Liubov Levytska - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
When you go to a hospital to have a baby, you expect to have medical professionals by your side to ensure that you have the least painful and traumatic experience as possible.
Unfortunately, that’s not always what happens.
In February, TikToker Brittany (@allegedlybrittany) had her fifth baby and fourth C-section at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital.
Without her consent, a student doctor performed the epidural spinal tap. She ended up getting a spinal leak and a spinal headache that she had to treat with a blood patch later on.
But that wasn’t even the worst part. Most horrific of all, she was not numb when the doctors cut open her stomach to deliver the baby. Brittany had to be put under anesthesia and missed her son’s birth entirely.
After all that trauma, she wrote a formal complaint to the hospital, hoping for accountability. Instead, she received a disappointing and insulting letter in response. There was no apology, and no steps were taken to remedy the issue.
The letter read, “We are unable to release specific information related to your review, considering…However, just know we are taking this feedback very seriously, and it will be addressed internally.”
Several TikTok users in the comments section sympathized with Brittany and commiserated over the current state of the healthcare system, while others shared similar incidents they went through at hospitals.
“They cleared my newborn daughter with severe jaundice to go home with me; two days later, she was rushed to Elliot in an ambulance because she was unresponsive,” commented one user.
Liubov Levytska – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
“Wow, same thing happened to me when I had my son in September of last year. The epidural didn’t work, numbed one side of me, and they apparently ordered the wrong items they needed and gave me what they had. I wouldn’t have another child there,” stated another.
“This honestly doesn’t surprise me. That hospital is so bad. They once gave me an IV and sent me back to the waiting room. The IV ruptured; I begged multiple people to look at it, and no one cared. I ended up having them remove it, and I left after sitting there for 13 hours like that,” chimed in a third.
@Wentworth-Douglass Hospital I was clearly very upset when I made this video and didn’t give many details so I’ll do my best to list them here for more clarity. There is also another video that goes into a lot more detail on my page. -I was told by the anesthesiologist that a female anesthesia nurse would be doing my epidural/spinal block combo. I was never asked or told that a student would be doing it, I would have politely declined. -I didn’t know the male student was doing the epidural/spinal block until I heard the anesthesia nurse actively correcting him -I told them multiple times I could feel it on my left side when they did the poke test then the last time after giving me more medication she did a wet wipe test and I stated I couldn’t feel that. Turns out I couldn’t feel that but could feel the poke tests was because the tip layer was numb but once they got to my muscle I was not numb -Once the anesthesiologist was called into the OR the anesthesia nurse was telling him what she did step by step and asking him what she did wrong to which he (angrily) stated once I told them I could still feel it in my left side they should have sat me up and redid the epidural/spinal block and that she should never use a wet wipe for a test I’m upset that all of this was avoidable. I have severe PTSD from this birth, I cry all the time, both my husband and I missed the birth of our son and I didn’t get to meet him for hours after he was born. Having your muscles cut with a scalpel is unbelievably painful. I have also spoken to a midwife, counselor and patient advocate that all confirmed I 100% should have been asked if a student could preform the epidural/spinal block. I posted this video to raise awareness and I’m glad I did because multiple other women have come forward and messaged me with similar experiences and or their own horror stories. If we can’t get justice for this because we don’t have the money to hire attorneys we should at least tell our stories in the hopes that that will get them to do better for us. I please ask that everyone be kind though and if you have questions I’m open to answering anything. But this is still a very real and raw trauma for me that I am actively working through. Thank you medicalmalpractice csection laborstory ptsd birthtrauma fyp
