Doctors tell mothers about baby risks without asking

It happens to a mother several times during her pregnancy: Doctors think out loud about possible illnesses for her baby – without being asked. That causes criticism.

Spontaneous doctors’ comments about the baby during the ultrasound cause criticism. (archive image) – keystone

The most important thing in brief

Some doctors spontaneously share every thought with pregnant women during ultrasound.
This causes criticism – because ill-considered statements can cause parents great concern.
One affected person says: “Sometimes I panicked.”

It happens to Tamara Arnold* several times during her pregnancy: During the ultrasound, the gynecologist in Bern looks at the screen and comments on what she sees. So far, so good – but with her loud thinking she causes the young woman great concern.

“For example, she once said that my child has very small hands,” she tells Nau.ch. The doctor spoke of a major deviation from the average curve, but did not go into further detail.

Arnold cannot classify the statement. At home she keeps thinking about whether this could mean that her child has an illness.

“Should actually be developed”

With another treatment it happens again. This time the gynecologist says: “I don’t see any testicles in your son. They should actually be developed now.” This time too – she can’t say anything more about it.

Once again, a doctor calculated that her son had an increased risk of kidney disease. She no longer remembers the exact numbers.

Nau.ch reader Tamara Arnold says: “Sometimes I panicked” because of ill-advised doctors’ statements about her baby. (symbol image) She remembers a doctor saying: “For example, she once said that my child had very small hands and that that was unusual.” (symbol image) Another affected person reports that her doctor spontaneously told her during the ultrasound that she had a large tumor – but there was nothing there. (symbol image) For gynecologist Thomas Eggimann it is clear: Doctors should not talk to pregnant women in this way. In any case, one can generally be optimistic in obstetrics: “Fortunately, things often turn out well,” says Eggimann. (Archive image9

But: “The statements bothered me – sometimes I panicked that something was really wrong with the baby.” She wonders why such thoughts were shared with her without asking. “After all, I couldn’t have done anything to reduce the risk anyway.”

Doctor tells pregnant woman she has mega tumor – but there’s nothing there

Grisons Nau.ch reader Martina Caflisch* experienced something similar during her pregnancy. “During the ultrasound, the doctor told me I had a tumor the size of a tennis ball.”

The doctor also seems to have expressed this thought out loud spontaneously and without further clarification. Because at the next ultrasound appointment, Caflisch is told that absolutely nothing can be seen.

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Apparently not an isolated case – Arnold emphasizes that several doctors “thought out loud” to her without asking.

Is that allowed – and are the examples experienced by Arnold and Caflisch just isolated cases?

Patient advocates keep receiving complaints

Susanne Gedamke, managing director of the patient protection organization SPO, explains at Nau.ch: “We often get pregnant women complaining to us for these or similar reasons.”

As is often the case in communication between doctors and patients, it is more about the “how” than the “what”. “Of course, doctors have to educate their patients and give them a realistic picture of their situation. However, the gynecologists’ statements seem very insensitive to me.”

Even if the results are clearly negative, you shouldn’t say this during treatment, says patient advocate Susanne Gedamke. – pexels

Gedamke believes that one should not immediately draw conclusions and should be cautious. Even if the results are clearly negative, this should not be said during treatment.

«I think it is important to discuss this in a calm conversation after the examination. During the examination, the patient is ultimately in an even more vulnerable position.”

Doctor criticizes: “Attempt to make yourself important”

Thomas Eggimann is a gynecologist himself and secretary general of the Gynécologie Suisse SGGG association. He reacts with horror to the descriptions: “I am ashamed of such statements from my colleagues,” he says to Nau.ch.

It is common for parents to be informed about anything that seems unusual to the doctor during pregnancy. “But not in this way. But in an adapted form and after consultation about the desired level of clarification and information.”

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For example, he finds the doctor’s statement that the baby has unusually small hands “unprofessional”. “Such statements unfortunately come at the expense of pregnant women, who react much more sensitively to the smallest abnormalities. After all, it is your child who could be affected.”

“Fortunately, things often turn out well.”

When calculating the risk, it is possible that the wording was so “pompous” that it was incomprehensible to the pregnant woman. “So in a broader sense, it’s also unprofessional if you don’t hit the right tone.”

In any case, one can generally be optimistic in obstetrics: “Fortunately, things often turn out well. Otherwise humanity would have died out long ago.”

This is also the case with Tamara Arnold – she is now the mother of a healthy boy.

*Name changed by the editors