I know all about a D and E.
In fact I almost had to have a D and E when I had miscarried between my second and third third at about 20 weeks pregnancy.
These abortions are very sad because they are done when the woman's health is danger because if a dead/dying fetus is not expelled or removed a life life threatening infection can occur. That is what happened when the woman in Irland was miscarrying a couple of years ago at 19 weeks gestation. She died from a septic infection because the doctors would not abort the dying fetus since it still had a heartbeat.
]By Victoria Ward10:15AM GMT 15 Nov 2012
Savita Halappanavar, 31, was 17 weeks pregnant when she developed back pain and tests revealed that she would lose her baby.
But despite her repeated pleas over three days, doctors refused to perform a termination as they could still hear the foetus’s heartbeat, reportedly telling her: "This is a Catholic country."
Mrs Halappanavar’s condition rapidly deteriorated and she died after developing septicaemia four days after the death of her baby.
The case has prompted renewed calls for the Irish government to legislate for abortion, with pro-choice campaigners branding her death “an outrage”.
A D&C is usually done in the first trimester, after a miscarriage. Your surgeon will first dilate your cervix to allow the tissue to be removed from your uterus, and then remove it in one of two ways: either by using a loop-shaped curette instrument or a suction curettage that acts like a small vacuum.
A D&E is done during the second trimester and
is pretty similar to a D&C in that it uses a vacuum aspiration, but requires more surgical instruments to remove the tissue (like forceps). Because it’s done later on in a pregnancy, it can take a little longer. (A D&E usually lasts about 30 minutes, whereas a D&C may be closer to 20.)
Why is it that it's always MEN who have the most extreme and evangelical aversion to something that they themselves will never have to experience?
What is your point, well other than just posting tripe as usual?"Former abortionist, Dr. Anthony Levatino, explains the most prevalent second trimester abortion procedure, a dilation and evacuation (D&E)"
The post minnie posted shows no direct proof that not having an abortion caused the woman's death. Or in other words. No proof exists that by having an abortion, she still would be alive.
All conjecture and hypothesizing. Pure speculation.
The post minnie posted shows no direct proof that not having an abortion caused the woman's death. Or in other words. No proof exists that by having an abortion, she still would be alive.
All conjecture and hypothesizing. Pure speculation.
By Dr Irene Gafson, Obstetric and gynaecology registrar, London11:17AM BST 22 Apr 2013
Last week the verdict of an inquest into the death of Savita Halappanavar, who sadly died in a Galway Hospital last October, was announced. She was 17 weeks pregnant and died from E Coli septicaemia. The jury unanimously decided that the verdict was 'medical misadventure'.
At the time of her death, there was significant media coverage surrounding the Irish abortion laws. There are suggestions that there was a delay in successfully combating her sepsis by augmenting the delivery because of concerns regarding presence of the fetal heartbeat and laws concerning abortion in Ireland.
As an obstetrician, it is hard to pass comment on this specific case without thorough inspection of her case notes and I am certain that this has been a truly devastating experience for the obstetric, midwifery and nursing teams involved.
What has truly saddened and shocked me is that there is the suggestion that there were delays in terminating her pregnancy because of the ongoing presence of the fetal heartbeat.
My first and foremost duty and responsibility lies with the care of the mother in any given situation. It would be a real tragedy if this cornerstone principle of obstetrics was overlooked because of the Irish laws regarding abortion. As doctors in general, two of the four key ethical principles that should guide our management in any situation are non-maleficence (do no harm) and beneficence (do good).
Pregnant women can deteriorate very quickly when they are fighting a severe infection and it is essential to act swiftly and safely. In a situation like this where the mother’s life is always considered the priority, a termination can be a lifesaving intervention when a woman is facing overwhelming sepsis (blood infection). If the infection is believed to originate from an intra-uterine cause, the only real option is to terminate the pregnancy and remove the focus of infection. Simply treating with antibiotics is not enough. Doing so is still classified as an abortion and legally requires the appropriate paperwork, but in these situations, most families understand the necessity of this.
Speaking after inquest, Tony Canavan said deficiencies identified during the inquest would be rectified by the hospital. He said all recommendations made by the coroner would be taken on board, as would those made by the HSE and Hiqa reports into the death.
During seven days of often graphic and upsetting evidence, the jury heard that Mrs Halappanavar would probably still be alive today if the law had allowed an abortion as she miscarried before there was a real risk to her life, by which time it was too late to save her.
Dr Ciarán McLoughlin told the jury it could accept, reject or add to his recommendations after he summed up the evidence heard over the past two weeks.
In returning a verdict of medical misadventure, the jury ‘strongly endorsed’ the nine recommendations.
You may recommend that the Medical Council lay out exactly when a doctor can intervene to save the life of the mother in similar circumstances, which will remove doubt and fear from the doctor and also reassure the public.
An Bord Altranais should have similar directives for midwives so that the two professions always complement one another.
That blood samples are properly followed up and proper procedures are put in place to ensure errors don’t occur. That would be a national recommendation.
Protocols are followed in the management of sepsis and there is proper training and guidelines for all medical and nursing personnel. And that would be a national recommendation.
Proper and effective communication to occur between staff on-call and a team coming on duty and a dedicated handover time is set aside for such communications. That should be applied nationally.
A protocol for sepsis written by the department of microbiology for each hospital and each hospital directorate. And that should be applied nationally.
That a modified early warning score chart should be adopted by all hospitals in the state as soon as practicable.
Early and effective communications with patients and/or their relatives to ensure that a treatment plan is readily explained and understood. And this should be applied nationally.
That the medical notes and nursing notes should be separate documents and kept separate. And that should be applied nationally.
No additions are made to the medical records of a deceased whose death is the subject of a coroner’s inquiry. Additions may inhibit the inquiry and prohibit the making of recommendations which may prevent further fatalities. And that should be applied nationally.
Why is it that it's always MEN who have the most extreme and evangelical aversion to something that they themselves will never have to experience?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?