[OBNurseShelley]

Hi all, i was just wanting to see what everyone else's policy was, we are continually having a problem with this, I work in a pretty busy place, 300 deliveries a month, we have sepearte LDR's from our mother/baby unit, last night, there was a patient's family, at LEAST 30 visitors, all waiting out in the hall and were continually ASKED to go to the waiting room which is just down the hall and out a door, apparently they thought the room was too far away, so they waited at the desk in the chairs watching THE MONITOR, security had to come ask them to leave, because when our charge nurse did, they responded with....'that's my daughter im a lawyer you can't make me, blah blah blah' it was RIDICULOUS!! this happens all the time, or 10 visitors listening at the door.....hey don't get me wrong, I'm all about including the family, but CHILDBIRTH is NOT a spectator sport and it just erks me to ow end when family says inappropriate things and just dont have a clue!!!! Some family members are very helpful and cooperative, but tonight I was doing a recovery and it was like parting the red sea to get to my patient and having to do an assessment with everyone in the room! I asked them to leave but of course that took 10 minutes cuz they all had to say goodbye and kiss and such...anyway, sorry to be so long....so what's your opinions!??! SHelley

[SmilingBluEyes]

Welcome to OB nursing, where there, especially, customer--- (note I did NOT say patient)--- is queen and anything she wants is decreed. I am all for pleasing our patients/family and making them comfortable but visitation is a HUGE problem in most OB units. Family members (many so distantly related it is hard to call them relatives at all), friends, and spectators RUN ROUGHSHOD over the place. MarkLD joked we should put up bleachers in the LDR's due to such a huge volume; OB is the SPECTATOR SPORT OF THE CENTURY! Sadly, I have to agree. That is how it has become. And NO ONE wants to offend them. Heck, I have had some have the NERVE to ask me to watch kids while they go get coffee, food whatever.......many others strip our kitchen bare, trash our waiting areas....are noisy as hell at night, even when we politely ask them to keep it down.....call security I know....But we don't want to tick off our stakeholders, now do we?

Do we have a policy? Heck, yes!!! Is it enforced? WE TRY!!! But w/no serious managerial backing, we are dead in the water. That is where I suggest you start if you want to get an effective policy going. You need mgt. backing! Most hospitals are seeing themselves as profitable businesses like Microsoft or ATT or something and will DO ANYTHING (except keep their employees happy) to lure them in and keep em, including making our jobs as nurses miserable and downright dangerous. We have the most sumptuous facilities but at times, the most unpleasant and dangerous workplaces at the same time. There has been thread after thread concerning this; it is not a new or unusual situation.

I wish you luck. Get w/management and try to get backing to enforce a reasonable visitors' policy. Our effectiveness and safety as units depend on this, in my opinion.

[OBNURSEHEATHER]

We do about 400-450 deliveries a month. I work post partum and nursery.

Visiting hours are 10:00am - 8:30pm daily. Fathers are welcome at all times. No babies under 6 months are allowed on the floor at any time.

The mother and 1 S.O. are banded, and they are the only 2 people that are allowed into the nursery for any reason, or allowed to come get the baby from the nursery.

Is the visitation policy followed? Somewhat. We're flexible if the visitors are. I've never kicked out a well wishing grandma at 9am. But if I needed someone to leave, I would have managerial backing. (I'm out of there at 7:15pm, so I can't vouch for how well they're enforced after I leave)

Good luck, and welcome!

Heather

[finallyRN]

I think all OB units are the same in regards to visitors. My favorite is when you ask the family to leave the room to do a vag exam and they say "oh, we don't mind." They don't realize we were worried about the patient not the visitors.

[OBNurseShelley]

I can handle family members until they start making annoying comments like: Why dont you hurry up and have this baby, or does it hurt, or WOW look at the contraction, that must hurt, or When i had babies we had no epidurals, or can't you give her more medicine, and i could go on, but ya all know what im talking about! you'd think in this day and age people would read a book every nowand then and understand childbirth a little bit better! Alas, I am here to educate, inform and birth them babies!

[mark_LD_RN]

I know the feeling! we treat our patients like royalty and most will take full advantage of it. we have some very nice patients and visitors then we also get the ones from hell to. we are very flexible,but we never allow groups of visitors to hang out in the halls. it is very unsafe especialy if an emergency comes up.

and dont get me started on the birth stories and comments visitors make to my patients. it makes me want to choke them.

Debbie cant believe you actually remember that post I made. thanks !

[Ldrn]

I ALWAYS SAY YOU WEREN'T THERE WHEN THEY CONCEIVED THEN YOU DON'T NEED TO BE THERE WHEN THEY DELIVER. MY CURRENT FACILITY ONLY ALLOWES TWO SOP AND A STATEMENT OF AGREEMENT MUST BE SIGNED BY THE PATIENT AND THE SOP. THIS AGREEMENT STATES THAT ANYTIME DURING DELIVERY YOU MAY BE ASKED TO LEAVE BY THE NURSE, MIDWIFE OR DOCTOR.

MY PREVIOUSE FACILITY HAD OPEN HOUSE EVERYBODY AND THIER HUSBANDS, BROTHERS, FATHERS, PIZZA DELIVERY GUY AND THER KIDS COULD BE PRESENT FOR THE BIRTH. NOTHING LIKE WORRING ABOUT THE 2Y/O STILL AWAKE AT 3:00 AM IN THE LABOR ROOM OR TRIPPING OVER THEM AS THEY EAT CHEERIOS OFF THE FLOOR..

[OBNURSEHEATHER]

Originally posted by Ldrn
I ALWAYS SAY YOU WEREN'T THERE WHEN THEY CONCEIVED THEN YOU DON'T NEED TO BE THERE WHEN THEY DELIVER.

Oh, I like that! Do you think management would be open to me getting some signs printed up that say that?

Heather

[indynurse]

My favorite is when you ask the family to leave the room to do a vag exam and they say "oh, we don't mind."

Well, if you don't mind, then take your pants off and get in the bed while I go find a cold speculum.....

Some of my favorites are the ones who see the sign on the door saying that the patient is sleeping, hunt me down to ask if the patient is really sleeping and then want me to go wake her up to tell her she has a visitor. Gee, that sorta defeats the purpose of the sign.

[RNMom1969]

Fortunately, we have very strict security in place. No one allowed onto the labor floor unless banded. 2 SOP's are allowed in the room........and they may NOT switch off with other family members during the labor. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, and they are sometimes broken.....at the nurses or Dr's discretion. We have 800-900 births per month....that's a lot of people scrambling through our halls.....if we let them!