Crappy appointment. Need advice.

nanannah24 · June 2012

Up until 2 weeks ago, I was planning my VBAC wih no interruptions and not a chance of wavering from my decision. Well now my OB is on maternity leave and it's looking like the rest of the docs in my practice aren't as supportive of my plan. I'm due August 4th and she probably won't be back in time to deliver me. My last appointment was my first with a different doctor and it was terrible First he just assumed I was having a RCS without even checking my charts, then when I told him my plans to VBAC, he basically told me 50 different times that my baby and I are going to die if I go through with my choice. He said "yes, we can avoid surgeries for all sorts of things. Some people can walk off a ruptured appendix l, but still someone will die." and that "even breech babies fall out eventually but the way we do it is safer". It was all I could do not to cry right there. He said it would take a lot for a mother to be able to come to that decision knowing the risk to our lives, so he was also implying I was stupid for even considering it. I've already paid for my OB so switching providers isn't an option unfortunately. I see another in the practice on so I'm hoping he's better, but I'm really worried that he won't be, and if he isn't I'm concerned about having to fight everyone for what I want. Also, my family (dh and mom) are less than supportive about my decision so I'm just not sure what I should do.

iris427 · June 2012

I would look for a new practice and then call the office manager and explain that you are leaving the practice and you want to be refunded for the services that you won't be using (e.g. the rest of your prenatal care, delivery and postpartum costs). That doctor sounds awful, sorry you are dealing with this. You can refuse a scheduled c/s but a doctor who is that unsupportive of VBAC will be looking for a reason to section you and it can be hard to stand your ground during labor. You always have the option of firing your doctor during labor and asking for another doctor but then you still have the billing issue.

Seabiscut3 · June 2012

That is crazy. I can't believe doctors are still giving the "you will die" speech. The risk of maternal death is actually higher with an RCS. The risk of bad fetal outcomes is "choose your poison" -- risk of cutting and breathing problems in RCS, risk of lack of oxygen during labor for VBAC -- but a very, very small risk (about 1 in 3,000 as long as you are not induced).

Here is a link to the abstract of the New England Journal of Medicine article where I got this information (I did some of the math myself before I had my VBAC):

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15598960

I found this article after I got a similar "scary speech" from a supposedly VBAC-friendly doctor. (So I have been there, and it sucks). I didn't switch then but am switching if we do this again. Are you delivering at a hospital where the doc on call will deliver you? The hospital policy on VBAC will probably make an even bigger difference than the doc you see for visits.

nanannah24 · June 2012

Thank you ladies! I believe it does end up being whoever is on call, I'll have to check for sure. The hospital and the committee in charge of approving vbac candidates both gave me the go ahead so hopefully their decision will matter more than one fear monger doctor. Regardless, I'll request not to see him again. I just can't believe I'm in this situation, and like you said, it's only going to get harder to advocate for myself while in labor. Thanks for the info also, sending this straight to be my husband lol

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