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Lights, Cameras ... But No Videos in the Delivery Room
Filed under: In The News, Delivery
Some hospitals are banning photos and videos in the delivery room. Credit: Getty
Blame it on malpractice lawyers, but hospitals across the country are facing the tough decision of whether or not to ban cameras that can track every nuance of the delivery (and provide detailed evidence of any possible wrong-doing), The New York Times reports.
In a 2007 case, for example, the University of Illinois Medical Center was forced to pay $2.3 million after a video showed a nurse using excessive force, according to The Times.
A growing number of hospitals have begun banning the practice of videotaping, citing the distractions it causes in the delivery room, not to mention the fact that physicians and nurses aren't too keen about popping up on YouTube or Facebook, the newspaper says, reporting that one physician likened the experience to "a media circus."
But hospitals report they are getting push back from parents who claim it is their parental right to capture the moment on tape.
"It's my child," Laurie Shifler tells The Times. "Who can tell me I can take a picture or not take a picture of my own flesh and blood?"
Expecting her eighth child, Shifler says tells the newspaper she was so upset about her hospital's policy to ban videotaping that she started an online petition, getting hundreds of signatures from supporters.
Physicians, however, say the issue is not about rights, but rather the health and safety of the baby and mother, along with protecting the privacy of the medical staff.
"Deliveries are complicated. I'm not a baseball catcher with a mitt, just catching a baby," Dr. William C. Hamilton, chairman of obstetrics at Meritus Medical Center, which bars photos at birth, tells The Times.
The Hagerstown, Md. hospital bars all pictures and videos, plus cell phones must be turned off during the births, the newspaper reports. Photo shoots must wait until the baby has been delivered safely, as declared by the medical team.
Mike Matray, editor of the Medical Liability Monitor, a newsletter based in Chicago, tells The Times the issue is heating up at hospitals.
"I have certainly heard this issue discussed more often than I ever have previously," he says. "And it's certainly true that some risk managers in hospitals are advising doctors to stop allowing video in the delivery room."
But many other hospitals are taking the opposite approach and accommodating families (except during cesarean sections or if complications arise). St. Luke's Boise Medical Center in Idaho, which serves a large military population, even uses Skype to connect mothers with soldier-fathers overseas.
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ReaderComments (Page 2 of 3)
2-06-2011 @ 11:18PM
Jessica said...This is crap, My husband is in Afghanistan and we have the ability for him to be able to see it minute by minute- but because some Dr is worried about his own insurance premiums my husband has to miss out? People have been videotaping this for years- how about Drs and nurses doing their job and not covering their butts! Not cool- I would use a different hospital, maybe if enough moms choose not to have their babies here, the hospital will change thier policy!
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2-21-2011 @ 9:17AM
Tiffanie said...The reality is that it is a malpractice issue and the hospital and staff have a right to their policies. My brother is also serving and has a baby on the way so I sympathize however both me and my sister in law are nurses and we are threatened with lawsuits all the time ( as is every medical professional). We can be sued professionally and now thanks to new federal law personally. While it's easy to say the age old fall back of "if your doing your job... " this is a country where millions of dollars are awarded in lawsuits where someone spills hot coffee on themselves and claims there was no warning label so mcDonalds is liable. You have never been able to video open heart surgery or any other medical procedure due to liabilty and distraction. When you enter a hospital to have a baby you are signing up and paying for medical care and a
medical procedure. If you want to film the baby and are able healthwise I suggest staying home and hiring a doula. Nit seeking out medical care from medical professionals
3-02-2011 @ 4:14PM
TulsaRN said...And Jessica.....how babies have you delieverd? Did you cover your butt.....oh, yea, I remember. You've never been human. The most perfect preganancy to the most diligent mother with the most competent care in the delivery room can have devistating outcomes in a matter of seconds.
2-06-2011 @ 11:21PM
tghc said...When I am trying to care for a baby who is just born and needs my immediate attention, I do not wish to be video taped and have somebody in my face and getting in my way. It hinders my efforts to get the baby breathing and pink quickly. And besides, it is MY right to not be photographed if I choose not to. After I am done they can take all the pictures they want.
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2-06-2011 @ 11:28PM
Momof1 said...Well coming from experience I think that it really should be a parents right. My son was born prematurely & I was robbed of being allowed to hold him the moment he got there. I had it all planned out. I wanted my husband to take a picture of the moment they handed me my beautiful baby. Instead I got a 2 sec look before they took him to another room and he was over an hour old before I got to hold him. I never did get that first moment picture with him. Besides hospitals just don't want proof that it was their fault in a malpractice suit that way they can continue to employ incompetent doctors & nurses.
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2-07-2011 @ 12:11AM
melissa said...I think video taping birth is gross. I have pictures of both of my children coming out, cords being cut, me holding them for the first time, etc. Really when will you watch it again? ICK
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2-07-2011 @ 12:29AM
ajschrod said...That oughta be common sense! What possible benefit can a father have seeing that? Is he going to think "more" of her for screaming and groaning while the messy procedure takes place, or is remembering how cool and dignified she looked something to be proud of to show people later? Saying "yes" makes you a class A jerk in my book!
2-07-2011 @ 12:21AM
Judy said...As a first time mom expecting my first child, I VERY much want to document my baby's birth so I have more than a hazy memory of the event. Dad or Grandma in the corner with a video camera does not pose a safety risk. I'm also a nursing student and have stood in the corner with several other medical and nursing students, leading to a very crowded and impersonal delivery for the families. Most births are not complicated enough that a camera would cause a safety risk. What the doctors don't like is their mistakes caught on camera. They know most family members are too gobbsmacked to really recall the details of the birth (which is why they want to record it in the first place) and the medical team is counting on that so they can get away with second rate service to the patient. But with cameras, their shoddy work is now recorded. It's no wonder so many women don't trust hospitals and doctors and turning to midwives and homebirths. At least they have more control over something thats completely normal and natural.
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2-07-2011 @ 2:22AM
cindy said...i bet you will never make a mistake as a nurse. What an idiot! You have just sold out everyone in the medical profession. You don't deserve to be a nurse. You will make a lousy nurse & I hope the nursing school you go to sees this and kicks your sorry a-- out. when you hit the real world of medicine you are in for a shock. Unless you have proof of mistakes you need to keep your mouth shut. Nurses are people & doctors too! We all have made mistakes. You are an uneducated moron. I hope you never come work where I work! We would chew your little smart-a__ up and spit you out!
2-24-2011 @ 5:42PM
Tiffanie said...Amen to that. I love you. Dewey eyed little new nurses who think you know it all. I am a nurse. I am a medical professional and not a circus act. If you want to video tape call a doula and stay home. Hospitals are medical facilities!!!!!! We have a right to our own policies and procedures. It is a distraction and standing in the corner as a nursing student observing is a whole different ball game than being on the front line assessing that baby and providing care while family members are hustling around you. I have two children, I had them in a hospital and was not permitted to video tape and that was my choice!! Again if you don't like it go to another hospital or stay home. I hope you never work with me little girl. Your in for a rude awakening!
2-07-2011 @ 12:53AM
Lita said...It's my child," Laurie Shifler tells The Times. "Who can tell me I can take a picture or not take a picture of my own flesh and blood?" Well, the hospital can, Toots. If you don't like it, then have your baby at home.
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2-07-2011 @ 1:24AM
mommy2b said...I am pregnant with my first child that is due in 4 weeks. I completely agree with the hospital's policy on videotaping in the delivery room. If something were to go wrong, why would I want to revisit this and cry again? Doctors and nurses do not have ill intent when they are dealing with a newborn. They have a job to do and I want them to do it! Besides, do you want people taping you at work?
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2-07-2011 @ 2:09AM
Michelle said...That is unbelievable. They don't want you to record the most precious moment of your life, because they're committing malpractice.
Whoa.. That is just too much. Try being competent. What a CONCEPT.
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2-07-2011 @ 3:16AM
mel said...I have an injury that I got from my doctor using excessive force. If my parents were videotaping, the case would have been stronger. It's not right that they are trying to ban videotaping, they are just trying to cover their own asses. It's not right that doctors can mess up so horribly and screw up people's lives. Brachial Plexus injuries occur more often than Down's Syndrome, but not many people know what it is before they have a child with it, or get it later in life. It's malpractice suits that they are trying to avoid, but its screwing up people's lives. For more info on it visit ubpn.org
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2-07-2011 @ 4:16AM
liz said...Malpractice lawsuits are the reason why doctors shy away from public health. Hospitals, doctors, and staff don't want to get sued. Being held accountable for your every action is a lot of pressure. Unless you want to get your own medical degree and deliver your own baby we have to cut the doctors a little slack. Doctors should have the right to control their working environment as crappy as that is. If people continue to use litagation as a way to get money from lucrative insurance companies we will end up a country with poor medical services, lack of qualified medical personal, and subpar care. Some medical situation cannot not be dismissed- however not every action should be deemed a lawsuit. If America continues with this course of action, we will be a nation of sky high insurance premiums, a shortage of qualified medical personal, and a lack of services in rural areas.
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2-07-2011 @ 5:15AM
bob said...here we are at the hospital folks. g'ma got pops birth on video, now I'm gettin his death on video. ain't life great
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2-07-2011 @ 5:45AM
Rocksand said...WE THE PEOPLE have the right to protect our children by ANY means necessary (go on....try to argue that with any mother). That would include during medical practices we are paying for. Technically, the doctors/nurses are performing a service for us and we have the right to monitor that service.
Additionally, as children we are taught to accept consequenses for our actions...this basic moral does not just dissappear when you become a doctor/nurse. If you screw up doing you JOB, then man up / woman up and accept responsibility for your actions. If you're in the medical profession AND a screw up, then PLEASE stay away from me and my family!
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2-20-2011 @ 3:45AM
Tiffanie said...Yes you are paying for a service. That you seek out from a trained medical professional in a medical facility that has a right to protect itself and it's patients! Video taping and cameras are a distraction. That's why we don't let them in OR's or other medical procedures. Stay home and catch your own baby if you don't like it. It isn't a freaking spa it's a hospital and a medical procedure! Yes blah blah it's natural-----till you step in the hospital and in doing so agree to it becoming a procedure that the drs and end are held responsible for You have such little regard for docs and nurses stay home. Light some insence breath deep and do it yourself. On video!
2-07-2011 @ 6:46AM
Erin Green said...I had 4 children and kept my husband OUT of the delivery room! To me it was a very private moment and didn't want my husband looking in places I didn't want him looking! Now a days women seem to have lost ALL COMMON SENSE and DECENCY when it comes to babies and their bodies! Yes, birthing is natural but do you really need to have all those people staring at your privates? And what about nursing? Also very private! Nursing is a private time between mother and child; a time to bond and relax with the child! Not whip out a tit in public and in front of whoever is watching just because it's natural! Sex is natural too but I wouldn't do that in public either!! I find it very DISGUSTING and INDECENT that both of these subjects are even an issue! It's no wonder that men are finding it harder and harder to, not only respect women, but to keep the lines unblurred between what's sexual and what isn't! If women have no respect for themselves, or their bodies, to keep certain things private and out of the public eye, why should men? I'm not saying we have to be prudes or that men can't have their swimsuit calendars and their magazines, but we need to go back and remember that there is a time and a place for everything and giving birth and nursing babies, though very natural, should be kept between mother and child and OUT OF THE PUBLIC SPOTLIGHT!
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2-07-2011 @ 3:59PM
dougalcandy said...Why does everyone assume that doctors and nurses only want to cover their asses? Just as the parent feels they have a "right" to film their own child's birth, doesn't a doctor or nurse have the "right" to not want to be filmed? Would these people agree to be filmed themselves? And why doesn't this extend into other areas--if people are so worried about "catching" the medical professionals making mistakes, why aren't they storming the operating rooms and ER's?
Personally, I would run screaming if anyone in my family or any of my friends tried to force me to watch one of these videos. Not something I want to share with them!
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