'My doctor wouldn't listen during labour, so I fired him'

“It was the most liberating and empowering thing I could have done."

When Belinda Rodoreda had her first baby, Noah, she thought she was doing the right thing going through a private obstetrician and naturally followed all his advice.

“Husband and I were both uneducated and had complete trust in our private obstetrician,” she recalls to Kidspot.

At every appointment the obstetrician would remark how big her stomach was and how big the baby was measuring.

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“I left feeling like, ‘wow, this baby is going to be massive by the sounds of it’. That frightened me, mainly because of the faces I got when I mentioned this to family and friends.”

A growth scan showed Noah would be well over 10 pounds and her obstetrician began suggesting a caesarean would be the safest option while also sharing a story of a baby he’d seen who had got stuck and died early in his career.

Terrified, the Perth mum booked in for her caesarean.

When the curtain was pulled down and she watched the doctor pull her son out, her first thought was, ‘ahhh, wasn’t he meant to be well over 10 pounds?’.

Noah was just 3.81kg.

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Belinda had a terrible experience with her first birth, and was adamant it wouldn't happen again with her second. Picture: Supplied

"I was a victim of the bait and switch approach"

In the weeks that followed Belinda began to hear stories from other women similar to hers.

“I quickly realised I was the victim of the ‘bait and switch’ approach where your obstetrician agrees with everything and then in your final weeks of pregnancy they switch to their own preferences,” she says.

Belinda joined a vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) group and began researching and preparing for her second baby.

She also got in touch with Vicki Hobbs, a doula who would be able to speak for her and would not be constrained by hospital management and guidelines.

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After searching around Belinda also found another private obstetrician who assured her she would support a VBAC and agreed to an intervention and drug-free birth as much as possible.

Her obstetrician was going on holiday when she was 38 weeks but assured Belinda the covering obstetrician was aware of her birth preferences and agreed to them.

Finally at 40 weeks Belinda began to experience waves of contractions through the night and by 9am with her doula and husband by her side at the hospital she felt her waters bulging.

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Belinda initially used a private obstetrician, but ended up firing him during the birth. Picture: Supplied

"My initial thought was 'what an absolute wanker'"

The midwife came in and said the obstetrician required her to have a vaginal exam, which she declined.

“I knew quite well I was about to give birth; I could feel my baby moving lower down,” she tells Kidspot.

It came as quite a shock when the midwife returned again and advised her emphatically that the obstetrician had said he would not step outside of his front door until she’d had a vaginal exam as he didn’t know if she was in labour.

“My initial thought was, ‘what an absolute wanker ‘, but as I was calm I pushed those thoughts out immediately.

“Hubby stepped in and said, ‘it states in my wife’s birth preferences that if any vaginal exams are consented to then this needs to be done by the obstetrician only’.”

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Belinda with her doula and the father of her children. Picture: Supplied

"It was the most liberating and empowering thing I could have done"

The obstetrician still refused to come but feeling safe with the midwife she consented to her doing an exam.

The midwife relayed to the obstetrician she was six centimetres dilated and in active labour.

Then the next order came from the obstetrician over the phone. He would like a cannula inserted before he arrives.

When the midwife reminded Belinda she didn’t need to do anything she didn’t feel comfortable with, it emboldened her to fight for the birth she’d been robbed of the first time around.

“I could already tell that this obstetrician was not supporting me in any way, and I felt, I’ll be damned if he was going to interfere with my calm and healing birth, so I fired him,” she states.

“It was the most liberating and empowering thing I could have done.

“Having Vicki, our doula, present made me feel safe and gave me the extra bit of courage in making informed decisions that I felt was best for myself and my baby. She was wholeheartedly the backbone to my success.”

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Belinda said firing her obstetrician was one of the most 'freeing' feelings she'd ever experienced. Picture: Supplied

"My body is capable of birthing the babies I grow"

With the help of the midwife she transferred her care from her private obstetrician to the public system, all while pushing a baby out.

However, when the public obstetrician came in Belinda was again pressured to have a cannula.

Vicki stepped in and reminded the staff she was having a VBAC and her birth plan was in her file.

After several hours of pushing Belinda was losing strength.

Another obstetrician came in and this time gently said because of the position of her baby she would tear and recommended an episiotomy.

Again, Belinda declined but after another 30 minutes she consented.

“The obstetrician said to me, ‘Belinda let me know if you would like me to stop at any time’ and from that point on I felt a sense of relief and completely relaxed my entire body,” she shares.

With the help of a ventouse and while her body surged Belinda pushed her baby out and brought her to her chest, crying tears of joy.

“At one point during all that excitement while I was holding my baby on my chest I shouted at the top of my lungs, ‘f**k you (obstetrician’s name)’ to the obstetrician that wouldn’t step out of his front door until I abided by his rules,” she laughs.

“I did it. I gave birth out of my vagina.”

Leilani was born on January 20, 2017 and weighed 3.91kg, exactly 100g more than her son.

“My body is capable of birthing the babies I grow,” she states.

Originally published as 'My doctor wouldn't listen during labour, so I fired him'