Was it right for the doctor to do this?

Question

I was only two days overdue when I went in for my last doc appointment before the induction. The doc that saw me was not my regular doc, she was overseeing a delivery. The doc said that he was checing for dilation, and I know that routine, they did tht every single appointment. But it hurt really bad,and i was trying to move away from the doctor and I asked him what he was doing. I was starting to get scard because dilation checks don't feel like what he was doing. He said that he was trying to strip the membrane to throw me into labor. Now, am I being overly sensitive about this or should he have told me what he was actually doing befor ehe just went ahead and did it. The baby is almost 4 months old now, but this still bothers me. He works at a resients clinic and I have a good relationship with the doctor that oversees the clinic. I was wondering if I should report him or do docs do thid on a regular basis. Bear in mind that I did not ask him to do this.

Also I was not having any labor signs whatsoever yet, and everything that i have read says that they usually do this when you are already showing signs of labor. Feel free to correct me on that if I'm wrong.

PPl, this guy works at a resident's clinic, nothing of this type should be routine to him yet. i am just worried about another bad doctor making it into mainstream practice.

And the scenarios are different because they are about different children.

Answer 1

I would tell the clinic and report him!!! Doctors are always suppose to tell you what they are gonna do BEFORE they do it. When i worked in a nursing home i was required to tell patients everything that i was going to be doing, even though most of them couldn't talk to me. What he did was wrong, and you have every right to be mad!

Answer 2

I don't think he did anything terribly wrong. He did tell you what exactly he was doing after you asked, but he really should have told you beforehand.

While I don't think he needs to be in tons of trouble over it, it wouldn't hurt to call your doctor and explain what happened and ask that he be told to explain procedures to patients before he does them. If he is a new doctor in the practice, he may have just not been used to the standard procedure.

Some doctors are different than others, so I wouldn't get too worked up about it anymore. It's been 4 months and you are okay, but it wouldn't hurt for you to just make him aware of what he did so that he can become a better doctor.

Answer 3

I think that he behaved in an uncalled for way. I would have been heavily offended if someone performed something like that without my consent.

However, let me be devil's advocate -

Unfortunately, as time wears on, many doctors start to see patients in a different way. It sort of becomes a process, and they perform the same tasks on people every single day. In doing so, you fall into routine - in his mind, he probably felt that since you were overdue it would be time to try to encourage your body to go into labor. He's probably done it hundreds or times, and it was like a reflex response - just something you would do in that situation.

I know that when working with people or animals it is especially important not to fall into the trap of seeing them in a very sterile, job-related way. However, it's difficult not to.

When I was in the military I worked in the medical field, and after drawing blood from hundreds of soldiers, for instance, it just becomes an in-and-out thing, natural, like a sneeze. He was probably doing what he knew in his heart he had to do, without meaning to offend you. He thought it was what was best for you and the baby.

If you want to pursue charges, or to report him, you might put him through a lot of crap. He might have meant no harm to you; I can only imagine how terrible it would be if he was suspended for some time or even lost his job because of something like this, especially during the Christmas season.

Since you WERE overdue, and removing the membrane is an EXTREMELY common response to an overdue woman, I think you should accept what happened and try to move on. From now on make sure you make clear to any doctor or nurse attending you exactly what you want and make sure you know what they plan to do before they put their fingers in your bodily cavities - sometimes these doctors are so tired they are working on auto pilot.

Answer 4

You could instead ask a general question about policies for overdue patients, and policies for performing procedures with/without patients consents. I know in the case of inducing, things like that are often stated out.

Why Im hesitant on reporting even though I believe he should have asked you. Malpractice insurance for OB/GYNs is out of control, with many new/future docs not wanting to go into it or practice in certain states because of it. Besides yahoo answers, Id look into it a little further first.

Answer 5

A lot of doctors do this, that is the stretching of the cervix, so that the stimuli from it causes the release of more oxitocyn (the hormone that gives you contractions) so you can start a more active stage of labor. I still think he should have told you what he was going to do, since it is a rather painful procedure for some patients.

Answer 6

It sounds normal to me. You need to chill out and stop trying to second guess everything the doctor does. And why in the would would you report him???

When you asked what he was doing, he told you, right? You might not have asked him to do it, but you did want to have that baby, didn't you? Would it have occured to you to ask him to do this? Most likely not.

These days, everyone is sue/report happy....they have no medical knowledge, but they are positive that the doctor is wrong no matter what he does. Granted, there are some docs that should not be practicing, but that's in any profession.

If you want to know what the doctor is doing minute by minute, then when you go into his office, tell him that so he can give you a blow by blow report.

Answer 7

You need to report him to your regular doctor and to the medical board in your area. It is your body and the doctor should have your consent before he does something like this. I believe it was very wrong. If you do nothing else you should tell your regular doctor. Your regular doctor will want to know how badly this doctor is treating patients. I am very sorry this happened to you.

Answer 8

Because it scared you . Yes, do report it.
Sometimes this happens. They get in there own mind just as we do when we are doing something. But I think they forget they are working with a person.
"I have seen it in hospise to, ticks me off. I allways tell what i am doing and what I am going to do. And if they do not want something I wait till later after they understand it is needed."

I wanted to add...
He wont get into trouble...but it might help him with others, so they do not have to go through the same anger.

Answer 9

why don't you whine about your doctor and complain so you can get some money, that will help everyone. Yeah you should go ahead and contribute to the rise and instability in health care costs.

Answer 10

Yes he should have informed you of what he was doing atleast so you would know what to expect and I would file a complaint