A doctor has been accused of telling a woman to “shut the f*ck up and push” and then leaving her sterile after yanking her umbilical cord so hard it caused her uterus to turn inside out.
The shocking allegations were made during details of a claim for compensation for the patient, who wants 20,000 EUR (17,500 GBP) for the fact that the alleged behaviour of the medic caused her to need an emergency hysterectomy.
The incident took place at a hospital in Toulouse, in the Occitanie region in southern France, with the doctor allegedly telling his patient: “Ferme ta gueule et pousse!” (‘Shut the f*ck up and push!’).
The doctor, who was not named but was aged 54, no longer works at a hospital in question. French media did not give his nationality, but indicated that he was from Eastern Europe because he spoke “with a strong Bulgarian accent”.
The doctor denies the charges saying: “In 25 years, I have brought more than 10,000 children into the world. I always followed the rules, I never insulted my patients.”
But the Judge in the case, Vanessa Maury, said: “Even if you do not have a reputation of being nice to your patients, this is not what you are being sued for.”
She added: “After the delivery, she had a haemorrhage, the medical team of the SAMU (a French emergency service) of Toulouse arrived and carried out this hysterectomy. Your patient, who was expecting her first child, will not be able to have any more.”
She then also said that “the practitioner had an inappropriate attitude, notably by pulling on the umbilical cord” which is believed to have “caused a uterine inversion.”
Uterine inversion is when the uterus turns inside out, usually following childbirth.
The incident resulted in currently unresolved civil and criminal consequences for the accused doctor and which sparked outrage when it was reported that for the criminal charge he would face only a suspended eight-month prison sentence, and would therefore avoid jail. It was also reported that he faced an additional eight-month ban from practising.
French speaking netizens, many of them women sharing their own stories about how they were treated when they were in labour, empathised with the alleged victim over the fact that the medic would avoid jail if convicted.
One, called ‘Ludivyne Leveque’, said: “Shame on you, f*ck. I had my own daughter quite young, I gave birth without an epidural and I was told ‘good, you have to push, you knew how to spread your legs, now you have to get it out’. I will never forget that.”
And another called ‘Anny Dyourlove’ said: “Same. I gave birth when I was 17, I was made to go to the delivery room on foot, and when I cried in pain they said to me: ‘Ah! you screamed less making it! Now it has to come out!!'”
While ‘Audrey Quief’ added: “An anaesthesiologist, who spoke about me in front of the nurse, as if I was not even there, said: ‘I hope that this one can take it, not like that fat cow over there […].”
And ‘Wawa Abou’ said: “Me, I was told ‘you should have thought about the pain before making kids… I spoke to the head of the ward after that and he admitted the night team were wrong and apologised.”
While ‘Alain Valerie Deloin’ said: “When I was giving birth I was in “exorcist” mode… if the obstetrician had spoken to me like that, I would have ripped his balls off and rammed them down his throat!!”
The incident took place eight years ago and the doctor’s lawyer, speaking to French newspaper La Depeche, deems this long administrative delay to be “unacceptable”, adding: “My client (who is no longer a doctor at the hospital) has only been interviewed once during the case […].”
Referring to the case, ‘Emilie Hebert Coralie’ said: “Only an eight-month suspended prison sentence and an eight-month ban from practising [medicine]… wow, it doesn’t say much about the French justice system.”
And ‘Estelle Matheo Douilhet’ said: “Holy crap, 20,000 EUR in compensation is not much! He f*cked up this woman’s life.”
‘Frederique Pezzini-Pintacrona’ agreed, saying: “So femininity, the possibility of becoming a mother and respect towards a woman is valued at eight months and 20,000 EUR.”
While ‘Alexa Sautreuil’ agreed, saying: “20,000 EUR, are you kidding? This is what the gynaecologist must make in 15 days. 20 million would be more appropriate given that the damage is irreversible.”
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency:Central European News
