Could a vet deliver a baby?

[Dogaredabomb]

I'm just pondering the crossover of medical and surgical skills between vets and doctors. I think a vet could do a cesarean in a pinch because they learn about such a wide variety of species.

I'm not pregnant.

I have worked in a vets and the vets did self diagnose and treat their own ailments

I had a similar experience when going through fertility treatment and explaining how we get the mares in foal! There were a large number of similar procedures we use with the mates and I’d argue their gynaecological care is far superior to what we offer women!

I am involved in advanced reproduction in mares and recently underwent fertility treatment - found it absolutely fascinating! I was having fun (transabdominally) scanning my growing follicles and the team at the clinic enjoyed my pics of our HUGE egg collection needles and the arm up the rectum to stabilise the ovary!
The eggs and embryos look basically the same. I need to tell my clients to stop complaining about their success rates as they're much better than human IVF!

I've maintained for years that in a zombi apocalypse/ desert island a vet is likely to be more useful than a doctor. Doctors are mostly just so specialised now that I reckon we're much more comfortable treating all body systems and having a go at things from basic principles instead of knowing the exact answer. I remember talking to an ankle surgeon during covid who just couldn't understand why our horse ventilator (tiday volume 5-10 litres) wouldn't be appropriate for a human.... Of course we refer more and more to veterinary specialists now but there's still plenty of cases where the budget and situation means we have to 'have a go'.

In the States in living history black people often had to have their teeth removed by vets as so many white dentista refused to treat them.

I’d worry they would produce a calving jack and chains let alone the up to the armpit glove. I did meet a South American girl from a wealthy family who was a vet but retraining as a doctor because when she went to treat animals in a very poor remote area they asked her why she would help animals but not people

My dad says this too. Also that if you don’t know what’s wrong with you go to a vet, as they diagnose animals who can’t talk. He says this EVERY time someone in the family is ill….

Most people can assist in an uncomplicated vaginal delivery; I've talked a good few people through it and feel confident I could do it myself.

A c section is another matter, doctors or vets only for me please 🤣

Some people will have no choice
A friend of mine went into labour early on the morning her partner walked her 12 year old daughter to her parents intending to get back to his partner and get to hospital because obviously normally Labour, s last for hours when he got back about half an hour later his partner was in active child birth the head was half out
I guess birth is so unpredictable my own two births took hours and hours and needed lots of intervention.

Years ago I knew a man who as a young boy grew up on a horse farm. When a neighbour went into labour miles away from town he delivered the baby. The baby needed turning and he knew how to do this at 13 as he did it all the time with horses. Baby was delivered safely and he thought it no big deal at 13, so I would think a vet could in most circumstances.

It's also very competitive to get into vet science. Vets have to cover many different types of animals and their unique systems, whereas doctors only one.

I heard that the training for a vet is 7 years and for a doctor 10 years. Obviously including all the placements.

It is usually 5 years to become a vet. You complete your degree and off you go. No placements, nothing.

Doctors also do a 5 year degree, they then have 2 years foundation training and then specialty training for at least another 3 years, but up to 8.

I don't know why the rumour persists that vets are better qualified and some people think the training is longer. We really aren't. The training is broader and a lot more general in order to cover more species, but the stakes are a lot lower.

I work at UoB - vet med, medicine and dentistry are all 5 year courses and all have clinical placements.

When myself and my sister were little, my sister got a (fairly nasty) skin infection on the back of her head - the doctors were pretty useless, didnt know what it was, didnt treat it. My dad took her to the vet - who diagnosed it immediately and told him to take her straight to hospital - which he did - she had sepsis and required emergency surgery

Yep, I've helped a few fathers-to-be and grans-to-be assist with birth on the bathroom floor! (Ex 999 call handler). Adrenaline kicks in and even the most nervous people do amazing things.

I was in labour for 48 hours 🤢 I envied the "shot out on the bathroom floor" people 🤣

Animals are very different to humans so not to be recommended! The vet would also find him/herself in court, because in the U.K the only person who can be hands on at a birth is a Midwife or Obstetrician.

My grandfather and great grandfather were men of all trades - they owned a chemists shop and at the side was a treatment room where they practised dentistry and optical work. During the wars they were the go to folks when an animal needed to be pts. (Also home kept pigs etc 🙄).
And when my friend had a seizure on a long haul flight we had a nurse sitting behind and a retired nurse to the side. The most helpful person without a doubt (after I’d given rescue meds obviously) was the vet in the next row.

What we can learn from animals is that they often birth in a quiet, sometimes dark place and are in a position that they are comfortable in for birth. They don’t have constant interruptions and questions, people coming in and out. The difference in labour and birth in the home environment is phenomenal.
Okay it is not for everyone, but if you are healthy and don’t develop health complications during pregnancy I would certainly recomend it.

We did this
Just remember not to tell the pharmacist you are buying it for an animal because they won't sell it to you

I know of an idiot who tried to do this with a horse and a car many years ago
Didn't end well for mother or baby

My friend was delivered by her neighbour vet in a car. No C section, but premature baby so potentially complicated.

Also fwiw another friend married a dairy farmer and he was really knowledgeable about breastfeeding!

My dad was a vet. He was furious when I was pregnant and the midwife taking bloods left my arm black and blue. He said if he could take blood from a chihuahua without bruising it, a human should be a doddle. He was also horrified that they couldn't tell by examining me whether I was due to deliver in a day or two, apparently it's obvious in cows!!!

So years ago when I was heavily pregnant with DD (she’s 13 now!), I had a horse who was a yearling (so coming up to or aged around 1yo) and my vet had to come out and x ray his legs. I started going into labour and we did have a joke about him delivering her at the yard. I did ask if he could do it should he need to and he did say yes, but we both would have rather I didn’t!

I did go into hospital that night and gave birth the next day.

Obviously it wasn’t the dramatic movie style labour, I mean my waters didn’t even break until they broke it in hospital. I was very glad they didn’t as my vet is very attractive and I’m sure he is glad I didn’t as he is gay and I can’t imagine he would have wanted to see my vagina, so there’s also that!!