January 2015 - I was 32 weeks pregnant (with my first) when I went for my routine checkup with the OB, who I had only seen once before. With KGH being a teaching hospital, it is very common for students to do some part of the check up. I was having horrible pains which was dismissed as normal by a male student because I wasn't sure if they were contractions. When my OB finally entered the room he was quick to say, "Everything looks fine, see you in two weeks." I very quickly explained that I wanted to discuss the pains I was having as it was becoming unbearable. He immediately said, "There's no way you're in preterm labour." and walked out of the room. Not once did he examine me in any sort of way, or even let me explain the type of pains I was having.
Two days later, I was admitted to the hospital and was told I was in preterm labour. The only reason I had gone to the hospital was due to some bleeding, not because of the pain because I trusted him when he told me I was fine. At that point I was given different medications to slow my labour and to help develop my babies lungs. None of this worked and not even 12 hours later I was being told that I would have my baby sometime within the next 24 hours.
After a few days, our baby stayed put and I was allowed to go home on the condition that I saw my OB within 2 days. Only hours after being home, my OB's secretary called and informed me that they did not need to see me within a few days and that he would see me the following week at my regular scheduled appointment. Three days later, I awoke to a wetness and assumed my water had broken, only to discover it was blood. A pool of blood on my bed, myself covered in blood and I then passed several large clots. I had a placental abruption and was hospitalized again.
About 12 hours later, the bleeding slowed and my OB tried to send me home. Thankfully another OB stepped in and said "There is no way we are sending her home in this condition." The next day my daughter was born at 33 weeks. During the delivery, the on-call OB had come in to check on me and because my daughter was a preemie said "It shouldn't be taking this long ." She then proceeded to yell at me, "You're not pushing hard enough!" The nurse who had been with my the entire day stepped in and explained that I was pushing as hard as I could. Only to find out that I had so many different medications in me from the past week, as well as the epidural, so I couldn't feel anything.
Absolutely it has impacted me. When I got pregnant with my second child I refused to have the same OB again as my risks for placental abruption and preterm labour were even higher. How could I trust him as a doctor when he didn't take things serious the first time around?
I believe in my case the only factor that was used against me was that I had never been pregnant before so everything I felt and experienced was pushed aside as if I was just being paranoid.
I did not write a complaint because at the time I was focused on taking care of my premature baby who was in the NICU. Looking back I wish I had filed a complaint. The entire experience completely traumatized me, giving me horrible PPD, PPA and PTSD. I wrote a small portion of my story in hopes of helping to raise awareness.
