Palin's poor judgement -Risking baby's life & traveled 11 hrs while in labor - Anchorage Daily News

[demo dutch]

http://www.adn.com/626/story/382864.html

also discussed here (scroll down the 2nd comment)
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:mQZFKrqQbTEJ:www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/may/26/sarah-palin-as-mccains-vp/+did+sarah+palin+really+deliver&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us

snip
The details of the birth of Gov Palin's child are ironic, as it leads one to question her pro-life principles. A reasonably intelligent person can determine that Palin was reckless with the life of her unborn child. (Go to www.adn.com, April 22 edition for the fully-disclosed details).

Palin made the decision to travel to Texas to a Governor's conference while 36 weeks pregnant, a time during which obstetricians would tell you it’s foolish to travel via plane. Air travel is a known risk for pregnancy complications, which is indeed what happened. The governor, while on a self-promoting trip to deliver a speech, had premature rupture of fetal membranes: her water broke.

Call your local OB department and ask what to do if you think that your water has broken. You’ll be advised to seek an immediate hands-on examination by an obstetrician. The baby will be placed on a monitor to make sure it’s OK. Premature rupture of membranes can lead to life-threatening infection and premature delivery.

What did Sarah Palin do? She did NOT go to a local hospital and did NOT have her baby checked on a fetal monitor to make sure it was OK. She called her family practice doctor in Alaska for advice. What advice was given isn’t clear, but it’s clearly quoted that she "did not ask for a medical OK to fly". Whether it was OK to fly should be the FIRST question anyone considering traveling by air should have, if they were at all interested in protecting the life of the unborn. Regardless, she decided to give her speech at the conference without having any evaluation other than the long-distance advice of a family practitioner. Her speech was more important to her than making any effort to make sure her unborn child was OK. Then, she decided to fly back to Alaska, an 11-hour trip. In addition, she failed to inform flight personnel that her water had broken.

Airlines are unequipped to handle most emergencies at 30,000 feet, particularly the kind Palin put her unborn child at markedly increased risk for. These emergencies include birthing a premature infant or uncontrolled maternal bleeding. This was her FIFTH pregnancy and delivery can happen rapidly and unexpectedly. The baby or Palin could easily have died.

In the ADN article Palin downplays her decision to fly, implying traveling was reasonable as she wasn't in labor. If so, then why was she immediately hospitalized after returning to Alaska? Why was there an induced delivery of a 36-week infant by 6:30 am soon after her return? Again, ask any OB doctor. Induced delivery of a premature infant ALWAYS indicates a problem. The two most likely would be fetal infection, (a likely event given her failure to seek meaningful medical attention for her baby) or fetal distress by monitor.

Ask your OB doctor if the risks Palin took with the life of her unborn child are risks they would have advised for ANY reason. Then ask yourself whether Palin is truly pro-life, or only pro-Palin.

[Stop Cornyn]

1. God bless you for focusing on the real issue -- Palin's poor judgment -- rather than the conspiracy

theories.

[Hokie]

41. So she was either incredibly selfish and stupid or pulled a Bree Van de Kamp?

I think it is valid to offer an alternative to the incredibly selfish and stupid explanation and consider the fake pregnancy explanation based on the additional information that has surfaced. This may be distasteful to some but that does not make it off limits.

[MercutioATC]

2. Stupid speculation.

We don't have the facts...nor are the facts any of our business.

With all of the valid issues to examine, you'd think we could let the National Enquirer handle garbage like this.

[seabeyond]

11. water broke, she didnt go to hospital. two FACTS. any woman who has been preg

KNOWS one does not walk away from medical care. ANY woman who has been preg.

hey

you are a man. you dont have a clue and dont know shit

[MercutioATC]

15. Actually, YOU'RE the one who "doesn't know shit"...

You're launching into a theory based on "facts" that you got out of a newspaper.

I've seen an (unconfirmed) version of the story that's a little different:

Her water didn't break, she was leaking fluid...slowly. She knew it was a high-risk pregnancy and spoke to her OB. They decided that labor wasn't likely to happen immediately and it would be better to fly home and use her regular OB, who was familiar with her medical history.


IF that was the case, would you have rather had her listen to her doctor or you?

[avaistheone1]

20. B.S. your unconfirmed version is better than another poster's facts from a newspaper?

Any leak is serious in a clinical HIGH RISK pregnancy. Palin is over 35 and carrying a child with a genetic disorder = clinical high risk pregnancy. You would have to put all common sense aside to think it would be better to get on a plane to see a doctor who is familiar with her medical history (or should we make that protecting her secret) than to ensure the safety of the baby by seeking world class medical treatment in Houston.

I don't believe anything Palin says at this point. After reading about trooper gate and watching her interviews.

[MercutioATC]

21. Your medical credentials?

My point isn't whether the story is true, it's that this was a decision she and her doctor made and none of us have all of the facts.

That being the case, isn't it a little silly to be making medical diagnoses based on newspaper reports?

[avaistheone1]

34. I was a nurse in a maternity ward for 8 years.

Okay?

[MercutioATC]

42. Excellent! You actually have some knowledge of the subject!

...more than 95% of the people here can say...


That established, would you agree that there are occasionally cases that present differently? ...and would you agree that Sarah Palin and her doctor are the only people who know what was actually happening at the time? ...and, as a medical professional, would you agree that making medical suppositions without any case-specific facts and without knowing what advice one receives from one's doctor is overreaching just a bit?

[27inCali]

57. when my baby was born....

she wanted to go in the minute she noticed she was dialated by an inch.

the Doctors had to tell us to go home and rest for a few hrs before we came in.

that's how a real mom acts, trying to give the baby every chance to have the best medical attention immediately. period. And they always jump the gun and want to go early unless the birth is the sort of sudden kind Hollywood is so fond of, but it tends to be rare.

It's obvious what Palin's priorities were and it wasn't her baby's health.

you can say attacking her about this is wrong, but we are attacking her at her strength among the GOP base and among moderates -that's she's a old-fashioned, pro-life hockey mom, which she obviously is not.

I say, it's giving the GOP a taste of their own medicine.

[PatSeg]

23. It was a strange decision to make

Any woman, eight months pregnant, whose fluid is "leaking" would go to the nearest emergency room. It is very dangerous to not seek medical help.

From the article:

<Still, a Sacramento, Calif., obstetrician who is active in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said when a pregnant woman's water breaks, she should go right to the hospital because of the risk of infection. That's true even if the amniotic fluid simply leaks out, said Dr. Laurie Gregg.

"To us, leaking and broken, we are talking the same thing. We are talking doctor-speak," Gregg said.>

[MercutioATC]

26. "Strange" as in unusual, yes.

However, if she and her doctor were in agreement that flying home was a reasonable course of action (and there's been no report that that's not the case) who is anybody here to armchair-quarterback her decision?

[sakura]

27. Actually, the doctor said they didn't discuss her flying back home...

... as in, she didn't inform him she was going to fly.

[MercutioATC]

32. It also says that what WAS discussed wasn't disclosed.

Granted, it appears that she didn't specifically ask about flying, but my contention stands.

[sakura]

46. No, it doesn't.

The doctor specifically said they didn't discuss this. That's a CYA statement. He would have said they'd discussed it earlier if they had.

[seabeyond]

49. again.... FACTS. n/t

[MercutioATC]

51. Flying, no.

They could have discussed if there was any immediate danger. They could have discussed the timeframe she had to work with before labor started.

The point is, we don't know...and it's bad to make uninformed assumptions if you're going to use those assumptions to criticize people.

And, actually, the rules about flying pregnant have nothing to do with the actual effects of flying...they're so the airlines don't have to deal with women giving birth on airplanes (most likely with no doctor present)...or at least that's my understanding.

[seabeyond]

56. except flying can cause premature labor adn damage. google flying preg.

again.... facts

[MercutioATC]

60. Ah, yes...circulation issues.

...due to remaining immobile for an extended period of time.

The same thing happens in a car.

[sakura]

77. Just curious...

But if you were 43 and pregnant with a special needs child would you be flying at 36 weeks?

Keep in mind that:

as a 43-year old, your pregnancy is by definition high risk
being pregnant with a Down syndrome child makes your pregnancy even more high risk
being pregnant with a Down syndrome child means that child may have heart problems and therefore problems pumping blood and getting enough oxygen
having delivered four other children makes a short labor extremely likely
having a "leak" or broken amniotic sac makes infection extremely likely

My pregancy was borderline high risk (I was two months shy of 34 and the age factor kicks in at 35)
My water broke early-- like Palin, it was a "leak," not a gush.
My son developed complications during my labor.
I had a couple of mild contractions, then nothing. They induced after several hours because infection can develop once ones water has broken.

I'm glad I didn't wait around 12 hours for the contractions to increase in strength and regularity. By 12 hours of labor (induced) my son was in distress-- and he didn't have heart problems. I had to have a C-section as a result. If I had taken a 12 hour joyride in an airplane before going to the hospital, my son wouldn't been born alive.

We make judgments based on the available facts. The facts show the Palin put her speech and her job first. They could have moved the meeting to Anchorage-- according to news reports it was a meeting of 4 governors. She chose to fly and his comments indicate he knew nothing about this decision. Any doctor who wants to keep his license would have recommended she go to the ER-- unless she didn't give him all the facts. Their malpractice insurance premiums are too high for them to suggest otherwise.

[PatSeg]

67. Strange for a woman in her forties

who has already had four children, to make such a decision. It may not be strange or "unusual" for a very young first time mother to make a decision that might not be healthy for the mother and/or the child, but it is for someone older and more informed.

There is a lot of talk about judgment in this election and this is appears to be a judgment issue.

[seabeyond]

24. leakage = nreak. again showing you dont know what you are talking about

leak same as break. both require same advice. go to hospital.

not a different nor controversial decision

[MercutioATC]

29. Why didn't you just tell me that you were Sarah Palin's OB?

You didn't discuss it with her and decide that it would be more beneficial to give birth with her regular doctor.

See, if you had just told me that you weren't a random person on the internet making medical diagnoses with absolutely no detailed knowledge of the individual situation, I'd have agreed with your assessment.

Thanks for clearing that up.

[seabeyond]

30. one does not have to be an obgyn to know fact.... n/t

[seabeyond]

33. btw... it is me, every preg woman out there and every doctor and medical journal

and everyone else in the world but sarah and supposedly her doctor

i am confident in that
yes

[MercutioATC]

36. Well, you're a woman and I'm a man so I "don't have a clue" and I "don't know shit"...

...so you must be right.

:eyes:

That would explain the complete lack of male OBs...

[seabeyond]

except all those male obs state that info, hence where i learned. difference

i listen. you do not.

[proud2BlibKansan]

43. I also slowly leaked water

and as soon as it started I was hospitalized.

[Phx_Dem]

63. This is a discussion forum.

People can guess or speculate all they want. We aren't publishing news reports here. If you don't like it, why don't you move on to another thread?

[MercutioATC]

70. You're absolutely right.

I'll leave these biddies to their cackling.

[Phx_Dem]

73. I do agree that no one should jump to conclusions or

hard assumptions about Palin. They'll likely end up with egg on their faces. If there is anything not above board about Palin, the National Enquirer or somone's oppo research team will surely dredge it up. Let's let them be the bad guys. That said, I seriously doubt there is anything to this pregnancy story, aside from the fact that Mrs. Palin showed extremely poor judgement traveling 10 hours after her water broke.

[SmokingJacket]

75. OMG that bug on the screen!

I can't take it!

[Liberal Gramma]

79. Whenever the amniotic sac is broken, there is serious risk of infection

She was foolish to travel so long and so far under those conditions....if that is indeed what happened.

[KittyWampus]

18. water broke PREMATURELY for her high risk pregnancy.

[sakura]

25. My water broke when I was 38 weeks pregnant.

That's two weeks early. My son was immediately placed on a fetal monitor, as I was 33 years old at the time, and therefore on the borderline for "high risk" pregnancy due to age.

[seabeyond]

31. exactly first child experience. 33, water broke, baby monitored, induced

and hten they pulled him out with salad prongs, lol.

but i could NOT imagine NOT being in a hospital during that time. the only reason i didnt freak was cause i trusted the people taking care of me.

[sakura]

44. This was my first child, too.

What a treat that labor was! 10 hours of oxytocin induced contractions. The labor didn't advance, and at 10 hours went into distress, so I ended up having a C-section. If I had gotten on a plane at the start of things, my son would probably have cerebral palsy now, due to oxygen distress.

[seabeyond]

47. can you imagine. and then ONLY people who have never been preg argue this

i have not heard ONE woman who has had this experience say.... between her and her doctor. so he decides all the way from alaska it is ok. i would get another fuckin doctor. could not even imagine making myself inaccessible to any medical help at all at that point

i cannot even wrap mind around how a woman could do that. fear would have me immobilized

[gal]

17. I disagree

The facts on some of this are in the public domain and her judgement IS our business.

[adamuu]

39. agreed. we don't need to DIG... the shit is already on the surface.

stop digging the pile of Palin and just focus on McCain.

[adamuu]

40. USA TODAY/Gallup poll gives Palin "lowest vote of confidence in a running mate" since Quayle

See?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6832782

We don't need a scandal. It's already obviously very poor judgment on the part of McCain.

[MercutioATC]

45. Hell, go after Palin, too...just don't do it this way. It's stupid.

She has a pending investigation...use it against her.

Her husband, the "fisherman" gains the majority of his income working for BP, not fishing. Use that.

A month ago, she had no idea what the VP did. Ooooh, fair game.

There are plenty of legitimate topics and I'm not opposed to exploiting them.

...but this is stupid National Enquirer stuff...

[DeepBlueC]

3. this is between a woman and her doctor

anyone here want to pass some laws about legal and illegal deliveries .... I thought not.

[TwilightGardener]

7. Sarah Palin does not believe that a woman's birth decisions are between

a woman and her doctor--her views on a woman's right to choose open her up to criticism of how she handles her OWN pregnancy.

[DeepBlueC]

62. but I think we do

yes?

[DeepBlueC]

65. But I think we do believe that

And it makes us sound as though we are not averse to setting some limits on a woman's control of her own medical decisions. We can't talk about her medical decisions without tacitly opening the topic of every woman's.

[seabeyond]

12. is anyone saying put her ass in jail? n/t

[TwilightGardener]

4. She's a shitty mother--this isn't some ignorant teenager, this is

a 44 year old woman. And now she uses her baby as a prop for her fundie convictions. She's odious.

[Danieljay]

5. 5 kids including a special needs infant son and she's going off to campaign. Family values my ass

Who is going to continue homeschooling her children? Who is going to indoctrinate their precious little minds with fantasies of Creationism.

These people are pure hypocrites.

[kath]

71. Her kids are NOT homeschooled. No need to bring that into it.

There are plenty of good liberal homeschoolers out there, including here at DU.

[sakura]

78. Lots of Alaskans are homeschooled, due to necessity.

And homeschooling does not necessarily signal anything suspect about the parents. Plenty of gifted and talented kids, as well as special needs kids are homeschooled, as their needs are not adequately met in the classroom.

[machiado]

6. God's will

Oh, but she left the whole matter to God - it would be God's will if the baby was safe or not.

[CitizenPatriot]

8. it's this kind of power hungry competitiveness that we need LESS of

again, we need leaders who are serving the people, and whose values reflect those priorities and their own humanity.

Like Joe Biden, whose choices reflect his love for his family first. Love, service, patriotism, etc all start at home. Judgment, values, decision making, choices... these the things we need to be examining.

[goodgd_yall]

76. I couldn't agree moren/t

[Catshrink]

9. Excellent post: Judgement is the issue.

Sure it's tempting to call conspiracy about Palin really being the grandma. But we're better than that -- we don't need to go there. It's all about judgement. This rises above taboid headlines and clearly names the concern.

It's McSame's judgement that we need to be worried about.
It's Palin's judgement that we don't need the proverbial heartbeat away.

[Fridays Child]

10. Disturbing: she speaks for God.

From the article:

In a letter she e-mailed to relatives and close friends Friday after giving birth, Palin wrote, "Many people will express sympathy, but you don't want or need that, because Trig will be a joy. You will have to trust me on this." She wrote it in the voice of and signed it as "Trig's Creator, Your Heavenly Father."

"Children are the most precious and promising ingredient in this mixed-up world you live in down there on Earth. Trig is no different, except he has one extra chromosome," Palin wrote.

[sam kane]

58. As mayor, she saddled her town with 20 million in debt. nt.

nt.

[MarjorieG]

13. If she knew to be Downs, could she have been really hoping for still-born?

[adamuu]

37. c'mon ... we're better than this. n/t

[mnhtnbb]

14. That picture of her does not look like a woman who has just delivered and is breast-feeding.

[proud patriot]

16. I just got back in town and I'm news deprived

I've been without a computer for 2 weeks ..

I've nearly lost my mind ..

[MercutioATC]

48. Suggest you take a leave of absence until this Palin stuff dies down.

It seems to have brought all of the squirrels out of the woodwork.

:)

[Sonicmedusa]

19. Is that Washington Times link working for anyone right now?

I had it open and was about to copy and paste from it but when I went back to the page, it was blank and now I cannot get it to open.

Am I having a tin-foil moment?

[kestrel91316]

22. She claims the baby has Down's. How do we know the baby

doesn't actually have a birth injury to the brain caused by her IRRESPONSIBLE, RECKLESS behavior?

[MercutioATC]

50. Maybe she's really Wiccan and injured the baby during a pagan rite!

Her kids DO have those weird names...


:eyes:

[kestrel91316]

72. And she wears a pentagram!!! Somebody needs to talk to her

Assemblies of God minister to get her back in line. She's headed straight to hell if she keeps this up. And those earrings have got to go! Very unchristian.

[nini]

74. Down Syndrome is genetic

There is a test to prove the genetics of it. You don't get Down Syndrome from the mom being an idiot or a birth injury.

If you're thinking of Cerebral Palsy - that is different.

[Beaverhausen]

28. read this section of the article. Puts even more doubts in my mind

Some airlines have policies against pregnant women onboard during the last four weeks of pregnancy, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises against flying after 36 weeks.

This was going to be Palin's last flight anyway, her doctor said.

Alaska Airlines has no such rule and leaves the decision to the woman and her doctor, said spokeswoman Caroline Boren. Palin was very pleasant to the gate agents and flight attendants, as always, Boren said.



"The stage of her pregnancy was not apparent by observation. She did not show any signs of distress," Boren said.

Palin never got big with this pregnancy. She said she didn't try to hide it but didn't feel a need to alert the airline, either.

[adamuu]

35. this is dangerous. we should stay away from this n/t

[ravishane]

38. This is an idiotic thread

You people really need to leave this stuff alone. Focus on real issues, maybe? Or what?

[proud2BlibKansan]

52. I believe this is a real issue

If she was this callous concerning the safety of her own unborn disabled child, how can we expect her to be a compassionate leader?

[hasssan1]

54. I agree with you , This is a real issue and it shows her poor Judgment & Recklessness

[hasssan1]

53. Can Some one Please Put all These Article in One page to Show her Resume and Experience

That would be great , Like a website or a Search-able page as of Her record.

[Name removed]

55. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[hasssan1]

59. Go get your plain to RNC convention , you are late body , RUN

[MercutioATC]

64. That didn't even make any sense...

I believe the poster was telling certain people in this thread to STOP acting like Repubs...

[tinrobot]

66. Bad judgment is a perfectly valid issue.

[proud2BlibKansan]

69. It is not mysoginistic to question her judgment and compassion

Both are important leadership qualities.

[shireen]

61. i hope this experience helps her develop empathy for special needs children

since medical insurance coverage for them and life-long living assistance are very important medical issues.

[undeterred]

68. Maybe we don't have all the facts here

but the story doesn't add up.

As discussed in another thread, this may be a cover story. Her teenager may have given birth to the baby with Downs Syndrome and Sarah Palin and her husband are pretending the child is theirs.

If every part in this story is true, then Gov. Palin was willing to travel to Texas 36 weeks along in a high risk pregnancy and unwilling to do more than make a phone call back to a GP in Alaska when her membranes ruptured, even though this put her child at risk. Instead she delivered a half hour lecture and got on a 10 hour flight which must have involved changing planes at least once and told no one that she was at risk of going into labor.

99.99% of people would have gone to the nearest emergency room for monitoring if their "water broke" on a business trip. Her judgment is worse than 99.99% of people, even after 4 children.