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Avoiding “Good Patient” Syndrome

Avoiding “Good Patient” Syndrome: The pitfalls of buying
into the medical model of modern childbirth


There is a little known syndrome that can afflict many
pregnant women, particularly first-timers. It is what I
call “Good Patient” Syndrome.

It presents with the need for the pregnant mama to please
her caregivers. Often she will undertake medical tests and
procedures without understanding the need for or the value
of the information provided by the tests. She will attend
prenatal appointments promptly and regularly, but will
leave her list of burning questions, unasked, in her
pocket, for fear of taking up the time of her busy
caregiver. She will accept any intervention or treatment
offered to her, with the implicit understanding that her
caregivers know best.

Does this sound familiar? It does to me.

Sometimes I feel a bout of “Good Patient” Syndrome coming
on, myself. Luckily, over time, I have developed a chronic
case of “Informed Consent” which generally presents with
my caregivers having a sharp pain in the rear.

Seriously, though, in our work, the “Good Patient” crops
up. I have had Doula Clients who will talk desperately
about their need to ask the Doctor a specific, urgent
question at their next prenatal appointment. When talking
to Mama afterwards, oh how often have I heard “I was going
to ask that, but there just wasn’t time.”

I once had strange “contractions” at 33 weeks of pregnancy
that were regular enough to cause me concern. I went to
the hospital because it was a long weekend and I wanted to
be assessed. I was soon very sorry. The physician on call
had the bedside manner of a troll. He interrogated me
about what I was feeling and where, (perfectly good
questions) but then implied that I didn’t know what I was
talking about, didn’t know what contractions feel like
(like HE did?) and somehow wanted to be in labor.

“No, they don’t feel like regular contractions. Maybe it
ISN’T real labor. You tell me, Doc!”

Although I was concerned that I may be in pre-term labor, I
found myself wishing, for just one minute, that my
contractions were more NORMAL, just to make this troll and
his cursed fetal monitor happier. How sad and just another
example of “Good Patient” Syndrome. I didn’t want to
waste anybody’s time.

In this case, a much nicer Doctor was able to tell me in
the morning that I had a bladder infection, and I was
quickly treated.

The lesson is this. We must encourage our mamas to listen
to their bodies, and their instincts. This is for their
benefit, as well as their baby’s.

Teach them that if something feels wrong, it is okay to ask
questions. If your doctor is pressed for time, make time!
Bring your list of questions. Lose the niceties about the
weather and how hot it is. Rattle off your questions
instead.

Preach and practice informed consent. I carry informed
consent cards in my wallet and hand them out in my classes.
(Sets of informed consent cards are for sale on
www.birthwares.com)

You have the right to ask:

What your caregiver wants to do
Why they want to do it
What will happen if you don’t do it
What the risks are
What else you could do

Birth is not about pleasing your doctor, following
institutional rules, fitting into a medical culture,
mastering a new medical language, or being a patient.

Birth is about listening to your body, connecting with your
baby and birthing a family. Sometimes a “bad” patient is a
woman becoming a great mother.

Happy birthing!

Copyright 2005 Sarah Hilbert-West

www.birthwares.com