ObGyn Doctor Reacts: Is Fetal Surgery Real? | The Good Doctor

[@MamaDoctorJones]

Did you learn something today?? What other ObGyn-related shows/episodes are you curious about accuracy on??

[@lydiamcdougall1093]

Not a show, but can you do a video about egg freezing?

[@maganda30]

Chicago med episode 2 please... silently watching since 2yrs agoo..💗♥️♥️ Learning a lot, definitely,

[@Paola-jf2qf]

Thank you so much. I found it very interesting. Can you talk about Gallbladder stones/surgery during pregnancy.

[@betherthanever2055]

I definitely learned a lot! I learned more about how doctors should talk to patients, about the conditions mentioned in the video, about the risks and benefits of fetal surgery, and the ethics involved. I’ve been super curious about fetal surgery because it’s emerging as a possibility for a condition that is near and dear to my heart, Spina Bifida. They fix the opening in the back/spinal cord, and it leads to better outcomes (in my limited understanding). Have you heard about this at all?

[@il42]

Ooohh. Scrubs? :)

[@Sauvium1]

On the calling your own child a fetus in the womb: When my mum’s best friend was pregnant with her second born, they frequently referred to the baby as “the fetus” and; on occasion, jokingly as “Cletus the fetus”. When the baby was born, my mum’s friend presented her new son to her three year old daughter as “your new baby brother, Sam*.” Her daughter was confused and asked why they had changed his name. The friend, now also confused, asked what her daughter meant and the little girl explained, “You said his name was Fetus!” 😂 *Name changed for privacy.

[@meganmeagher7038]

My friends when their mom was pregnant their names were “Zach the zygote” and “Ellie the embryo”

[@ashleynoble2880]

Cute as heck

[@tandiparent1906]

😂😂

[@densmore2011]

OMG LOL 😆 😆 😆 😆 THAT IS TOO CUTE AND FUNNY!

[@ButtonsCasey]

My friends two youngest daughters called their cousins fetus Alice and two years later still call her Alice and not her actual name. Kids are hilarious.

[@layanalrahmani5774]

Hi Danielle, you're right, they definitely CANNOT completely remove the fetus. And there was no cringing involved, you did a great job as always! ;) Sincerely, your friendly MFM who has participated and assisted in countless fetal surgeries.

[@MamaDoctorJones]

Thanks for the input!

[@Greentrees60]

Hello! I am just a random person here to learn. Thank you for sharing your experience! I was just wondering, what is an mfm?

[@henk-3098]

@@Greentrees60 Maternal Fetal Medicine, a doctor specialised in treating mother and fetus during high risk pregnancies, and that includes doing surgeries on the fetus while still in the womb.

[@lisacallan5462]

Thanks for what you do!! MFMs and fetal surgeon specialists helped save my twins' lives

[@chancewill6910]

Can I say that like muffin but with another m? Muffim? That sounds kinda cute

[@junimondify]

To me, fetus is just a medical term. Like Vulva and Vagina. People get offended by so many normal things, it's crazy.

[@tinkeramma]

I agree, though I'll say that when talking to parents who very likely love and want their child, introducing the idea of terminating a pregnancy as an act of compassion will come across more caring if you refer to their baby.

[@tinkeramma]

@@halliegeary8701 I think both terms are correct while fetus is medically appropriate until birth when terms like neonate and infant become relevant. I definitely agree that we as a people need to get more comfortable with science terms, especially terms that aren't 600 letters long but can actually be used in conversation. I don't want to lose the human connection side of things, which is arguably science in its own right (social science), but we really do need to cull the taboo of real life.

[@junimondify]

@@makeyourself9110 Never said they were the same thing, just listing examples.

[@86upsmaya]

Yeah, doctors call it fetus, we call it baby. Simple

[@elizabethgrey6040]

Yeah “fetus” is like “toddler” or “infant” it’s just a term that refers to stage of human development 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@jessicagates7652]

Remember when MDJ hid cute objects in the back of her video because one of her kids left it in her filming room 😂😂

[@betherthanever2055]

The carrot was the best!!!

[@irinakl441]

Awwww, the tiny carrot!!

[@atomicworm7138]

@@irinakl441 which video wad that?

[@TheMysticalPixel]

I still look out for things, just in case. 😁

[@kathrinehmunk]

THE CARROT!!!

[@ScousersWife]

You are such a great teacher. Also- when you talked about people getting offended by "fetus", I said to myself, "You don't get to be offended by science." Go, Mama Dr. J!

[@oliviacrigger4991]

Calling a baby in utero a fetus is kind of the same as calling lava that's underground magma. It's just science and terminology c:

[@lf206]

I think-for the most part- those who would be offended at calling an unborn baby a fetus aren’t so much objecting to the term, (“Fetus” is “little one” in Latin, and no one takes offense at calling babies little ones.) as much the real or possible dehumanizing of a younger baby by the one speaking. I was born at 32 weeks, and my parents were annoyed at the doctor calling me a fetus in the nicu. Parents in particular want their child to be recognized as a full person regardless of gestational age. I don’t have a a problem with age-specific terminology, since zygote, embryo, and fetus, are just stages of development like infant, baby, toddler. But if I think you chose the word you did to de-emphasize the humanity of a tiny person, I will be miffed, even if the word is correct.

[@carag2567]

@@lf206 Can you please expand on why the use of accurate medical terminology equates to dehumanization? Regardless of etymology, the term fetus is the medical word for an unborn human between the gestational ages of nine weeks and birth. Once born it is called a neonate, medically speaking. But that does not take anything away from the fact that it can always be called a baby by its parent(s). Or anyone else for that matter.

[@fvbbaby2792]

The word "fetus" being "dehumanizing"? Sounds anti-choice to me tbh.

[@carag2567]

@@fvbbaby2792 Agreed. That's the only time I've ever heard this argument raised.

[@powellpicc1985]

The latest Good Doctor features a twin pregnancy where they deliver one baby at 26w for membrane rupture, then stop labor to allow the other baby to continue growing. Would love to see you react! Edit: Loving all these cool stories! Keep 'em coming!

[@jaynnnewell4722]

I remember hearing about a real example of this happening. Apparently the record for twin birth interval is 97 days. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin

[@clipperrn]

I was a RN on a high risk ob floor. We had sets of twins that were separated a few days to a couple of weeks.

[@UnicornsPoopRainbows]

@@clipperrn Sounds like a great outcome for the twins, if everything is successful. Still twins but separate birthdays!

[@kgirl1992]

I was just looking to see if she reacted to it! I feel like doing a csection and removing one fetus would have to have been a safer option.

[@laartje24]

I have read about a similar procedure in a fiction book. Have always wondered if that would work.

[@Paola-jf2qf]

Grey's Anatomy does several episodes on Arizona's training on doing fetal surgery.

[@kenzieford3612]

I really liked Dr Herman and those episodes. There were also some cool surgeries early on with Addison Shepherd I think.

[@Shejejjenwn_02]

@@kenzieford3612 the one with the twins ugh when she arrived to Seattle and found out about shepherd and grey

[@kenzieford3612]

@@Shejejjenwn_02 that was annoying. Really Addison was annoying. And Derek and Meredith. I really only watched the show for Christina and Arizona until Meredith got cool after Derek died.

[@Shejejjenwn_02]

@@kenzieford3612 Christina was my queen I was sad when she left 😔 Arizona was fine until she lost her leg then she got a bit annoying, Derek and mer were fine but in the new season when they saw each other again it was cringey

[@mariaclaracamelo]

in addition to Arizona training, Addison also did fetal surgeries, Dr. Herman did it before she started teaching Robbins and she did some later too

[@andiward7068]

TV patients have the US' best ins coverage EVER. Irl, they'd take 3days to turn down the surgery and another 2wks of appeals to partially cover it-provided ALL the staff are In-network.

[@blacksun3884]

Going by medical drama television you'd never guess how garbage our healthcare system really is.

[@sav1052]

I was thinking that this entire time. They would say it would not be medically necessary.

[@tori03031989]

Are you exaggerating the timeframe or is this real?

[@andiward7068]

@@tori03031989 Both. It's honestly policy to deny claims (no legit reason) and make people appeal the decision to cover procedures. In a life-threatening emergency ER/A&E patients get care regardless of ability to pay and get billed afterwards. Other procedures have to be paid for/covered by Ins or one get slammed w/thousands of dollars of debt. My heart surgery and 4 day stay would have cost over 100K w/out ins. W/ ins it was still over 5K.

[@tori03031989]

@@andiward7068 wow!! That's awful. Makes me so grateful to live in the UK and pay national insurance to cover all medical issues

[@mom2sophia1]

They actually performed fetal surgery on my daughter at 25 weeks! They even gave me pictures of her. We are the 4th mom and baby in the U.S to recieve this new fetoscopic surgery. It was such crazy thing to go through! My daughter is now 1.5 years old and doing great! She did end up being born premature. I share bits of our story on my I.G our.exquisite.normality

[@Aunruh557]

Your Instagram is amazing. I would so love to see those in utero pics, would you be open to posting any? So amazing

[@musicislife4184]

I love how she doesn't try to trap us into watching the whole video. She answered the question of whether or not you can do surgery on a fetus within the first 20 seconds of the video. She is so genuine. Thank you!

[@mermaidismyname]

I think that's called reverse click bait. You get the answer right away, then you're curious to watch more because you want to find out why

[@jessicawilson8240]

All I can think of is the crippling debt that this would put them into after 😬

[@eileengalindo4949]

Same!

[@MaggieParker09]

I didn‘t even think about that! I‘m German and with anything medical my first thought is never what it would cost... There is often the misconception, that anything that‘s medical is free in Germany, it is not. But medically necessary procedures and medication are covered by insurance and just everybody has to have health insurance. Really sometimes forget that it‘s not like that for everybody.

[@MrTangerine666]

@@MaggieParker09 " anything that‘s medical is free in Germany, it is not." - what do you have to pay for? I may be wrong, but I think the US is the exception when it comes to the health care system being handled entirely by the pricate sector. So i guess most people watching this wouldn't think about the costs. It's kinda sad that anybody does.

[@jessicawilson8240]

I’m Australian and aside from GP visits (where I pay out of pocket and get most of it back as a rebate immediately after), certain scans (changes in the last few years have made these more expensive) and (heavily subsidised) meds I haven’t paid out of pocket. I’ve had 2 hospital births that cost me nothing, 2 ambulance trips and subsequent emergency treatments that cost me nothing - I have a low income health care card which made the ambulance free, ambulance cover is also quite cheaply available for those not covered. There are some holes in our Medicare coverage - the fact that dental straight up isn’t on Medicare for one - but it makes me immensely grateful I wasn’t born in America.

[@jessicawilson8240]

Also one thing that really made me think about costs in this video is that I’m pretty sure that insurance companies aren’t super happy about covering less common and more specialised things like bypass when not strictly speaking necessary and foetal surgery. They would likely have a hell of a fight on their hands after this getting the insurance they pay insane amounts of money for to even cover this.

[@katieeliason7055]

Hubby and I were reading a list of old wives tales people still believe the other day, and one of them was that you can drown you baby by taking a bath during pregnancy 🤦‍♀️. I was floored and my husband said I needed to report it to MDJ and see if she has ever heard it before or any other OBGYN wives tales

[@UnicornsPoopRainbows]

One of my favorites is if you lift your hands above your head, you will strangle the baby. My second favorite, that I heard often during my pregnancies in Korea is mom can't listen to anything scary, it will harm the baby

[@86upsmaya]

@@UnicornsPoopRainbows that may have some truth in it, coz after 5th month or so, the baby can hear. If the mother gets scared, it might affect the baby. Anyway, in general pregnant women are better off avoiding unpleasant situations.

[@Chaotic_Pixie]

while that's not true, a hot bath can bring on labor.

[@lisacallan5462]

@@UnicornsPoopRainbows I was told not to do anything to purposefully scare or stress myself and to be careful what entertainment I partake in because my blood pressure skyrockets when I watch certain things and that can cause issues for a baby in utero so that isn't entirely untrue. Babies also sense when mom is stressed and respond.

[@reginaowens2971]

@@Chaotic_Pixie I saw a video once of a pregnant lady getting into a hot bath,and the baby completely did a spread eagle,you could see the arms and legs clearly! She thought it was so funny and did it again to show her hubby,I was horrified!

[@cynhanrahan4012]

Above and beyond the medical problems, the couple has just bankrupted themselves because no insurance is going to cover a bypass for fetal surgery.

[@julianamagg3177]

Ok. I am pretty familiar with how the insurance thing affects the health care in the US but as a Nordic person (a RN at that) I didn't even consider that. It just isn't what pops into my mind first.

[@GardeninGrace]

@@julianamagg3177 It’s unfortunate. To have a child here including check ups for the mom and baby, birth costs (epidural, doctors care, IV fluids, etc.) can be $100,000+. Our birth rates are so low and people are not interested in having kids because of the costs. Additionally, we are having to fight for the right to abortions right now, so if we lose our rights we will be forced to have children, further plummeting the middle/lower class into poverty. It’ll be heaven for the rich, and hell for the poor. Those children will then need to work more jobs, making the economy look good. Sadly, now America is only about money and nothing about the people or freedom.

[@Rachel-xg7hs]

@@GardeninGrace I don’t think anyone will be “forced to have children.” Abortions may become illegal but becoming pregnant is not an automatic. A woman who has become pregnant may have to have the child, but someone who doesn’t become pregnant never has to have any children. Many people do not take precautions and find themselves dealing with an unexpected pregnancy. I’m sure that actually taking the precautions would be helpful.

[@Kaleysia]

@@Rachel-xg7hs many people aren't educated on the proper precautions - especially not the ones that can't afford to have a child and/or are not in that stage of life yet. Also: often times precautions fail (speaking as someone conceived despite my mom taking the pill). And these people will be forced to have babies or dangerous illegal abortions.

[@cynhanrahan4012]

@@Rachel-xg7hs Many people do take precautions and still find themselves with an unexpected pregnancy. And even harder, desire and carry a child, only to have the mother die because the hospital her insurance company insists she use refuses to abort a dying child, who eventually kills the mother with sepsis. It's very real. You have your ability to choose. We just want ours.

[@laurafayelewis]

The amniotic sac can reheal and close??? Mind blown 🤯

[@ChiaraBells]

I mean they do vascular surgery as well. When you think about that it isn't super out there.

[@sparklerainbowsun]

Same! The human body is SO COOL! 😊

[@phoenixmoon5580]

@@blissfullymade You need to tell your daughter that she is magic, and clearly was a superhero before she was even born! (Or a better, deeper, more meaningful way for you both!). However, you need at least one superhero as a parent/caregiver/parental figure for the child to be a superhero. Sadly, I'm not a superhero (or a parent/caregiver for any child or fur/scale baby), but both my parents are. I feel I let them down as they have been and are beyond amazing and deserve a far better child (who is now over 30yrs old!) than me.

[@omnisurgedarkspeed6835]

@@blissfullymade same here, was very early on and only a tiny amount came outta me but yeah i was super relieved about it, and very glad only a little bit came out. Seemed to have healed almost as fast as it had been broken!

[@vangu2918]

@@phoenixmoon5580 You are just what they wanted and they proved that being the parents you described.😊

[@faythsworld2421]

The argument that the fetus is a child once it's removed made me laugh a little. If the operation is done like you said where they work on the fetus in the uterus, it isn't technically removed, leaving it a fetus.

[@palesa8777]

I'm still confused so the fetus becomes a baby at what stage exactly

[@seifer447]

@@palesa8777 its a matter of furious debate depwnding on religion, politics, and personnal preference

[@catwetterau8273]

@Palesa id say about 26-28 weeks gestation as that is the earliest a baby can be born and have higher than 50% chance of living.

[@toridawolf9512]

A fetus is still a baby. It’s just the term used for the stage of the babies growth.

[@bobbirdsong6825]

@@palesa8777 the most basic definition of a fetus is an unborn baby

[@RoseThePhoenix]

I'm so glad you mentioned the "fetus vs baby" thing because that made my eyes roll so hard. House did the SAME THING with a fetal surgery and how important it was that he eventually called it a baby. Insistence on referring to fetuses as babies is low key anti-abortion propaganda and I always hate it.

[@adrianawilliams4810]

Yes at a certain point in pregnancy I will refer to the baby as a fetus 1)when someone has miss carried (I have not experienced that yet but I heard that is what is best)2) when the baby is born (obviously) 3 when the fetus is past the 34 week mark because those premature babies have the best survival rate

[@adrianawilliams4810]

@Heloise O'Byrne no I am not a doctor I said there are three circumstances in which I would refer to the fetus as a baby 1) if someone had a miscarriage 2) if the baby was born 3) if it far engough long that the fetus could survive outside of the womb

[@adrianawilliams4810]

@Heloise O'Byrne I know that

[@adrianawilliams4810]

@Heloise O'Byrne k

[@sosolis2123]

RIGHT. i always view it as anti-abortion propaganda

[@megantracy7627]

The cold point is so true. ORs are kept colder than “normal” room temperature. I was lucky enough to to observe a living donor kidney transplant and couldn’t believe how cold they kept the room.

[@xBloodGarnetx]

But the with the lights and gowns and masks ... So hot 🥵

[@janedoex1398]

@@xBloodGarnetx don't forgot the adrenaline....

[@janedoex1398]

Yes ususally around 17 - 18 degree Celsius or lower. To help prevent bacterial/ fungal / viral growth.

[@BOTDFFAN98]

I had a c section with my first and was really cold because you are hardly covered in that situation. They do keep the room quite cold

[@ace-of-bats]

I had abdominal surgery a few years ago (uterine myomectomy), and the hospital actually gave me a special heated gown because the pre-op area was SOOOOO cold. I remember my teeth were chattering, even with the heated gown.

[@1987palerider]

Idea for a medical show: have at least one episode where the surgery goes completely smoothly. We're so used to seeing anything and everything going wrong, I feel the tension would be through the roof

[@shaunnaburtle4904]

That makes for a terrible drama. Like. I couldn't imagine watching a show that was about a group of surgeons and they just do surgery and no twist or anything. There are documentaries for that lol

[@ameliab324]

@@shaunnaburtle4904 Yeah. I mean, even documentaries are usually about some complicated cases.

[@matth227]

@@shaunnaburtle4904 he said an episode not a whole series

[@bobbirdsong6825]

@@shaunnaburtle4904Star Trek: the next generation has great drama yet it’s like this but as a show

[@RainAngel111]

So, after hearing that MDJ has never heard of a fetal surgery done while the mother was on cardiac bypass, I googled it. Turns out something similar has been done. The main difference in that case was that it was a proper C-section not a fetal surgery. The mother had serious heart problems. I'm not nearly competent enough to really understand what they did though. I hope MDJ will have a chance to read about it and get back to us

[@caitie226]

Ooh that would be interesting!

[@roselover411]

When they were saying that if the fetus dies the mother would die too I think is less based on a medical standpoint and more based on what the mother herself said. After 3 miscarriages she said that if this one died, she would die too because she couldn't handle losing another one and the way she said it, I think there is a legitimate risk that she would do something dangerous to herself in the event that she had to terminate the pregnancy or lose the baby to the tumor, having done nothing to try to fix it when the option was there.

[@tinkeramma]

That depends. There's both an emotional risk from a mental health standpoint but also medical risks to a pregnant patient if their baby dies and remains in their body. Labor itself can be traumatic to the body and come with life threatening complications.

[@starcherry6814]

The couple really should’ve considered getting therapy before getting pregnancy again. I felt so bad for listening to herself say she’s already really ready to die. She clearly has severe depression and I don’t think having a baby is going to fix that (realistically).

[@bobbi-jojohnson6699]

I would like the idea life for a life and real moms would die for a child

[@seraphina985]

She may not have even needed to do so actively as I think MDJ missed a point in her analysis on that point when she said that if the foetus died they would induce. That would itself be a procedure that the patient would need to consent to and she clearly expressed her intention to refuse any treatment that went against her wishes for the surgery to attempt to save the foetus to go ahead. I think they were operating under the assumption that the patient was determined not to accept any treatment if her wishes were not followed even if that meant the loss of her own life, she was very articulate in stating her intentions to that effect after all.

[@nothanksplease]

thats very sad.

[@millykay3209]

Might sound coldhearted but I will never understand why anyone would ever put an unborn foetus before the mother.

[@Rose-jz6sx]

I have a relative who died because the hospital wasn't allowed put her health needs ahead of her foetus. They wouldn't give her chemo she died of stage four cancer without any of the standard pain management which might have harmed the baby. She left behind a husband and two young children and the baby died after birth anyway. So needless.

[@argoneonoble]

It's cold hearted, sick, and misogynistic to put the pregnancy before the mom. Imagine a dr telling you how they'll help the baby but not you.

[@abbyllama7282]

Let a mom only decide

[@katherinejordan8018]

If I ever got pregnant I’d be having a long conversation with my doctor about how above all MY life matters. No one, and I mean no one, will ever put a fetus as more important than my life. Idgaf how many doctors I’d have to go through. I am the patient. If they’re not going to prioritize my life and advocate for me then they’re a shitty doctor.

[@millykay3209]

@@katherinejordan8018 100000% couldn’t agree more !

[@cortson1]

My friend was 3-4 months pregnant when she went to Cleveland and they operated on her son who had hydrocephalus. He was born several week early but after a 6 week stay in nicu he went home and is doing well. Medicine is absolutely amazing ❤️

[@Punkini]

Oh wow, hydrocephaly is awful. I wasn’t even aware that could be fixed!

[@altheaunertl]

If my husband talked to my doctors behind my back like that, I'd get a divorce.

[@cursedalien]

Same. Like, it's still her body, and bodily autonomy is preserved even by corpses.

[@aawillma]

You're really going to love what women go through when they seek out a hysterectomy.

[@huyenly7603]

He was freaking out. So I would give him a soft pass, and since the wife is still conscience, there's nothing he can actually decide anything without the wife agreement. Now...if he waits until I'm unconscious and decides on something we didn't agree on, then divorce in definitely on the table.

[@altheaunertl]

@@aawillma Oh, yes! I'm fully aware of the issues with trying to get a hysterectomy. It's a mess and it shouldn't be.

[@nataliee8032]

I loved the doctor’s line saying it’s her body and her control.

[@alexhamilton6356]

I love that you pointed out how people see the word “fetus” versus “baby.” Unfortunately a lot of people are so emotionally driven about this topic and they fail to see things logically. I use the term fetus to remain logical and medically accurate when talking to people about anything to do with pregnancy, but specifically abortion. It’s a hot topic and people become emotionally involved, and using the word baby just spikes that emotion, which can be so incredibly detrimental to passing along important knowledge and information about such topics.

[@ReplyGuy22345]

@@hopefulforhumanity5625 which it isnt

[@murphychurch8251]

For me, coming from a European country where abortions are legal, available and accepted by the majority of the society to be a choice, this war over the wording is somewhat strange. But then again, many things in the US are strange to Europeans, especially the polarizing issues. 🤷‍♀️

[@fabplays6559]

@@murphychurch8251 I'm in a European country and things are a bit intense when it comes to abortions here as well. We only legalised safe abortions a few years ago and it's still heavily debated.

[@NadiaSeesIt]

It's not unbelievable that people get emotional about babies and pregnancy.

[@sarahmc888]

I’d love to hear more about how to council patients who face difficult decisions about their health/fetal health/pregnancies. I’ve only ever heard from patients, but would be interesting to hear your approach to a very sensitive topic.

[@spulwasser]

I agree. And from a patients perspective, the hardest thing is that you're the one deciding about something you know little about and that could determine how your future life looks like. Because the doctors can't just say "If I were you, I would do xy". If they did that and things went wrong, the patients could blame them for saying you should agree to do xy. But I wish there was someone who told me what to do... :( But in my case nobody really knows what will happen either way around. It's not related to gynocology though, just severe back problems

[@marinagibbs3213]

She said some things in this video about it. I would feel good about going to her as my OB. She Sounds like she has a compassionate, and also very sensible approach to both the medical and patient counceling aspects of care.

[@nicoleh6519]

I have gotten good info by asking "if you family member were in this situation, what would you recommend and why?" Also "what are the risks, and what are the alternatives? What risks do the alternatives have?"

[@BettsBeauty]

I actually recently went through an extremely hard situation here in NB, Canada. I was 18 weeks pregnant when I had to go for an emergency ultrasound and found out I had 0 amniotic fluid and my baby had 4 masses one blocking his bladder. My OB was so so helpful and explained to me without fluid my baby would never develop his lungs and learn to breathe. She answered my questions about what can we do and in NB we don’t have anyone who can do fetal surgery so my options were wait til term and deliver stillborn or deliver at 18 weeks with the same result. I didn’t have any other options. I delivered him and he passed away. Nothing anyone could say would console me or make me feel better but my OB and nurses were amazing in that they genuinely cared and felt terrible for me. They told me their own stories and gave me support when I needed it. My nurses were so compassionate and made me feel safe in such a difficult decision and told me I made the right decision. They really helped but I don’t think there’s one easy way to council patients, I think it fully depends on your patient.

[@spulwasser]

@@BettsBeauty I'm sorry for your loss... But I'm glad you received so much support from the medical staff! Sending virtual hugs from Geisenheim, Germany🇩🇪💞🇨🇦

[@Sailorgirl1207]

My cousin's kid was "born twice", he has Spina Bifida and had to have surgery on his spine when he was (I think) the same age as the baby in this video or maybe a bit older.

[@elizabethbingham9899]

I've read an article in Reader's Digest over 10 years ago about a little girl that had surgery to treat spina bifida in utero at around 22 weeks, but the surgery was considered experimental at the time.

[@Sailorgirl1207]

@@elizabethbingham9899 he's about 4 years old now, he has some trouble walking still, in the beginning he needed all sorts of braces and walkers. It's been 3 years since I've seen him.

[@azariyahowens9901]

@@Sailorgirl1207 I had to use braces when I was little. But my dad saw how much it hurt me and couldn't stand it. So he took them off. And my parents prayed for me. I was pretty much normally now 😃

[@rosin_eater]

@@Sailorgirl1207 hope he’s doing well :)

[@julianamagg3177]

Fetal surgery is amazing. I am a RN and IBCLC that used to work in the NICU so much of your channel is in my lane. But even though I have had patients that have had fetal surgery it always amazes me. I just watched a new show on Netflix following surgeons and the first one was about a British doctor that was one of the pioneers of fetal surgery and I watched it again because it is just so amazing.

[@naomiecooper2358]

I love the surgeon’s cut!

[@Rose-jz6sx]

Surgical pioneers are so brave. I can't imagine being like "this surgery should exist" and then figuring out how to do it. I know you'd practise lots but omg that first surgery on a live human must be so nerve wrecking! Absolute heroes.

[@lunete6648]

The sensitivity that Mama Doctor Jones has to put on words is incredible; 8:08 "To the person who is pregnant", it can be a trans man Father, and so many other scenarios that is not just "the mom". You are just amazing Doctor Mama Jones! I've just started watching this channel, the subs that have been following her must have noticed that a long time ago, but I just needed to say.

[@kc9843]

She’s awesome right? We get trans men giving birth on our unit from time to time. Labour and delivery is such a heavily gendered environment (pink/blue blankets, “mama” everything etc). Love her leadership on this

[@thelemurofmadagascar9183]

Fathers can't give birth. What are you smoking?

[@OMGitsaClaire]

I think it would be interesting for you to look at Five Two Love’s birth story with their quints. One of the quints water started leaking at 22 weeks (I think) and they were told they would probably lose all of them, but it healed itself and they were born at 28 weeks instead. They actually moved to another state for most of the pregnancy to be treated by a doctor who specializes in multiples. Their quints are now nearing three years old and all seem to be doing really well.

[@oliviabennett1064]

I agree she should look at their story also because the quints that water that was leaking was at the bottom

[@3vaniamaria]

yes!! that is a great idea. i was thinking of the five 2 love quints while watching this.

[@katherinerichardson2273]

I've actually seen them lol

[@PolaCocina]

Unrelated but I wanted to tell you that I was very depressed since I found out I can't have children and my partner dumped me, I felt like I was less valuable and watching your videos makes me realize there are so many things that can go wrong and it happens to a lot of people and they are alright. Thank you for explaining and being compassionate since my doctor and husband were not.

[@ellymarieli225]

Your ex partner sounds like he belongs in the dark ages and your doctor like a prick. A woman's worth reaches far beyond her ability to bear children. I hope you are able to find someone who loves and values you for everything you contribute to your relationship.

[@Rose-jz6sx]

I'm so sorry that you lost two huge things at the same time. I lost a partner who couldn't handle my ill health two years ago it was the worst hurt.

[@12358hi]

There are so many ways that people care nurture and mother without bearing kids. I have seen awesome teachers who have hundreds of children. Their gifts are valuable in this world.

[@12358hi]

Whatever your gifts are, the world needs them.

[@phoenixmoon5580]

@@Rose-jz6sx Ditto on ill health thing (but it was 'just' severe depression, anxiety, and acute stress response. He only knew about the 'depression' thing, he didn't care enough to want to know anything else! Oh yeah, and banned the Crisis team from my house when he knew I was terrified to leave it!). In a way I'm glad I found out early (although 4yrs+ and a lot of major 'firsts' for me isn't that early in one sense!), because I ended up getting additional health conditions and treatments that he 100%+ would not and could not be able to deal with. To have lost him then would have caused even more issues to deal with than the initial breakup (that was traumatic enough, I still have flashbacks!). To know someone breaks up with you about something you cannot control (yet manage as well as you possibly can!) is similar to a betrayal, but kinda a double betrayal (your partner as well as your body) as well as grieving a life you know you could of lived! Also, part of my illness was caused by our plans (that I thought we both were serious about) and trying to get overtime (in addition to a full time stressful job with ongoing training days) in order to add to a 'house payment fund'.

[@nandarox528]

I have Prothrombin Genetic Mutation. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 32. I'm 38 now. I had 2 miscarriages, 1 almost full term pregnancy (he's 11 now), several clots (to many to name), & 2 strokes. I can relate to both sides of this episode.

[@emmaverrill9859]

Omg THANK YOU for addressing the baby/fetus thing!! I’m a nursing student so I interchange medical and layman’s terms a lot, and I called my daughter a fetus for a large part of my pregnancy. This woman at church would always jump in with “Oh, you mean baby” when she heard me say it. I finally couldn’t stand it anymore and said “actually no, I meant fetus”. I wish I had the guts to say don’t tell me what to call my own child.

[@cortlynnelliott1797]

Do not disrespect the house of God

[@sarahblack9333]

​@@cortlynnelliott1797 She didn't though???

[@jillronan6786]

I was like “how do they fix the amniotic sac??” And of course MDJ comes through with the explanation ❤️

[@mellie4174]

Yes! Thank you for correcting people about the fetus baby thing. People who get upset about this drive me nuts!

[@bittybaby22]

Right, like it’s the medical/scientific term!

[@aawillma]

The word fetus is not dehumanizing. Anti-choice folks sometimes think so because when people talk about abortion they make the distinction that abortion doesn't kill babies, it just terminates a pregnancy, which kills the fetus. So they get it in their minds that pro-choice folks use that term to dehumanize the unborn.

[@kimberlyjones8152]

@@aawillma if the word fetus isnt dehumanizing then u admit a fetus is a human.... So abortion murders an unborn human

[@aawillma]

@@kimberlyjones8152 I do actually! Believing that a fetus is a valuable, living, human life is not incompatible with being pro-choice. If you would like to read more, find a comment with 50 replies and go nuts. I've practically got a dissertation in there.

[@hannahwinterhalder741]

​@kimberlyjones8152 No abortion is a wat to deny another person access to your body. You don't have to donate organs, you don't have to carry a pregnancy to term. Easy.

[@mcmemmo]

"I don't need your protection. I need your support." = Ultimate feminist line. 👍

[@bethinacirrus3200]

ikr

[@gailhitson6722]

Sometimes a person genuinely needs their supportive partner to shoulder decisions along with them, even when it's a personal decision that could deeply affect them both. Other times a person knows in their gut they cannot except any other decision than the one they're already making. Even if a person's partner accepts the other's decision initially, it could backfire. Such a thing could destroy the longterm relationship by destroying the trust they have in each other.

[@primatesto4874]

Just found out on New Years that I’m pregnant! 😊 I’ll be 5 weeks on Wednesday and I’m so happy and excited! I’ve been watching since the early days of your channel and many of your videos have been amazingly helpful. Thank you for everything you do!

[@Paola-jf2qf]

Congratulations. 🤗

[@betherthanever2055]

Congratulations!!! MDJ’s videos will be super helpful! I hope everything goes well for you 😊

[@xoxoali9070]

congrats!!!!!

[@janhankins911]

Congratulations!

[@irinakl441]

Congrats! Have a great pregnancy and a bonus: you can now rewatch all of MDJ's videos :)

[@eliscanfield3913]

There was an interesting documentary several years ago on PBS about surgery on fetuses. It was called "twice born"

[@erinaa9486]

Yeah I saw that! Tumor on the tush

[@carolines3953]

I saw that. Really interesting documentary.

[@Trekkie_Gal]

There's an episode of House where they do fetal surgery, and House referred to the fetus as such for the entire episode, until after the surgery was over, when he finally referred to it as a baby. Makes sense that the scenarios are so similar, as both House and The Good Doctor were created by David Shore. (House episode is S3E17 Fetal Position. Would be good for a reaction/comparison video.)

[@Hannah-oy2ic]

Yes I recommended this episode months ago!! 😊

[@ShuichiZero]

Too bad, I liked it better when House called a fetus "parasite" in season 1. My kind of humour. I'm a biologist and the parasites class teacher calls fetuses "endoparasites" since they are inside, and babies, children, teens and adults, "exoparasites". And she has three exoparasites herself.

[@leabugmp]

Specifically, House referred to it as a baby after it grasped his hand during the surgery. Super inaccurate probably, as he would have no business even being in the OR at all as he's not a surgeon, but I have no idea if they ever interact with the fetus like that during in utero surgeries.

[@martipotato431]

@@leabugmp Tbf House is very inaccurate anyways, but it's a fun show. With some of the things he does he wouldn't even be a doctor anymore lul.

[@leabugmp]

@@martipotato431 So true. I am a receptionist for a surgeon and this stuff would be a nightmare!

[@MrsCKane]

I can't be the only one that loves how in-depth MDJ goes into in her videos. I feel like I learn so much just from watching/listening to her. She always gives you the correct medical terminology and then breaks that down so non medical people can understand it perfectly. Just fantastic content. Thank you, Mama Doctor Jones! 😁👍🏻💙

[@melissacoviello2886]

I love that you include “be kind to me”. I learned a lot from this video.

[@mustangnawt1]

Can’t imagine anyone cringing at what u say as a doctor. But I appreciate your humility

[@stephaniehalvorson4021]

Have you watched the first episode of the surgeons cut? So fascinating!!!! He literally hand-pushes blood into the baby’s heart when it is “empty”. It’s amazing.

[@julianamagg3177]

Oh yeah, that is the name of the show. I couldn't remember

[@juliecross1567]

Fascinating series. Really enjoyed it.

[@KimberlyKaase]

Was looking for a comment about his episode! It was so fascinating!!

[@catoninetales]

I think a relatively fun one for you react to would be Brooklyn 99, season 3 episode 8 “Ava”. Terry and his wife don’t want to go to the hospital because of a bad experience when they had their twins.

[@katieburland6846]

I am only 1 minute in and am so excited haha!! I had a grade 3 immature sacrococcygeal teratoma at birth! I'm completely fine now, though we didn't find out that the scar tissue from the surgical repairs I had as an infant make vaginal delivery impossible for me (things that would have been great to know before 32 hours of labor lol) I've never ever heard sacrococcygeal teratomas mentioned in a video before today!! Haha

[@hurricane7800]

Cool! (I think? Haha..) It must be neat to see something like that on a mainstream show! :D

[@katieburland6846]

@@hurricane7800 it def is! Haha

[@mariaclaracamelo]

I'm glad you were well and I'm sorry that you only found out after many hours of childbirth!

[@katieburland6846]

@@mariaclaracamelo haha you and me both!! It would have been so much easier to just stroll on in and be like "hi! I'm here for my scheduled C-section" 😂 Oh well! If we have a second... Now we know lol.

[@Rose-jz6sx]

I'm so sorry that that's how you had to find that out!

[@arynphillips5888]

I just have to brag at how much you've taught me over the years. When they described the surgery, I thought to myself "they wouldn't take the fetus out completely. That would disrupt homeostasis" and then MDJ said the same thing! I am not a med student. I knew very little about pregnancy before MDJ. Look at you teaching me stuff!

[@rachaelkile8034]

Medical shows always make doctors out to be these lone geniuses, who have to come up with solutions for patients on their own; but, the best doctors are the ones that are able to step over their egos and consult with their peer physicians to come up with ideas to better serve the patient.

[@Julie-ip3il]

Dropping everything to watch Mama Dr.Jones!

[@aislinbradbeer5029]

SAMMEEEE!!

[@aryannabryant1450]

Same amen

[@elledee5705]

Sometimes i watch them in my car on my lunch break lol

[@savannahspurlock1269]

I would love to see you react to Lexie Thiery's birth vlog. She went through fetal surgery while pregnant with her son.

[@jarradpearman]

in the last 4 weeks i've watched every single one of your videos. i'm addicted

[@MamaDoctorJones]

Omg 😱 that is serious dedication ♥️

[@franpost9800]

@@MamaDoctorJones I am new too, and try to catch all of your past videos. At 88 years young, I love to learn! Thank you for your kindness as well as your medical expertise.

[@mandymorrow5473]

This episode has me triggered! I was diagnosed with Spina Bifida Myelomeningocele in the womb. (I forget what stage of pregnancy.) My mom was told I'd never walk, talk, and would be severely brain damaged, and was offered an abortion. My parents got a second opinion, was told the opening was a lot lower than they were originally told, and, I know this story is already too long, but I was able to walk with braces up until a completely unrelated, botched surgery in 2009, I talk TOO much, and I was at least smart enough to graduate high school!

[@tamicoil7069]

I have spina bifida also and I am so against these fetal surgeries. They are playing God and there is no proof that it benefits. Putting the mother's life and the fetus at risk isn't worth it. Spina bifida is treatable sfter birth.

[@dietitianlovesjesus6968]

So glad your mom chose life!!! Abortion is murder

[@kaycollarfeild]

Doctors tried to force my step mum to have an abortion. Baby bro got spina bifida. Every appointment they berated her and told her she needed an abortion because it was just cruel to the baby. Hes the most amazing little boy now. The one they said would die in pain, not breath, not eat, ect. He walks, he runs, he laughs. He cant talk yet but what an amazing little boy.

[@amandawestcott6628]

God bless you Mandy Rose!

[@amandawestcott6628]

@Dietitianlovesjesus 100% agree

[@koolkat403]

When I was pregnant, my doctors couldn't date my pregnancy, my daughter was extremely small, so they thought I was a lot earlier in my pregnancy then I was, during an ultrasound they could see that one of her kidneys was extremely swollen, they spoke to me about operating on her, I was shocked that they could, and didn't understand how. After a month of regular ultrasounds, there were no changes, she had an obstructed uterine, and they kept a close eye on it for my whole pregnancy, into the first year of her life, when she was 1 year old they operated, and she hasn't had any problems since, I feel really lucky that they didn't have to operate while she was still in utero, that would have been so stressful, and so scary. Thank you for sharing more information on this subject 💜

[@morbikaimi]

Very interesting, so does having fetal surgery mean that you will have to have a c section when it is time to give birth or can they still have a vaginal birth?

[@betherthanever2055]

Great question, would love to know too

[@MamaDoctorJones]

They would need a cesarean after open procedures like this, because the surgical scar could come apart in labor.

[@perfect_harmony4348]

@@MamaDoctorJones just thought about a belly just ripping open during childbirth. not a great image

[@Estertje93]

@@MamaDoctorJones wow but then it's 2 surgeries so double the risk for this patient. Can't imagine having to make a decision like that 😱

[@Chaos.and.cookies]

Depends on surgery. I live in Pittsburgh and we have a fetal surgery center so I know quite a few actual stories. After spina bifida surgeries babies can be born vaginally, they have been. There is a KZbinr who had fetal surgery done and then had that baby vaginally, it's Lexie Thiery

[@dinosaurkris6329]

Watch the house episode!!!! They also have a fetal surgery episode. If you search it up like that you’ll find it. Love you ❤️❤️

[@AshleyFan2211]

That's such an interesting and complex surgery, wow. I always get the impression that communication falls short in tv shows, so thanks for adding to that, MDJ!

[@xo1heather1xo]

My son and I had fetal surgery for Spina Bifida almost 7 years ago. Amazing science and thanks to surgery he has full nerve function in his legs.

[@ERYN__]

MDJ! I don't want to sound like a marketing post but I have to tell you how excited I am about a gift I got for Christmas. I know there are cheaper versions out there and that's fine too. My husband got me the Iris circle tool, because targeted ads got me. It is a beautiful brass tool for drawing and measuring circles with precision. Shortly after using it I realized this is an amazing way to visualize cervix dilation during labor. The tool measures circles at .7 cm to 7 cm and the outside of the tool is just over 10 cm. The tool itself dialates! I've never been in labor yet, but I think I will appreciate being able to use the tool to draw circles at my current dilation and visualize them growing to the targeted size, and then having a beautiful piece of abstract art that can hang in the baby's nursery.

[@5688gamble]

Worried about a clot causing a heart attack, "Let's cause more trauma by creating a new incision in her chest too and spreading her ribs open, then we will remove the blood from her body and cycle it through a heart lung machine, that doesn't create any additional risk of clotting at all!" Very good doctoring!

[@misscidella]

I have exams but when mama doctor Jones uploaded I dropped everything

[@chelseaarmstrong5410]

Good luck with your studying and exams!

[@heavengill456]

I love when the surgeon asks if everyone is ready, just before cutting her open. MDJ shook her head yes as well. 😂 😂 😂

[@brittv420]

there’s an episode of “surgeon’s cut” on netflix about a fetal surgeon. i didn’t even know that was a thing but it’s so interesting!

[@chloe-anne5253]

I watch your videos with my 7 month old and he absolutely loves you! He smiles every time you talk and laughs every time you smile. 💙

[@ChrisRRT]

I am a mentoring cardiothoracic surgeon and my mentor thinks of cardiopulmonary bypass as a last resort. The longer the patient is in circulatory arrest is the higher risk of brain damage even if hypothermicly preserving the brain. I agree with you that is crazy!

[@ChrisRRT]

An other thing bypass patients tend to be intubated for 2-3 days to give the lungs rest. The central line appears maybe displaced

[@alicehammond7622]

I’m a perfusion student and I always think it’s strange when medical shows act like putting someone on bypass is just no big deal. I’m also not sure that it would even help in this case, since she’d still be at a high risk of clotting and getting her adequately anticoagulated just to be able to go on would be really difficult. Plus, I would imagine people with APS have a higher risk of needing cardiac surgery, and I don’t even want to think about what a redo would be like if she ended up needing one a few decades down the road.

[@psychedelicfoundry4474]

Fetus is Latin for offspring. Most of the medical terms we use come from Latin, or Greek to a much lesser extent. I'm not sure why people get bothered by it. It literally means someones child.

[@xoOJDxo1994]

I love how the surgeon asked "is everybody ready?" and MDJ nods lol

[@Velcro1997]

I love how these surgeons do cosmetic surgery, general surgery, cardio, OB/Gyn, the list goes on. 😂

[@ginnyjollykidd]

I sure did learn something! Never heard of surgery on a fetus! Glad it's a thing; hope it's not often called for!

[@Mscoloraturakae]

Cardiothoracic surgery NP here- we use cardiopulmonary bypass for the vast majority of heart surgeries. We give cardioplegia- a cold, potassium rich solution that stops the heart while also nourishing the myocardium. In order for blood to not clot off in the bypass machine, we give high doses of heparin (it's weight dependent, but somewhere around 30,000 units). What I'm unsure of is why the patient in this scenario couldn't have been loaded with heparin in a similar fashion without having to put her on bypass. If the heparin is not enough to stop her from forming clots, then it won't keep the bypass machine circuit clear, and if she's formed clot somewhere else in her body, it would still have the potential to go to her heart once she was taken off bypass. I'm unsure of the necessity of putting her on bypass for this situation.

[@claritey]

Halfway thru emergency surgery on my leg my sister and my spouse had a difference of opinion on how the surgery should proceed. Before being knocked out I told the doctors that I was fine with whatever they thought was best for quality of life and trusted my spouse to decide should they find something different than expected. He's the one who actually lives with me and would know what I want but my sister wasn't pleased that the doctors weren't taking her opinion into consideration. She threw a fit and had to be escorted out by security.

[@maritzasanchez3020]

I love you so much. My dream goal was to be an OBGYN but life too me somewhere else. I’m one year away to receiving my bachelors in nursing. I love watching your videos because it help me recap what I learned in school. You help me learn new stuff and improve my critical skills. Thank you for setting time aside to do these videos for us. I know life can be really challenging. I love you!

[@jameelahsirkhotte8457]

you should get lexi thiery on the channel, she had fetal surgery in 2019 and opened up about it a lot on her channel

[@mirandaeagle3462]

Yes I was going to mention her too!

[@sombrerocat3212]

I thought of her too! Would be a brilliant interview between them

[@laryssamarquardt3475]

What's her channel? I also had fetal surgery and would love to find personal fs stories. All the ones I find on KZbin are from hospital channels

[@mirandaeagle3462]

@@laryssamarquardt3475 kzbin.info/www/bejne/homqo6OHnrKZnrs

[@sombrerocat3212]

@@laryssamarquardt3475 they have a Q&A here and then a few videos later she had the surgery. I hope yours went well and your recovery was quick! kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4a6doGGhtCqhrM

[@charlottehayes632]

I enjoy watching your videos while I work. I am a medical coder and I have learned so much that has helped me with my job! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!!

[@chelseaarmstrong5410]

Me: Ooo new MDJ video! Score! Also me: Oh, it must be Monday. Also also me: Wait, how is already Monday?!

[@Isabel-zd4ep]

Two things that I never understood in medical dramas, the level of competition among the residents and the vast unlikelihood of compounding complications occurring in one case. I mean I get it, it is a "drama" but from my knowledge with the level of staffing shortages in some places most hospitals want as many people as they can to pass, unless they are inherently not good at the job. And I mean when you have very unlikely complications occurring more than once in a single hospital then that would raise a number of red flags.

[@hutchitl]

I was thinking "how do you prevent the water from breaking?" And then you straight up answered it haha. Thank you for being so informative!

[@frenchtoastnbooks5955]

👏👏👏 I've had to talk to people that the word fetus isn't negative all the time. This was such a cool episode even though I cringed a few times due to TV drama and how characters talked to/about each other. I can't wait for your next reaction video 🙌

[@a14a17k]

Always educational and professional. Another great video. Glad to see you today, feels like a hug. Muchlovealways

[@Kangakool]

I recently had a dream in which I was pregnant with quadruplets, but I learned that the biggest of the four had basically no brain, and would not be able to live outside the womb, and it was currently hogging the majority of my nutrients, and the other three didn’t have a good outcome. I am STILL having a moral quandary about what I would have done in the situation to give my children the best chance at life. I just pray I NEVER have to make a really hard decision like that.

[@ViolentNightshade]

After just binging all of bates motel it’s really weird to see this actor playing a doctor 😅

[@oppsyikesreally]

I love how Dr. Jones is so enthralled. Her hand on her chest, her facial expression…. So touching

[@moriahheather8426]

Hey mdj I just want to let you know you inspire me and I appreciate what you do.

[@nequoia.plourde]

I have antiphosolipid antibody syndrome and I’m 5.5 months pregnant. We have had 3 losses but this baby is a warrior!!!! I’m so glad you did this episode. I’ve never heard my disease mentioned before.

[@ashleydowney1222]

I like this show. I am on the spectrum. I like how Shaun deals with medicine and navigating living on the spectrum.

[@emil5322]

thank you for always being very inlcusive with your language when talking about patients

[@shannonking8298]

Just before the holidays I did a brief presentation on fetal surgery and interventions. it wasn't super in depth but i enjoyed doing it.

[@pumpkinpantsu4811]

The fact people lectured you on what to call your own kids before they were born is super funny

[@linnschu9247]

Hi, quick idea:) I don’t know if this is really fitting for your KZbin-Channel as there is not one particular episode I can point out (maybe others can) but the series „Outlander“ raises some interesting, emotional points around the topic of pregnancy /childbirth. For example (possible) infertility, miscarriage, consent... I think it’s very interesting because these topics both have a historical aspect (one could talk about accuracy) but are timeless in their relevancy kind of... i don’t know, might be an idea for the future... or not🤷🏽‍♀️

[@therealbuttsmcgee]

re: graphic imagery in the show: the artists who make prop bodies and organs for medical shows like this are mind-blowingly skilled!

[@lyssagames4311]

I would love to watch MDJ see Arizona Robbins’s journey to becoming a fetal surgeon

[@Liliththelizard]

Fetus was wayyyy too pink tho. My son was born at 23 weeks (only a few more days of gestation than is depicted in this video) and he was red. Like not even slightly pink, not any hue of pink, he was bright red. Fetuses at that GA don't have properly developed skin yet but as soon as his skin started strenghtening, he did turn pink tho🥰

[@Lucy-Lullaby]

20:50 like magma is just a lava before eruption of the volcano

[@christinade2500]

Literally asking questions in my head then you’re answering them... nice.

[@smooth_tortoise7159]

Lexie Thiery had fetal surgery on Spina Bifida. She covered that on her KZbin channel. She was on bed rest for 3 months, her son turns one soon.

[@Heyimvalarie18]

I know doctors get upset when people make comments about age and how doctors might look younger or older, and I don't mean this in a negative way, but the surgeon in this episode looks really young lol. Regardless, this type of surgery in real life is extremely fascinating.

[@mm4chelle]

Please do a video all about Hyperemesis Gravidarum

[@cupofcait]

Omg please yes

[@whitneymichael5584]

I'd love this too! I had it in my first pregnancy

[@kagome1303]

Yes I'd be here for that..currently experiencing it right now, it's my first pregnancy, it's twins, and I'm so miserable..been hospitalized twice.

[@mm4chelle]

@@kagome1303 I'm so sorry! I had it with my first and second. I hope you are getting the help you deserve and need, and that your drs are taking you seriously!

[@don8lifemom]

When I was pregnant with my first son (1991-92) they didn't do routine ultrasounds. At 30 weeks I was measuring much larger than I should have for the gestation. The doctor was worried that there was too much fluid. It ended up that I had almost no fluid at all. My son had posterior urethral valves (blockage in his urethra.) Very little urine could get out and it backed up destroying his kidney tissue as well as his bladder and urinary track. We had to go out of state since there were no high risk pregnancy doctors in our state at the time. The doctor who saw me after a very in depth ultrasound actually came in and told me that babies like this don't survive, but we were young and could have another baby. WTH??? Anyway, they drained the bladder and then wanted to do chromosome testing, but since there was almost no fluid, they had to take blood from the umbilical cord. The chromosome testing was normal, but his kidneys had failed. We were then told that if we had caught it earlier that they could have tried a fetal surgery to place a stent from the baby's bladder out into the uterus so the urine could get out. A few years later they started doing surgery where they actually removed the valves from the urethra during the fetal surgery. I was distraught of course, I understood in my head why it was too late to do the surgery, but in my heart I just had trouble accepting it. We went there when I was 34 weeks pregnant since my local OB said I had already dilated to 2 cm. He was born a week later at 35 weeks. His abdomen was larger than his head and the doctor had to actually pull him out when he got to that point. He was not able to breathe on his own and he didn't seem to be making any urine, but he was alive. He survived (he did have kidney failure, a high pressure bladder, vesicoureteral reflux (the most severe) and his ureters looked like huge twisted sausages. His kidneys looked like a bunch of grapes. He was a big preemie though (8 lbs 4 ozs after they drained his bladder.) He started breathing on his own just an hour or two after birth, readjusting his catheter showed he was actually making urine. The story goes on and on with many surgeries, dialysis, tube feeds and transplant, but over the years he has continued to prove the doctors wrong every step of the way. He is now 31 years old, 25 years post kidney transplant and although his kidney function is getting close to needing dialysis again, we were told his transplant might last 10 years, so he's still showing his doctors that he's not read those medical journals! He does have autism and is developmentally disabled, but we don't know if that had anything to do with what he went through before/during/after birth or not. Looking back, I guess I'm glad that it was too late for the surgery since there was a risk of premature birth and I think those extra 4 weeks might have helped him. I personally know people who have had this surgery on their babies that had PUVs and almost all were successful. Not all of them avoided kidney failure, but since they were able to keep amniotic fluid around the baby, his lungs were able to develop enough for survival (for those that don't know, babies breathe amniotic fluid and it helps to develop their lungs, often babies born with PUVs don't die from kidney failure, they die due to severely underdeveloped lungs.) Sorry this is so long and thanks to those who have read this far. Fetal surgery is risky, but it can save babies lives.

[@carmenanderson7964]

LOVE your channel! Can you do an episode on endometriosis?

[@betherthanever2055]

She’s done a reaction video that deals with this!

[@nowakwera]

When I watched that episode it seemed really weird to remove the baby completely out of the mother's uterus. Thank you for explaining that :)

[@jpgot7634]

Can you talk more about ethics committees and ethical dilemmas, how they're handled, etc. I've always found this extremely interesting!

[@chelaparker8119]

@mamadoctorjones that's for saying "it's highly unlikely that the mom will die if the fetus dies". I know it can be case by case but for some reason that helped ease my tokophobia anxiety by five percent. I think just knowing facts helps.