Dr. Justin Case Returns

I saw Dr. Justin Case again last week.  He was trying to schedule an induction for a favorite patient of mine.  Holly is 39 weeks pregnant.  Dr. Case thinks that is nearly overdue, and time to get the baby out.

Holly measured a bit large for dates, so Dr. Case decided to get an ultrasound, just in case the baby was too big to try to birth vaginally.  As it turned out, the baby was big–9 lbs, according to the sonographer’s report.  Dr. Case urged Holly to schedule a c-section, or at the very least an induction as soon as possible.

Holly said she needed to discuss it with her husband, Rick, first.  She came back later that morning and told Dr. Case that they really felt the baby was not 9 lbs, and believed very strongly that it was best to wait for natural labor.  Dr. Case was unhappy, and let Holly and Rick know in no uncertain terms the risks they were taking.  He pulled out his scariest textbooks, and quoted statistics on big babies and bad outcomes.  He asked Rick where he and Holly had gone to medical school.  Finally, he agreed to wait for labor, but told Holly he would not be responsible for what was going to happen to her because of her foolish choices.

As fate would have it, later that very day, Holly started labor on her own.  By the time she arrived at the hospital, she was 9 centimeters dilated, and pushing a baby out a few minutes later.  A baby who, by the way, weighed nowhere near 9 lbs.

Dr. Justin Case is now starring in his own “reality” show.  Birth Sense presents here the first installment, A Prenatal Visit With Dr. Justin Case: