What's the L&D visiting policy at your hospital?

tntrn, ASN, RN · Jul 10, 2011

Our unit is the whole enchilada; Labor, PP, Post C/S, NICU GYN and the occasional odd thing, but always all female patients. We do 70-90 deliveries a month, too many "triage" patients to count and numerous surgical cases.

For labor we try to keep it to a dull roar, but that can differ greatly depending on the nurse. I prefer the dull roar. Three support people for pushing and delivery, no trading in and out.

Labor patients can have visitors all during labor, regardless of time of day. Visiting hours for all other patients are 8 am to 8 pm. But we will let someone in for 5-10 minutes if they have just flown in from somewhere far away. One person can stay overnight in our rooms with new moms. I can't tell you how many times we have to enforce this one....many times the one staying wants to also keep a young child in there with them. No way on that one.

We are a locked unit, and during normal visiting hours, they must ring a bell at our entrance, give us the name of a patient (first name only won't get you in) and then we unlock the door. After visiting hours, the security people on the first floor in the ER will call us to see if they can send the visitor up.

We have security that cruises through our unit, especially after visiting hours, but none on the unit full time.

caregiver1977 · Jul 10, 2011

At my local hospital the wing where women labor, deliver and have c-section is behind doors that nurses from their station have to unlock with a button from their desk.

Don't know of visiting hours. They let my husband stay overnight when he wanted (not that he did that much). No children under 12 were supposed to visit if they were not siblings of the newborn. I am glad they weren't strict about visiting hours because he worked odd hours.

I never had more than one person with me when I actually delivered so I don't know their policy on that. My hospital encourages mothers to have at least one person with them. I never understood people who want everyone and their kindergarten teacher with them while they labor/deliver. You never know when poop, pee, or vomit is going to happen, or if it will get into the toilet/bedpan!

tntrn, ASN, RN · Jul 10, 2011

It does seem like a spectator sport at times. If we just had bleachers, they'd all be outta our way.

JDZ344 · Jul 11, 2011

Do you have your own unit security who deals with this?: No. We have buzzer entry and the nurses check who is entering at the door. Visitors have to be "let out" as well, so that the risk of baby snatching is reduced.

Can your patients have unlimited guests in the labor room? Do you allow visitors to switch off if there is a max? No. 2 people, maximum.

How do you account for the L&D visitors? Do they wear badges? They have to sign in and out, no badges.

Do your patients submit names to you of approved visitors? No, but they can give names of those they do not want, and they will not be allowed access. They could for instance say "only let my mother/husband/sister/etc in" and that would be it- no other person would be allowed.

klone, MSN, RN · Jul 11, 2011

We have no visitor policies. Anyone can visit at any time. If someone is visibly sick, though, we may request that they wear a mask or leave. It's a locked unit and people need to be buzzed in. They just need to know the person's name that they're visiting and we let them in.

I've counted 15 visitors in a labor room at one time. I think that's the most I've ever seen. Thankfully, our LDRs are fairly large.

As far as overnight visitors - again - anyone can spend the night in the room with mom. If there are other children, there has to be an adult present at all times, although we've bent the rules a bit with older (teenaged) children.

linzjane88 · Jul 11, 2011

I work as a L&D nurse at a facility that delivers about 4,000 babies a year. As you can imagine, we have a very active unit with a strict visiting policy that causes tension time to time. All hospital visitors have to check in at the front security desk but they are "screened" ON THE UNIT by the unit secretary in terms of going into the labor room. The patient is limited to 3 support people until the baby is born. We don't have our own security desk/guard but the unit is locked. This leaves the unit secretary and RNs to field the visitors. I should mention that we only do L&D. Our nursery and postpartum (mother-baby) are on a different floor. We also allow visiting in the PACU after c-sections.
What goes on at your hospital?
Do you have your own unit security who deals with this?
Can your patients have unlimited guests in the labor room? Do you allow visitors to switch off if there is a max?
How do you account for the L&D visitors? Do they wear badges?
Do your patients submit names to you of approved visitors?
Thanks!

*As a Unit Secretary on the OB floor (hopefully future L&D nurse!), here is how it works with us:

*No set visiting hours. As long as the patient is accepting visitors its fine with us

*2 support persons for the delivery (that one is stretched depending on the docs/nurses)

*We are a locked unit so to visit a patient you have to buzz in and tell us the first AND last name of the mother you wish to visit. You would be AMAZED at how many people have no clue. Once you give the first and last name you are free to visit the patient as long as you wish--we don't give out badges or keep track.

*We don't "screen" visitors but every so often a laboring mom doesn't want a friend of her uncle who was in jail last night to visit :lol2: and we will ask visitors of that room for their names to prevent the unwanted one from getting in. That only works for one, maybe two visitors. If patient starts getting out of control with it we tell them its all or none.

During the swine flu craziness we changed it up. We had a 2 person max for each room. Guest had to check in, give us names, and we would give them a card (2 per room) which would have to be returned before we would let anyone else go in. HASSLE. Lost cards, temper tantrums from excited grandmas.....not good.

We have 16 beds and our rooms are all in one.

Leggings and Lattes · Jul 11, 2011

I work in a smaller facility than yours, but here is how we work. We are not a locked unit and we have no secretary, so the nurses handle EVERYTHING!!! Our actual policy is no more than 2 visitors at a time and no children under the age of 12. Do we go by that? No. We vary depending on what is going on and what the visitors are like. If they don't get in my way, she can have 50 people in the room for all I care, if that is what she likes. As far as support people, we generally say no more than 2, but if the doctor is willing to let there be more people in there, we work to accommodate their wishes. They do not wear badges, but they do have to sign a waiver of liability form if they are going to be a support person. The patient fills in the names of her support people on a form in her admission packet.

AprilAZRN · Jul 12, 2011

A visitor policy? wow.. that would be nice. Something to bring up at the next staff meeting for sure! I think we're about as busy as your hospital, around 250/month? It's not locked, there are no time frames, the nurses and secretaries informally stand guard (inevitably someone thinks they know where their friend is and tries to walk into the wrong room, or the labor room they were in the day before), there is a security guard available if we need one. No policy on how many people can attend the birth either.

So each nurse sets limits as the situation presents itself. I set pretty clear boundaries on the space I need, and let them know if the FHT are ever non-reassuring we need to back down to 3 visitors, if I need to change mom's position quickly I may push someone out of my way. I'm not trying to be rude, just trying to keep everyone safe. When this is established at the start of my assumption of care, I have never had a problem. I really try inform everyone in the room what I will need to do and where I need them to stand to make the situation work before it happens so there's no misunderstandings. I also do not allow people to come in and out during pushing or repairs.

Post c/s in recovery is 1 person, no switching, for the entire recovery period. That is a policy :-)

MKS8806 · Jul 22, 2011

We do not have set visiting hours.

We allow as many visitors as the patient wants until we set up to deliver. At delivery, only 2 visitors are allowed in the room.

We, as nurses, kick people out of the rooms when we need to :b

The only real policy that we have is children, under the age of 12 that are NOT siblings of the unborn child, are not allowed on the unit. We started that with the outbreak of H1N1, and have just kept in in place. It causes some turmoil at times, but we say it enough times, that people usually get it. We, as nurses, try to police that. But, unfortunately, we will always have those that lie or sneak by, even when they know they aren't supposed to.