Was this creepy?

[Rock97]

Long time lurker, first time poster. Had to ask this question because it’s eating me up. I’m currently 39 weeks and a few days ago I got discharged from hospital. I get admitted for a nasty chest infection. Had an appointment with emergency out of hours doctor and she referred me to A&E because my oxygen levels were a little low and it worried her. The staff at A&E were great and reassuring, checked me over and were satisfied with my blood tests, gave me some antibiotics and suggested taking it easy. However, before letting me go they wanted someone from the maternity team to check the babies heart rate to be on the safe side. This meant I needed to stay overnight and they decided to transfer me to the maternity ward. After being hooked up to the machine for an hour they said baby’s heart rate was a little high but nothing to worry about, they’d check again in the morning. Anyway I was still there at 5pm the following evening as the consultant had had a busy day on the Labour ward. The midwife was great and said she just needed him to review and I could be discharged. This is the creepy bit. The consultant turned up and straight away, with no conversation said he wanted to do an internal exam. I asked why and he said he thought I was in labour. I told him I clearly wasn’t in labour and was booked at a different hospital anyway so wouldn’t be staying, at this point even the midwife looked confused as she checked the chart from the machine and said everything was fine. At this point he went and got some gloves, pulled the curtain around me and requested I took off my bottoms so he could do an internal. I told him he wasn’t doing it and asked if the midwife could do it and he huffed and said yes, so she did it with what felt like some reluctance and confirmed I wasn’t in labour. Once she was finished she let me get dressed and the consultant had vanished and i was free to go home. It all just felt like he was trying to do an unnecessary intimate exam and has really made me suspicious, I really can’t see any medical reason and he couldn’t give me one. I’ve spoken to my husband and a friend and they both said it’s a bit creepy. Sorry for the long post.

You're 39 weeks pg, baby had increased heart rate, it doesn't seem unreasonable for a consultant to want to check whether you're in labour or not before discharging.

I agree with @Jacfrost

There are other ways to check if a woman is in labour.
This would put me on edge too.

Agree with *@Jacfrost

Yeah labour would usually be diagnosed by regular contractions and/or waters breaking. If they were worried baby’s heartbeat was up due to infection the last thing they’d be doing is a vaginal exam. They’d keep you in for further monitoring.

Yes, I don’t think was in the least a strange thing to request. You were obviously entirely within your rights to ask for a female midwife to do the exam, but in itself, I don’t think there was anything ‘creepy’.

You were completely within your rights to decline and I'd have done the same.

I don't think we can say whether or not the doctor was being creepy without being there. But regardless, if you'd rather decline then always do so.

You'll know if you're in labour.

I'd find that a bit weird and unsettling too.

My mum’s also had a chat with a friend who’s a retired midwife, she said it’s a bit odd but without knowing more she couldn’t really say if it’s something to be concerned about. She suggested mentioning it at next appointment or writing a letter to the hospital which should trigger a review.

I think it seems odd, especially if you were on a monitor that was recording no contractions.
Perhaps he was confused or had mixed you up with someone else if he had had a busy day though, rather than being creepy?

I’m an ex midwife & in my experience a lot of obstetricians think a vaginal exam is the answer to every late pregnancy related problem.

I did say that even if I was in labour I wouldn’t be staying and I’d be going to the hospital where I was booked. I had a previous bad experience during the birth of our son and wouldn’t stay there if you paid me. And, I was pretty certain I wasn’t in labour, or at least active labour. It just feels odd because I wasn’t showing any labour symptoms and the midwife had checked the heart trace and was satisfied with it, so what did he see that no one else did, especially as he didn’t even speak to me, he just turned up and insisted on doing an internal. We were just waiting for him to discharge me, something he probably could have done over the phone. Still feel it’s odd.

He was probably covering his own back in case anything was actually wrong and didn't want to be slapped with a lawsuit. Better safe than sorry.
He didn't even do the internal, the midwife did it, so I don't get what your beef is

Please don't write a letter. You asked to be examined by a midwife instead and your request was honoured. The consultant was probably super stressed from the sounds of how busy it was and didn't display the best bedside manner, but I can't understand why you would wish this man to go under review.

Many doctors go off with stress due to patient complaints. Some complaints are justified but this one just isn't. So that's potentially one less consultant on a busy labour ward. Nobody wins.

@RiderofRohan i agree. Just move on OP.

It's not really an odd request. You having an infection can sometimes trigger labour so they would be negligent to let you go without checking.

Also many people - sometimes medical staff included - sometimes have an over belief in the equipment. I gave birth to DD2 without ever having a contraction register on the monitor.

@Lunde this happened to me. I had an infection. I was leaking amniotic fluid which I didn't realise. Thank god someone examined me when they did

He needs to improve his communication skills is what I would suggest. He might be super stressed but you don’t treat patients / people like that. Why are we making excuses for poor professional behaviour?

I’m sorry but you can’t say my complaint isn’t unwarranted. I feel like it was an attempt at an unnecessary intimate exam. He didn’t even make an attempt to explain why he felt it was necessary. And I will be writing a letter, because this is how people get away with things.

Anytime I've ever had a internal exam by a man a female nurse always has to be in attendance watching closely.
It does sound odd but he must have had reason. Sometimes infections can trigger labour and him being a consultant probably has to make sure he's keeping hi himself right. If you were discharged without a thorough check then he'd probably be liable if something went wrong. He's probably doing this all day , it could have been a long shift and hes tired and maybe was stressed but I do agree better communication should have taken place

That’s fine, but I had absolutely no explanation, just a demand without even being asked a question.

As above poster said

It is unwarranted. Totally unwarranted. Write that letter but you'll still be wrong. Hopefully they see it for what it is and feed it to the shredder. He didn't do anything. He didn't get away with anything. You've had a lot of good advice on this thread, a lot of people telling you why he might have wanted to do an internal but are choosing to ignore it.

I hope this isn't how you approach other aspects of your life. Must be exhausting.

Just what an overstretched NHS needs, having to investigate and respond to utter nonsense.

Yep.