Morbidly Obese mother files complaint

I think the question that needs to be answered is "was the decision primarily made to medically preserve the best interests of the mother and child?"

That actually isn't clear and why the litigation is being pursued.

If the answer is yes then I do not have a problem with the way the doctor or the hospital acted.

If the answer proves to be no then I believe this to be an issue of discrimination (which encompasses "fat acceptance" within it) and the lady in question should secure damages.

Very true.

At the end of the day, based on the article, it still remains a "he said she said" issue.

And just based on the article, I find it all absurd lol

I think the question that needs to be answered is "was the decision primarily made to medically preserve the best interests of the mother and child?"

That actually isn't clear and why the litigation is being pursued.

If the answer is yes then I do not have a problem with the way the doctor or the hospital acted.

If the answer proves to be no then I believe this to be an issue of discrimination (which encompasses "fat acceptance" within it) and the lady in question should secure damages.

Very true.

At the end of the day, based on the article, it still remains a "he said she said" issue.

And just based on the article, I find it all absurd lol

And that's the problem with trial by media.

You do not get the full facts, you do not get to rationally consider the evidence or hear the cross examination.

What is the result? Chaos...

So lets say that plane seats are suddenly all the size of first class seats instead of coach. That cuts down the amount of passengers by 20%. Also cutting down the luggage and booking fees and ticket sales by 20%. WHich means airline prices will go up about 25% for everyone.

Are obese people going to pay the extra $100 every time I need to fly somewhere for business? I didn't think so.

Let them pay for 2 seats, because that's what they're taking up. You could apply this model to countless other industries all over the world.

Yes, let's discriminate against fat people because it's "cheaper".

Umeboshi getting the feeling your a net troll looking to argue about everything. If a persons *kitten* takes 2 seats then they should pay for 2 seats. Common sense no??? If you take 2 snickers off a shelf u pay for 2. Or do you go to the counter and say.. well 1 is too small for me so i expect the 2nd 1 at your expense? Doubt it.. When the hospital sends out a "jumbulance" to an overweight patient is that discriminating too? If people are overweight they need to own it and accept the problems that come along with it. Afterall having to give an overweight person 2 seats at no extra cost will be discriminating against the average weight person who cannot board the plane in 1 seat or who has to pay a higher price to make up the short fall. Stop trying to play devils advocate and knock people down for having opinions.

It does seem like you are just trying to cause an argument (umeboshi). The airlines have been around how long now? So they should change their seats because they don't fit fat people is ridiculous. There is a difference between looking down on someone or being mean or hurtful to them because they are fat or pointing out that it is not healthy to be that obese.

And you say people have medical conditions and that is the only reason they are fat? Come on, it definitely attributes and causes issues, and if you continue to eat crap and not be active of course you will remain overweight, but it doesn't make it impossible. Yeah there may be a condition or two that make it near impossible, but most metabolic disorders make it difficult, not impossible.

I have PCOS which is a metabolic disorder, but do I blame all my weight gain on it? Absolutely not. I do believe it makes it more difficult and that I need to be more diligent about what I eat, but it isn't impossible. There are plenty of women on here that have PCOS that do struggle, but they are making the changes and they are seeing progress, may be slower than others, but it is still progress. This is an excuse to not do what you need to in my opinion. There are a lot of people that can't eat dairy, or wheat or corn, etc. Do continue to eat these things just because others can? No, most stop and find healthy alternatives so they feel better. And the ones that don't continue not to feel well and blame the illness as the excuse. It isn't the illness, it is the lack of doing anything to fix it.

Many illnesses people have can definitely make weight loss a lot more challenging than an average person, but like I said, it isn't impossible or an excuse to say that people don't get fat because of choices. I feel that if you are over 300lbs, there are definitely bad food choices being made. Doesn't mean you eat like a cow all day long, but the choices you do make in what you eat can have a huge impact on your weight. When I was 300lbs, I didn't blame it on my PCOS, I blamed it on my laziness and not stick to making a lifestyle change. Once I did and gave it the effort I should have, the weight started coming off. Metabolic conditions may mess with your metabolism, but it doesn't STOP it. Some people have to work and try harder than others, that is just the way things are. Do I feel bad for myself or make excuses so I just keep getting bigger? No, I take responsibility when I slip and eat stuff I shouldn't and work to make it better, that is changing for the better.

You CHOOSE to stay stuck in a state that way, it isn't your fate. Most people that finally do put the effort in, come on this site, get their food in order, get some activity in there day, have success, and by all the success stories I have seen on here is is pretty close to fact. You continue to do nothing about it, you have no one to blame but yourself for being morbidly obese.

I have no idea why people think fat people, no matter what, should have to kill themselves trying to be thin. I'm sick of hearing this sentiment.
It's okay to get fat or be fat or stay fat.

I agree with you. My choices are mine. I'll accept whatever consequences they bring.

Except that your choices affect more than just you. We in this country are extraordinarily selfish and self centered, even if we do not mean to be. This is the way of western society: rugged individualism with little desire to compromise our comfort for the sake of others. That is not too say we are all greedy or we do not help others, quite the contrary in fact. That face of the matter is that obesity (not using the word fat) is a diease by all acceptable medical standards. the causes of obesity, whether they are medical, psycholigical or sociological are well documented and known. Our abject failure to treat obesity is analgous to knowing the causes of cancer yet doing nothing to cure it because cancer is a "lifestyle."

I think the doctor was wrong for lying about the policy but the woman is wrong to try to sue for something that, in the end, has her and her baby's interest at heart. I can't speak on the weight because I have never been that heavy so I don't know the risks but I would feel better if I had a different doctor for the simple fact that he made it obvious that he didn't want to care for her so if he was forced to, the care would probably not be the best. Too much tension to say to least. When I was pregnant, I had diabetes and I had to change doctors twice because of the issues I was having and could possibly have. The doctor was not equipped to handle the situation so I was referred to someone who was. I was relieved to know that and gladly made the move. Maybe if he/she was honest about the situation, it would have had a different outcome. Then again, maybe not! :-)

What do you think? Was the doctor wrong for saying it was hospital policy? Does this mother have the right to be mad or is she being a drama queen?

In my very *UNHUMBLE* opinion ... she's a drama queen and part of the lawsuit happy American culture. I had enough challenges having children myself that if the doctor felt uncomfortable with any part of my care, I'd have rather gone elsewhere. Period.

... but then that's *MY* opinion and she has her right to believe otherwise ... just as I have my right to believe as I do ...

she is within her rights to file a complaint, but at the same time if the hospital isn't the best option for the patient to deliver in, the doctor was well within his right to say its best for her to give birth at a better equip hospital. i think the complaint should be with the hospital for not having equipment suitable enough to cater for bigger people, rather than with the doctor. he was doing what he thought best for the patient.

As a neonatal RN I have seen what morbid obesity can do during deliver and added care a baby may need in the NICU. This MD does not have a vendetta against overweight people. He is out for the safety of his patient and her unborn child and thats it. Too many "moms" get all fired up about themselves and forget once you're pregnant you have another person to keep safe

This is true... My doctor told me I was high risk because of my age and if I, for whatever reason, had to deliver early, I'd need to go to a different hospital that was better equipped to care for my baby. I was not offended... I was glad that she cared enough about me and my unborn child to determine that this was the best course of action. I did not scream AGEISM! Luckily, I ended up being 2 wks late and she was able to deliver my son!

I gave birth to my second child in May only a month after my husband died. I was pre-ecplamptic and EXTREMELY swolen and sick and my daughter was born 7 weeks early. When they took me to the OR to perform the c-section the anesthesiologist looked at me and audibly "tsk'd". He then proceeded to talk to the others in the delivery room like I was not there-he kept saying I don't even feel like trying to start a spinal block/epidural on someone this "fat". Really why would anyone even try to have a baby this heavy...this is ridiculous...i think I will just put her to sleep because this is ridiculous...the nurses and other doctors in the OR were visibly uncomfortable with his ranting against my weight...one of the nurses holding my hand asked who i had coming in to be with me during the delivery and I started crying...I told her my mother was scrubbing up, because my husband had just died...I started crying again b/c i missed him, I was scared for our daughter, the doctor was being HORRIBLE and it was just a terrible experience. The anesthesiologist then yelled at me to hush up my blubbering or else he was going to put me under and stop trying to thread a needle through all of my fat. I was utterly humiliated...it was a terrible experience.

Later the hospital representative came to talk to me about my experience and I told her about the anesthesiologist. She paused and then patted my arm and said sorry-she it had happened before and that the anesthesiologist was just truly concerned about my welfare. Somehow it didn't feel that way to me.

Honestly, I hope this situation is a brutal wake up call for this woman. How can you even get mad at someone for suggesting an option that would be much safer for your child to come into this world?? How in the world can you be a mother and only be thinking of yourself in this situation?? I am a mother..and this makes me sick. I hope to god this woman changes..for her childs sake.

I hope so too, but as you can see we have generations of people who are more interested in their own comfort and "right to do..." than the health and welfare of their children let alone other people. Sadly this is not their fault as most of them learned it from previous generations. It is, however, getting progressively worse, or at least seems like it is. The margin of what we are willing to accept under the auspices of social correctness is growing wider and wider, and while I think we all should learn to love one another and accept one another, we do not have to personally accept disease.