[RN,@yourCervix]

Ok, now I know we've all taken care of pts like this......

Last noc I sent a pt home who was 36w2d......had mild cntx for a day now and was MAD at md and staff because she was sent home (didn't make any cervical change since last office visit).


I'm just getting a little fed up with 35-37 weekers coming in and wanting to be in labor &/or wanting to be induced!!..
.....because they are "tired of being pregnant....", "I want to see my baby.....", "I know a lady who had her baby early and its OK now....".....blah, blah, blah., yaddi, yaddi...

What I'm wondering is what other OB nurses tell their pts and significant others when they come like this........

I usually tell them stuff like......
"your baby and your baby's lungs really need to ripen just a few weeks more, if possible",
"yes, babys have been born early and do OK, but our closest NICU is 1hr away....do you really want to take the chance of possibly sending your baby that far?"
"The one thing that you can absolutely rely on is that......you WILL NOT be pregnant forever!!.....this baby will come!"

[Katnip]

I like the ones who say "I need a C-section on such and such a date because I have a meeting at work that I can't miss". And they get it. Nevermind, they're 36 weeks.

[Rissi-Roo]

I think it's funnt that they act like being in the hosp. means that they ARE in labor (whether they are or not) and then get mad like "what are you CRAZY sending me home.... I wanted to have my baby and you won't let me"....

Like I have control over that and just by BEING at the hosp they will magically have a baby like that's all it takes........

[layna]

I will tell these patients that the more time that the baby has inside, the more mature his/her body will be. I had this patient who had an LS ratio greater than 2.0 She was only 35 weeks and thought that the lung maturity would ensure that her baby would be fine. I told her that the baby has more than just a set of lungs that needs to be considered in the grand scheme of things.

[canoehead]

" My Dr said that if I had my baby now it would be OK, so I want to be induced."

[susanmary]

How sad that it's more about the mother than about the baby. I feel sad for any baby that has to have his/her birth scheduled around the mother's schedule. Makes me sad to think that this very selfish practice will continue throughout their lives. Babies ... children should be a parent's top priority.

[cheerfuldoer]

I agree. My youngest daughter's OB told her it was okay for her to be induced because she was full term, and there was "no need" for her to wait until the baby decided to come. I tried to talk her out of it, but who am I...just her MOM, right. So, on Valentine's Day, my newest grandchild was born. She's okay, but what the ???????????????!!!!!!! LEAVE THOSE BABIES IN UTERO UNTIL MOTHER NATURE SAYS "BE BORN CHILD".

[NICU_Nurse]

Perhaps you should send these moms to ME (or your nearest NICU!) for a nice little tour and visual 'demo' of what REALLY happens when their babies are born before they should be. I'd be more than happy to show them what THEIR baby would look like with an ETT stuffed down their throat, an NGT crammed in their tiny nostril, hooked up to a ventilator or surrounded by a wall of equipment and cords. These are the same mothers who I will meet on my unit who will inevitably be frustrated that their babies can't breathe on their own, can't come home early like their momma's sister's best friend's baby did, can't even go home at their original due date because he/she's developed an infection that may never have happened if they'd never been exposed to the nasty germs inside an NICU. Maybe show them pictures of a baby who had to have her little foot amputated after developing osteomyelitis because she had to be stuck for an IV so many times because the doctors wouldn't place a central line and somehow along the way got a wayward IV needle jammed into her tibia that no one knew about until it was too late. I'd be delighted to introduce them to a cute little 36 weeker who was fed to much too soon and ended up with necrotizing enterocolitis, who perfed and needed to have her rotten, dead intestines cut out and has a beautiful little ostomy bag that her mother can't stand to look at or touch. Maybe after that, we can take them to the developmental clinic so they can see a couple of babies who suffered from severe grade IV IVH's and now have cerebral palsy and will need serious medical care for the rest of their lives. Think your hospital can arrange something like that? I'd jump on board in a heartbeat.

Sorry. It's kind of morbid, but I will NEVER for the life of me understand what these women are thinking sometimes. God/Mother Nature designed pregnancy to last nine months FOR A REASON, you know? Now, suddenly, with technology at their fingertips, some of these people think anything that happens can be conveniently and quickly fixed with a little TLC and maybe a few expensive pieces of equipment. We have moms all the time who come in after taking 'home remedies' (and I'm phrasing that gently) to have their babies early because someone told them that, yeah, the baby might be vented for a few days but after that it'll be okay and they'll get to to take the baby home earlier. I guess this just touched a nerve. Sorry, again. Had a bad night.

[imenid37]

to capitalize on the selfishness of some of these moms, i usually tell them that even if the baby is physically ok at 35-36 weeks, they are harder to calm, don't sleep as well, and take longer to feed. then of course the minute they are 37 weeks, they come to the hospital. i had one pt's mother (they usually know everything in the cases where they bring their daughter to triage every evening) tell me "they didn't have that prodromal labour back when i was having my babies." how we've evolved in the last 20 years huh!

[keeper]

Kristi2377,

Do you mind if I copy your post to my hard drive so I can post it whenever I need to on the other message boards I frequent? We have a board named, "Preparing for Labor," and at any given time there are at least four threads of women asking how to make labor start early. The thread titles are always something like "I;m 37 weeks, 60% effaced, dilated to 2." As if the fact that their cervices are doing what normal cervices do toward the end of pregnancy means baby is late or something!

Good topic!

Sarah

P.S. Thanks for putting up with my non nurse posts.