Questioning doctors (was Breastfeeding) LONG
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I definitely learned the hard way on this one. I can't blame the doctor
entirely for my decision not to breastfeed. Afterall, I like to think I'm a
fairly intelligent person - I could have looked for answers elsewhere. Maybe
I didn't care enough about breastfeeding at the time to make the effort - I
really can't remember the circumstances exactly. I do know that I was most
certainly too trusting of doctors. That was ten years ago, and I'm sorry to
say that I remained too trusting until 14 months ago when my youngest child
was born.
My first daughter was delivered by c-section 12 years ago. I wanted to
have the next one vaginally, so I chose a doctor who would be open to that
when I became pregnant with my second child. The delivery went okay - major
tearing, but my son was a healthy 8 1/2 pounder. The next baby was also born
vaginally. That delivery didn't go so well - my daughter was stuck (shoulder
dystocia) although I didn't know it at the time. Actually, I didn't know it
until almost five years later when my youngest was born. Luckily, the doctor
was able to turn her and she was delivered healthy, weighing 8lbs 6oz. Major
tearing again.
My fourth child was born exactly 14 months ago tomorrow. My pregnancy with
her was pretty uneventful - I did gain a lot of weight, but the all knowing
doctor never said anything about it, so I assumed it was no problem. Two
days past my due date the doctor decided to induce labor. He had induced the
last two because he didn't want the babies to get over 8 1/2 pounds - he
didn't think I could deliver one any bigger. He'd already told me that the
baby I was carrying was in the 9 pound range, so things weren't adding up.
But I TRUSTED him, afterall he's the doctor. My labor with the fourth one
seemed different from the start. At one point I heard the nurse talking to
the doctor on the phone. She told him that she thought he neede to come
right away. But did he? NO. He came about 45 minutes or an hour later.
The nurse had just discovered that "this baby's head is way bigger than I
thought". But her head wasn't the worst part - it was her shoulders.
Shoulder dystocia again...only this time I don't remember him trying the
fancy turns or maneuveres. She was STUCK! So, the doctor put a nurse on
each side of me, to pull my legs as far back as they possibly could. I had
two other nurses on top of me, pushing on my belly with all their might. And
the doctor had the vacuum extractor hooked to my baby's head and was pulling
so hard that later my husband told me " I thought he was going to pull her
damn head off"! He said it was the scariest thing he's ever seen. Well, we
got the baby out. She weighed 9 1/2 pounds. She was a funny blue color, and
she didn't breathe for what seemed like forever. I'll never forget the sound
of her first cry, or the tears of relief in my sweet husband's eyes, or her
wonderful new baby smell. But somehow I failed to notice that her left arm
was hanging limp. I didn't even realize it until late that night. No one
told us she was hurt, and when we figured it out nobody would tell us what
the problem was. We didn't fully understand what had happened until we got
home and began our own research. My daughter, Tess has a brachial plexus
injury. Maybe some of you know what that is, but I had never heard of it
until she was born. The brachial plexus is the bundle of nerves found in the
shoulder area. The nerves are the ones that control muscle function in the
arm. The nerves that control Tess's bicep and deltoid muscles were torn.
The tricep nerve was also injured, but not as seriously. There is a
wonderful clinic in Houston, Texas where they specialize in brachial plexus
injuries. We've traveled there several times, and she had surgery at Texas
Children's Hospital last September to graft the torn nerves, using bits of
nerve taken from her leg. We were told by her pediatrician that there is
nothing that can be done for nerve injuries. We had to learn everything we
know about it on our own.
Tess also has mild hypotonia (low muscle tone) probably due do a slight lack
of oxygen, and hip dysplasia, which will hopefully be resolved soon. My
daughter was perfectly healthy up until the moment she was born. She was
PERFECT. And now thanks to some know it all, egotistical, rushing to the
golf course doctor she's injured for life. Oh, they can fix her up (or, so
they say) but even with the best recovery, she'll never be the way she
should have been. And here's the really sad part...it all could have been
prevented. All the warning signs were there - previous shoulder dystocia,
large weight gain, big baby etc... See why I'll never again take a doctor's
word on anything? I'll question them every step of the way - it could be a
matter of life and death. What a way to learn a lesson.
I know I've gone on way too long here, and for that I'm very sorry. I'm not
even sure if I made the point I set out to make - I got kind of side tracked.
But it's late, and I'm much too tired to change anything now. Goodnight.
Jodye
entirely for my decision not to breastfeed. Afterall, I like to think I'm a
fairly intelligent person - I could have looked for answers elsewhere. Maybe
I didn't care enough about breastfeeding at the time to make the effort - I
really can't remember the circumstances exactly. I do know that I was most
certainly too trusting of doctors. That was ten years ago, and I'm sorry to
say that I remained too trusting until 14 months ago when my youngest child
was born.
My first daughter was delivered by c-section 12 years ago. I wanted to
have the next one vaginally, so I chose a doctor who would be open to that
when I became pregnant with my second child. The delivery went okay - major
tearing, but my son was a healthy 8 1/2 pounder. The next baby was also born
vaginally. That delivery didn't go so well - my daughter was stuck (shoulder
dystocia) although I didn't know it at the time. Actually, I didn't know it
until almost five years later when my youngest was born. Luckily, the doctor
was able to turn her and she was delivered healthy, weighing 8lbs 6oz. Major
tearing again.
My fourth child was born exactly 14 months ago tomorrow. My pregnancy with
her was pretty uneventful - I did gain a lot of weight, but the all knowing
doctor never said anything about it, so I assumed it was no problem. Two
days past my due date the doctor decided to induce labor. He had induced the
last two because he didn't want the babies to get over 8 1/2 pounds - he
didn't think I could deliver one any bigger. He'd already told me that the
baby I was carrying was in the 9 pound range, so things weren't adding up.
But I TRUSTED him, afterall he's the doctor. My labor with the fourth one
seemed different from the start. At one point I heard the nurse talking to
the doctor on the phone. She told him that she thought he neede to come
right away. But did he? NO. He came about 45 minutes or an hour later.
The nurse had just discovered that "this baby's head is way bigger than I
thought". But her head wasn't the worst part - it was her shoulders.
Shoulder dystocia again...only this time I don't remember him trying the
fancy turns or maneuveres. She was STUCK! So, the doctor put a nurse on
each side of me, to pull my legs as far back as they possibly could. I had
two other nurses on top of me, pushing on my belly with all their might. And
the doctor had the vacuum extractor hooked to my baby's head and was pulling
so hard that later my husband told me " I thought he was going to pull her
damn head off"! He said it was the scariest thing he's ever seen. Well, we
got the baby out. She weighed 9 1/2 pounds. She was a funny blue color, and
she didn't breathe for what seemed like forever. I'll never forget the sound
of her first cry, or the tears of relief in my sweet husband's eyes, or her
wonderful new baby smell. But somehow I failed to notice that her left arm
was hanging limp. I didn't even realize it until late that night. No one
told us she was hurt, and when we figured it out nobody would tell us what
the problem was. We didn't fully understand what had happened until we got
home and began our own research. My daughter, Tess has a brachial plexus
injury. Maybe some of you know what that is, but I had never heard of it
until she was born. The brachial plexus is the bundle of nerves found in the
shoulder area. The nerves are the ones that control muscle function in the
arm. The nerves that control Tess's bicep and deltoid muscles were torn.
The tricep nerve was also injured, but not as seriously. There is a
wonderful clinic in Houston, Texas where they specialize in brachial plexus
injuries. We've traveled there several times, and she had surgery at Texas
Children's Hospital last September to graft the torn nerves, using bits of
nerve taken from her leg. We were told by her pediatrician that there is
nothing that can be done for nerve injuries. We had to learn everything we
know about it on our own.
Tess also has mild hypotonia (low muscle tone) probably due do a slight lack
of oxygen, and hip dysplasia, which will hopefully be resolved soon. My
daughter was perfectly healthy up until the moment she was born. She was
PERFECT. And now thanks to some know it all, egotistical, rushing to the
golf course doctor she's injured for life. Oh, they can fix her up (or, so
they say) but even with the best recovery, she'll never be the way she
should have been. And here's the really sad part...it all could have been
prevented. All the warning signs were there - previous shoulder dystocia,
large weight gain, big baby etc... See why I'll never again take a doctor's
word on anything? I'll question them every step of the way - it could be a
matter of life and death. What a way to learn a lesson.
I know I've gone on way too long here, and for that I'm very sorry. I'm not
even sure if I made the point I set out to make - I got kind of side tracked.
But it's late, and I'm much too tired to change anything now. Goodnight.
Jodye