if Ob/gyns don't deliver babies, who does?

[MeowMix]

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I am very curious about this. If everyone leaves practice, are women just going to pop out their own babies? Or are midwives mysteriously going to appear out of the paneled walls of labor and delivery suites? Or nurses? Seriously, who is delivering babies in these places?

 

[dj_smooth]

in the UK the midwives do ALL the deliveries until things go south and they have to page an OB to bail them out. Dunno if that's they way the US is heading.

 

[Lizzy]

Midwives are commonly sought after by alternative option seekers, along w/ the likes of "birth balls, underwater births, etc." I've worked w/ midwives on many occassions and they are incredible at what they do. I may prefer to have a midwife delivery my own babies.

However, they're not trained or licensed to manage complicated pregnancies. Midwives also cannot use forceps or vacuums, or do cesareans either. Another thing to take into consideration is that there are now more options and interventions to achieve and carry on difficult pregnancies that may not have taken place otherwise. Take IVF and multiple gestation pregnancies for an example. You need a REI and a MFM to manage such patients. So yes, obstetricians will always be in need... just not as many as you would like, unfortunately, thanks to malpractice rates.

 

[Janice]

Originally posted by MeowMix
I am very curious about this. If everyone leaves practice, are women just going to pop out their own babies? Or are midwives mysteriously going to appear out of the paneled walls of labor and delivery suites? Or nurses? Seriously, who is delivering babies in these places?

Don't worry about that. Women have always done whatever they have needed to do without any problems, until somebody decided that they were becoming too smart, and that being smart was not good for a woman's health. Especially her emotional health.

Some women have delivered their own baby and live to tell about it. Ha Ha Ha.

As for midwives, their level of skill at delivering babies is very high. Rates a 9-10 on the scale.

I happen to know for a fact that there was a hospital in Illinois where nurses delivered most of the babies, because they were unable to get in touch with the doctor. The nurses delivered the babies and the doctor got the cash.

I doubt very seriously that the doctor found it an inconvenience. After all, why would he?

If every male doctor decided suddenly to leave the practice of gynecology, women would have no problem getting a quick replacement! No problem at all!

 

[irisheyes]

Your husband called...he wants his p**is back.....ouch!!! Seriously though..YOU NEED HELP.

 

[GeddyLee]

If every male doctor decided suddenly to leave the practice of gynecology, women would have no problem getting a quick replacement! No problem at all!

The problem isn't MALE docs leaving the Ob/Gyn specialty....it's that a hell of a lot of ALL Ob/Gyn docs are giving of OB! Of course, being someone who is actually in residency or med school, you would know that, right? I can't help but think you come across a little uninformed about things.

You see, Janice, the problems facing this specialty are much broader than your idea that men shouldn't be practicing ob/gyn. Both men and women doctors are giving up obstetrics due to skyrocketing malpractice premiums and the increasingly litiginous nature of the specialty. Frivolous lawsuits, increasing overhead, and reimbursements that aren't increasing in congruance with the increased cost of practice are causing a mass exodus from many states of their OB's. A lot of states are in such a crisis that pregnant women wouldn't care who takes care of them....male, female, young or old...they are in pretty desparate situations. I think your decidedly anti-male viewpoint begs the question of why you feel this way?

So, despite your belief that women will have no problem finding a replacement if all male docs leave the specialty, I think you are very wrong. There are already shortages of Ob/Gyns. If all the male docs quit...it would take quite some time to fill their spots. I wish you would think before you go around spouting your femi-nazi ideals.

 

[cguidr4]

Geddylee,

I couldn't agree with you anymore abou that uber "femi-nazi" Janice that is ruining this forum for males interested in OB/GYN. I pray to god every night that they don't pay attention to her.

 

[Al Pacino]

Originally posted by Janice


I happen to know for a fact that there was a hospital in Illinois where nurses delivered most of the babies, because they were unable to get in touch with the doctor. The nurses delivered the babies and the doctor got the cash.

I doubt very seriously that the doctor found it an inconvenience. After all, why would he?

So f**king what? I'm a third year medical students and I have delivered babies by myself too, but if my wife were ever pregnant I would want an Ob-GYN present. 95% pregnancies are normal and you're right, a student could deliver the baby.

However, it's the 5% of the time when **** happens that you want a freaking doc there.

You pay the Obgyn the bick bucks when a baby has non-reassuring heart tracing and you need the doc to do the crash C-section right then and there to save the life of the baby.

You pay the big bugs for the ob-gyn when the pt is hemorrhaging to near death from retained placental products. 2L of the blood is gushing forth from the vagina on your feet with pt turning pale while and blood pressure 50/30...you want a nurse there at that moment?

You pay the big bucks ot the ob-gyn when your pt has just ruptured her uterus while attempting a vaginal delivery for a vaginal trial of labor after a previous C-section.

You pay the big bucks for the obgyn when the baby's head is stuck at the pelvis and the umbilical cored is pressed down, necessing the needs for a forceps delivery.


Janice, you're big-time troll, and a bad one at that.

 

[SM-UCLA tech]

I agree with everyone here that Janice doesn't know what she is talking about. I worked in labor and delivery for 10 years before I came to medical school. My experience was that there were at least as many women who preferred male doctors as there were women who preferred female doctors.

 

[bustbones26]

Wow,

Okay back to the point, I think that midwives do a fine job and yes, you're all right, there are times where the doc does not get there in time and the nurses must do what they have to do.

But lets get back to the topic, who is going to deliver the babies? Well, I do not think it will be long before there is a crisis with a shortage of ob/gyn docs due to malpractice. Hopefully, uncle sam can get a grip and do something about this, I mean CA does a fine job, why can't the rest of the 49 states? It's on y a matter of time before this happens.

One thing nobody has pointed out here yet, so allow me to do it, a midwive can deliver, a med student can, a nurse can, but if anything goes wrong, it is the doctor that gets sued. Taking on that amount of liability is a big responsibility. When a midwive is part of an OB/GYN practice, the doctors that are her bosses are basically saying they trust the midwive's skills because if the midwife was less than adequate, it is the doctor that gets blamed.

Okay now lets move onto the man vs. women thing. Look people talk to any man that wants to be an ob/gyn (just for the record, I do not want to be one). You will find that a number of these guys have wives and families of their own. I knew one guy in particular that was dead set on being a cardiologist until his wife had a baby. There is a lot of joy in pregnancy and pregnancy care. It is a privlege to deliver a baby.

Some women are uncomfortable with a man as their ob/gyn, well, that is okay, there is nothing wrong with that. But just for the record, not all men ob/gyn's are scum! I know of one doc in my community, when he left, the women were upset because his replacement (a women) was, get this, this comes from the mouths of his patients, the women replacement was actually less sensitive and less caring than the man she replaced.

When it is time to deliver a baby, or do a gyn exam, no matter who you are, man or women, you are there to do a job, your focus at that point should be on what your job is. If there is anybody out there, man, and yes, even woman, that is having perverted thoughts during one of these exams, it will not be long before that person gets sued by a patient.

 

[acuteobrn]

Interesting. First off, I am a practicing OB nurse in IL who has done my fair share of deliveries, but as a RN you WANT that OB there. We don't try and create and allow this to happen if possible, there some RNs who do but they are few and far between. Of course there are instenses when try all you want, OB may be two doors down and that kid comes w/ next UC, what can you do? I know of certain OBs that will hesitate to come in and RNs do their deliveries but in no way is this the norm.

There was an article, I believe published by the Chicago Trib that was commenting on the crisis and that it is now effecting CNMs as well there is less enrollement and a decrease in the practice specifically involving UIC's CNM program. I don't know where this is heading but from what I remember there was talk of closing down that hospital's midwife program. I believe for reason's of OB insurace coverage to cover the CNM and the CNM med-mal insurance as well.

Wonder where all this is heading but there is a definate need to have stipulations and caps in place.

Commenting on Bustbones: Yes it is true that the MD will be named in the lawsuit, however, the lawyers know to go after the hospitals and effectively employees of the hospital, because that is where more money is. And if it is a delay in treatment case, as are most, the CNM and the RN take a big fall for this, ie..."failure to notify the covering MD" in this case. Or in cases of shoulder dystocia there was a case in the headlines a few years ago stating that the RN used "fundal pressure" which effectively compressed the nerve and caused unnecessary nerve damage and that case awarded $13.5 mil, which was paid by the hospital. I believe that the attending was also found guity but for different reasons, the hospital paid the bulk. The OB, who was well respected and in practice for many years, unfortunately retired to GYN after this case. I can name at least 10 OBs that have stopped doing OB d/t to these problems as well as at least 10 others who have moved, mostly to CA for the same reasons.

It is clear to me that we are heading into a huge crisis for OBs in this state, and unclear what is being done to rectify it, but there is talk. Only time will tell.

As for the Janice remarks...well, I seriously don't think that this is common practice and that a whole hospital could get away w/ this. There is a chain of command set into place to deal w/ these situations and I garentee that RNs are not willing to put their hard earned license on the line to allow this to continue happening. I could see a few OBs but a whole hospital of them???? Makes me wonder. And I won't even touch the other remarks made about male vs. female OBs...
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