Do I have a say over which members of the medical staff are in the room when I deliver?

Question

For reasons I will not get in to here, I do not trust male doctors at all, especially male ob/gyn's. I have a female doctor and I am very happy about this. But I just found out today that when I will be delivering my first baby, there will be a resident in the room with the doctor and nurses, and he will most likely be male. I am not comfortable with this at all and I am freaking out.

If I don't want him in the room, will they ask him to leave? I am already petrified of childbirth and I don't want something else to worry about. Since I am so scared, I want as little people as possible in the room because the birth of my child isn't going to be a spectator sport.

Thank you so much to everyone that takes the time to read and answer this!

As for the person who said I should "buck up", I was molested by a male doctor. So no, I am not "sweating the small stuff."

Answer 1

You defiantly have a say. I had my first two at University Hospital in New Orleans (which thanks to Katrina is not there). They asked me before students came in my room. As delivery approached I asked that just the doctor and nurses stay and they honored my wishes. It was getting to busy in there and I wasn't concentrating with all the residents. I said sorry but they told me don't apologize that I had control of who come in and who don't. Speak UP!!!!!

Answer 2

When you are in the throws of labor and in pain, I don't think you will even notice who is in the room. And you may not have a choice - its whomever is on duty that day.

May I suggest something? Have you considered having your baby delivered by a midwife? You can have your baby at a birthing center, delivered by a midwife. The downside to birthing centers is they usually do not admisinster pain medications, but offer alternatives to a relaxing childbirth (relaxing in a bath, for example). In addition, if you choose to have your baby at a birthing center and you end up with some complications (placenta previa, breach or need to be induced) you will end up at the hospital.. Some hospitals work in conjunction with birthing centers and allow the midwife in the hospital to deliver your baby and assist with labor. That way, you have a female delivering your baby but there could still be the need for a doctor at the actual time of delivery of your baby.

You could also schedule and induction on a day when you know that there will be a mostly female staff at the hospital, if you wanted to take it that far.

As for your birth not being a spectator sport, sometimes the additional medical personnel are necessary in case of complication. When I had my first baby, I had Pregnancy Induced Hypertension. At the time of delivery, I had the following people in the room: sister, mother, husband for support, my midwife, 3 labor and delivery nurses, an ob/gyn to administer medication for my PIH and 4 neonatal nurses - and you know what, I had no idea there were that many people in the room at the time until I saw the pictures! So, try to relax about the people in the room. Sometimes it takes a village to deliver a baby!

I hope you end up with a satisfying birth experience. Don't get all panicked or upset because the stress is not good for you or your baby! Good luck!

Answer 3

First of all, stop worrying about childbirth! You hear horror stories and all kinds of terrible things about childbirth, but it's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. It's painful, I'm not going to deny that, but once the baby is born, the pain goes away. Please stop worrying about the childbirth! It's not good for you or the baby to stress out.
Secondly, yes, you can ask that the resident not be in the room. As a matter of fact, you can request that no students or residents be in the room and they will listen to you. Now, as for having a male/female obgyn, I don't want to worry you anymore than you already are, but when you go into labor (unless you are induced) you will get the on call obgyn. There is no guarantee that the doctor will be a woman. I know that you are uncomfortable and I would talk to your doctor about your concerns. She'll will tell you exactly how things will go and she can calm all your worries. Good luck with the baby! I hope this helps.

Answer 4

While you as a patient do have the right to pick your doctor and hospital, you have a lesser right to pick and choose the support staff. For example, hospitals often have a contract arrangement for Radiology, Anesthesia and Laboratory services. They must hire qualified staff and disqualifying someone based upon sex is NOT allowed. It is quite possible when you come to deliver some or ALL of the available staff that day will be male, including the OB nurse, laboratory technician and anesthesia provider.

As long as your primary physician is there, she can do what she can in keeping with your wishes. But do not expect to be able to dictate everything. (On the flip side, men have had to take female nurses for years as they had no choice in the matter. Imagine being a young healthy male getting an enema from a female nurse.)

Answer 5

If you're comfortable doing this, talk to your female obgyn and explain to her that it makes you apprehensive to think about delivering w/ a male in the room. (I totally understand your feelings- I'm the same way. No male OBYGNs for me, either!). I don't know if this applies everywhere, but hospitals where I live have a paper you can sign giving (or denying) interns/nursing students/etc. the ability to be in the room during medical procedures. Check into that, too. If that's offered, check the place on the form that says you do not want interns/nursing students/whoever else besides your obgyn in the room with you. It's your birthing experience- you should have the right to be comfortable and at ease with the process.

Answer 6

If you are having your baby at a teaching hospital you have to sign something to say you understand this and it is ok with you. If it is not ok with you, you do not have to sign it and no one other than essential medical personnel will be involved in your care, and that is ok.

You should talk to your Dr about this prior to going into labour, and you should also talk to your Dr about the actual chance that she will be delivering your baby. Very often doctors share on call and you may not have a female doctor anyway.

It is your body, your birth and you get to say who is there. You may wish to look into hiring a doula, they can help keep unnecessary people out of the room and be an enormous support for women who are scared and have issues surrounding their pregnancy. By the way have you talked to your Dr about the reason you do not want males around...it is important for her to know this.

Happy Birthing, may it be wonderful.

Answer 7

Depends on your hospital's policies. You'll need to talk to the hospital. Some hospitals are "teaching" hospitals and it's stated on your admittance papers that interns, students or residents are allowed to view all procedures. If the hospital does not have that listed as a policy, you can refuse the resident's attendance. BUT during my labor there were 3 different doctor's in and out during the day. The only female was my normal doctor! Also, if your doctor is not on call, or working during your delivery they will not page your doctor for the delivery. These are all things to consider....I would talk to your doctor further. Good Luck though and I do apologize for other people's ignorance.

Answer 8

yes you have a say who's in the delivery room! If they give you a hard time explain to them why. Are you sure that a female dr will be delivering your baby? what if a male dr is on-call that day? plan ahead. my cousin had her baby induced 1 wk earlier to be guaranteed that the dr would be her dr and not the other dr in the practice (my cousin's dad had sued the other dr after he built her a mansion and she refused to pay for some of the things he built for her) my cousin wanted to make sure the other dr did not have a "conflict of interest" while caring for her.Also you must keep in your mind not all birth plans go according to plan. i had planned on a mid-wife, nurse and my husband in the room. ended up getting transferred to another hospital(complications) with a room full of male residents(at least you knew about it ahead of time mine was a surprise after opening my eyes while pushing) so let your husband and nurse know what away that you will not allow male dr into the room . good luck and relax and enjoy your pregnancy knowing that you are in control.

Answer 9

Yes, it is your right to say who is in the room during childbirth. Your doctor should respect your wishes on who can be there or not, especially if it is only a resident. They don't exactly have to be there since they're not your doctor and not even a practicing physician.

Childbirth is scary, but you just have to put it in your head that yes, it's going to be painful but it's something you can get through. Don't go in worrying about, just get there and get it over with. You will be fine.

Answer 10

You can definitely make your wishes known, but it's possible that you may not have any control over it. If your doctor is a female who has male partners, she may not be on call (or the one to deliver you) when you go into labor. If you are delivering at a teaching hospital, you have little control over the resident, intern and student traffic. It comes with the territory. Also, you may encounter males who work in anesthesia, respiratory therapy, radiology, lab or other areas you may not be able to avoid.

Talk with your doctor and see if you can come up with a plan, but be prepared in case things don't work out the way you want. When it comes time for you to actually deliver, I guarantee you won't care one whit about who's watching.