“At one point I asked her if I could go in shower but she said no because the monitors weren’t waterproof. The nurse that came in later said I could because they were waterproof... I was surprised again by this misinformation. I didn’t use the shower because by that point I was nearing pushing and had had an epidural. The OB team switched over and so did my midwife team. My midwife checked my cervix once and the OB did so the times after that. The OB was exceptionally rough with my cervix to the point where I asked her to take it easy because she was hurting me. Nothing changed and hours later during one of her last checks she said, “I was going to open your cervix and inch or two but didn’t because I didn’t think you’d like it”. Damn straight I wouldn’t have liked it! What happened to consent?”
“It took me a long time to get through the emotional and physical pain of my son’s birth after her rough handling. So many people need to come forward to CPSO and speak up against this doctor”
“I had to go to the ER after a month & a half for pelvic pain. I found out I still had tissue inside, so I had to get a D&C and then get restitched up. Now things down there don’t even look right - good thing I don’t wanna be a stripper! On top of that, I’m now waiting to get my child into physio at CHEO as he has torticollis, which (I’ll be finding out but I’m assuming) is from the trauma of his birth.”
“I was 28 years old, having my first baby so I did not know what to expect. I thought the care I received was the standard of care for everyone. It wasn’t until I had my daughter 11 months later with a different doctor & nurse that I realized how much of an impact they had on my first childbirth experience. I can’t help but think that if I was treated with respect & care I wouldn’t have had such bad postpartum depression.”
"It's been nearly nine years since the birth of my daughter, and although I've moved on from the birth experience I had, listening to the traumatic birth stories of others has made me want to share my own. I really hope that doctors and hospitals end up reading these stories to improve the care that they give to women giving birth in the future."
"Things need to change. Mothers need to be in charge of their delivery unless it is medically necessary for a doctor to take charge. In that instance the doctor needs to show respect. We as mothers need to be given the information to make informed decisions. Given options for our bodies and babies instead of being told what to do. We shouldn't feel unimportant or like a number/scheduled slot to the doctors delivering our babies."
"The OB said they might as well deliver her by forceps now, and said out loud "let's give this baby a little more room, shall we", and I heard and felt the scissors cut into me as he gave me an episiotomy."