly aren't respecting them by calling them "nature nazi's" are you? Does it only deserve respect if they agree with you?

second bolded point-no one but an MD should give advice to a pregnant woman? Thats funny. And you want to be a LDRP nurse? What do you think is involved in your job? Giving advice. Tell all those OB nurses out there they shouldn't be giving out advice to their patients, since they aren't MD's, you know. And really, what about midwives? They aren't MD's, so they aren't "allowed" to give out advice to pregnant women?

I think you really need to reexamine your views.

Doctors are not hte only ones who are qualified to give advice.

And ALL birth plans, even the "nature nazi" ones need to be respected.

Point 1 --> I didn't coin "nature nazis" as it came from my OB/GYN and I used it for lack of a better phrase. I respect any birth plan that a woman makes -- be it at home or in a hospital. My problem is with those women who want to scare other women into delivering they way that THEY want them to. Telling them that their kid will be harmed if they use pain meds, that they will be paralyzed with monster headaches if they get an epidural, that if they have any medical interventions then the birth is "abnormal", etc. That kind of thing is what's bothering me.

Point 2 --> None of the women about whom I'm talking are doctors or nurses. They are mostly a bunch of lay people with no medical background doling out misinformation to pregnant women. There is one doula that I am including in this group who will pass out a medical diagnosis at the drop of a hat. I should have included nurses in my original statement, I correct that mistake. I just try to make a habit of telling any pregnant women who faces these horror stories to talk to her doctor -- that her doctor will tell her what is factual and what is mere myth intended to impose a certain way of thinking.

[ParasMom]

Also, Parasmom, I don't think a CNM is any more likely to stretch the truth than other providers. Every CNM I have met has been extremely professional. Most deliver in hospitals, so I their patients are quite safe.

I have no qualms with midwives. A midwife delivered my birth child in 1999 (a completely "natural" birth since it was done in under 6 hours ... no one thougth that I would progress that quickly, but I did and the NMV delivered the baby after checking me when I said, "The baby is coming NOW!")

Perhaps I wasn't clear, but I am referring to lay people and doulas on a mission in this post ... about those who are so gung-ho to remove birth from the hospital that they forget that some women do want to deliver with a doctor and nurse(s) by their side and some pain medication either via IV or epidural.

When I go for my BSN (which I plan to do once I have my RN license) I hope to take some MW courses just so that I have that much more information under my belt. (My husband says that I am addicted to classrooms... :rotfl: )

Thanks for all of the advice. I never meant to insult anyone with the nature nazi title. I used it, as I said a few moments ago in another post, for lack of a better phrase to describe those that are so fanatical about their approach to helping pregnant women that they will give out false or biased information.

[TinyNurse, RN]

From my personal experience I've also seen medical professionals, CNMs to be exact try to scare a healthy pregnant woman out of a homebirth. (long story)

As women the best thing we can do is become armed with knowledge. As nurses the best thing we can do is be informative to our patients.

The term "nature nazi's" actually makes me sad. I don't see anything wrong with having a natural birth without medical interventions. It doesn't mean I'm a nature nazi. It means i'm informed, educated and able to make decisions regarding my body and the birth of my child.

well wishes,

jen

mom to homebirthed Hunter Sage

10-16-99

[pannie]

I've gone from being fairly neutral on this subject to getting pretty upset by one particular doula. I understand she's ONE among many. Will someone tell me exactly what certifications, education, training a doula obtains. Or is there a certification process? The latest statement is that mammograms are not necessary since she's breast fed two children for a total of over 24 months. "It's almost impossible that I'd get breast cancer." This IS a harmful thing to say to a group of non-medical people.

[geekgolightly, BSN, RN]

I've gone from being fairly neutral on this subject to getting pretty upset by one particular doula. I understand she's ONE among many. Will someone tell me exactly what certifications, education, training a doula obtains. Or is there a certification process? The latest statement is that mammograms are not necessary since she's breast fed two children for a total of over 24 months. "It's almost impossible that I'd get breast cancer." This IS a harmful thing to say to a group of non-medical people.

She needs to be better educated. A little knowlege is sometimes a very dangerous thing. If she works in your hospital, write her up. She should not be telling patients that.

[geekgolightly, BSN, RN]

mom to homebirthed Hunter Sage

10-16-99

:)

[TinyNurse, RN]

DONA or ICEA i'm pretty sure are the organizations that give credentials to doulas.

[pannie]

Thanks, I'm going to google that.

[ortess1971]

What it comes down to is each woman should be able to make decisions about her child without being made to feel like a bad mother. And while I think that CNMs are competent and beneficial, the fact remains that they are NOT doctors-they didn't attain the same level of education as an MD, and I for one want the best care that I can have. Yes, your pregnancy may be low risk for the majority of the time but things can change very quickly. Also, I use the term "nature nazi" to refer to those women who see it as their right to tell another woman what kind of birth to have...Ultimately, if it's not your birth then I feel that you should butt out,and not try to make yourself feel superior because you didn't want an epidural, for example. My friend breastfed her children and all of them had terrible allergy and ear infection problems-my cousin( who bottlefed her two kids) almost never has to take them to the doctor except for immunizations. Every child is different and while I think breastfeeding is a great thing, I would never make a mother feel badly because she decides it's not working out. I think a large part of the problem is that as women, we tend to be very competitive and catty with each other, and that's where the superiority complexes come into play. There was a reason that centuries ago, women died in childbirth in droves. Mainly, because of infection, difficult labor etc. Also, some religious groups claimed that a woman should not have pain relief during labor, because it was against the bible's teaching. So really, medicine did a lot of positive things regarding childbirth. I do think they went a little too far but it is my personal opinion that to discard a medical approach completely is dangerous. I have no problems with midwives as long as they work in conjuction with a doctor, and I believe a doula's role is to provide support, NOT medical advice. P.S I can hear it right now, someone is going to say that I am telling women that it's wrong to take the natural approach-this is not true, I am stating that I think interventions are needed sometimes and I want them available for me...What someone else decides to do is THEIR decision.

[bluesky, BSN, RN]

They either want everyone in birkenstocks squatting in a forest to deliver while chanting to the fertility goddess, or they want them all anesthetized at around 8 months pregnant to give em a section.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: