I have a colleague who is a brutal midwife. She does not hesitate to use a
drip of syntocinon full speed so the woman gives birth very fast (2 or 3
hours). Sometimes(far too often)the baby shows signs of suffering. She then
dilates the cervix forcefully with fingers, and calls the obstetrician for
a forceps. (If a woman wishes an epidural-free birth she acts the same way,
a bit less brutal maybe but hardly. Maybe the baby has less cause for
suffering, but the mother, more).
This time she welcomes a woman for her third birth. It is around 8 p.m., so
I believe she speeds up the labour as she does usually. The baby starts to
show slight discomfort. The dilatation is 8 cm. She calls the registrar for
help. The registrar tries forceps to no avail (too much difficulty with the
cervix and a preceding case of injured baby). So she stops, and they decide
on a cesarean. They have no special worry and do not listen anymore to the
trace. When the baby is born, it is not alive anymore.
It is a very sad story for mother and baby but it is a strong sign that
such brutal behaviour with women and babies is wrong. I hope she can hear
this warning (is it the proper word? As she had already warnings before
with babies escaping dips and bradycardia. But did she care? She thought
she proved right most of the time.)
-Anon.
Reprinted from Midwifery Today E-News (Vol 2 Issue 18 May 5, 2000
)
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