Are We Still Holding Back Baby's Head?

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

There was a story on the news lately about an OB who was in labor or nearly ready to begin labor as an inpatient.

She heard another patient scream and decided to investigate. She found a pt she knew from her practice and proceeded to deliver the woman's baby. She stated she was glad to do it so the staff didn't have to hold back the woman's delivery. I was shocked!

I know (have heard from L & D nurses) that the baby's head used to be held back, I guess with a towel, and the birth prevented from occurring until the pt's OB could get there and do the delivery.

Please tell me this doesn't still happen.

[SaltySarcasticSally, LPN, RN]

I was just reading that lol. My 2 year old came really fast, unit super busy, and since he was my third, it was go time. The nurses absolutely did not hold the baby's head in, they did tell me to try not to push. The nurse was ready to step in because there was literally no one else when the Dr waltzed in, caught the baby, and ran off to deliver another.

[Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM]

There was a story on the news lately about an OB who was in labor or nearly ready to begin labor as an inpatient.

She heard another patient scream and decided to investigate. She found a pt she knew from her practice and proceeded to deliver the woman's baby. She stated she was glad to do it so the staff didn't have to hold back the woman's delivery. I was shocked!

I know (have heard from L & D nurses) that the baby's head used to be held back, I guess with a towel, and the birth prevented from occurring until the pt's OB could get there and do the delivery.

Please tell me this doesn't still happen.

....and this is why there are lawsuits and they SHOULD be paid out. All...day...long.

Famous case: Rosemary Kennedy. The nurse held her until the physician got there and it is widely believed it was the cause of her brain damage....before her lobotomy.

Telling a woman not to push with a natural urge is like telling her not to vomit. It's an archaic practice.

[Coffee Nurse, BSN, RN]

Source? This sounds a bit farfetched to me. "She heard another patient scream and decided to investigate"? As an OB, surely she's familiar with what an L&D unit sounds like. What business would she have "investigating" another room?

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

Source? This sounds a bit farfetched to me. "She heard another patient scream and decided to investigate"? As an OB, surely she's familiar with what an L&D unit sounds like. What business would she have "investigating" another room?

It probably was in the news but the news isn't known for its steller medical reporting.

[klone, MSN, RN]

I'm sure some nurses have done that, but we don't "still" do it because it's never been a "thing" and it's incredibly dangerous and risky.

OB nurses, as a general rule, are taught how to safely deliver an infant when the provider is not present, and NOT how to hold the baby in until the provider arrives.

NOT, not now

[klone, MSN, RN]

I know (have heard from L & D nurses) that the baby's head used to be held back, I guess with a towel, .

How on earth would a towel prevent an infant from being born?

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

I've delivered five babies, and had that happened I probably would have assaulted the nurse. Just saying. I'm not a violent person -- it would have been a self-defense thing. Any prolonging of that "ring of fire" would definitely make me feel I needed to defend myself. Fortunately I have never heard of that being done...except Rosemary Kennedy like Jory mentioned. If I remember correctly and if the reports are accurate, the nurse held her inside for TWO HOURS waiting for the dr to arrive!

[JKL33]

Well, I know nothing about this Rosemary Kennedy situation except what I just briefly read here on the interwebs, but does anyone else think it's possible that the lobotomy caused her ultimate problem?? The one they wanted her to have because she wasn't doing too good of a job conforming to the family standard for "appearances"?

That story doesn't add up. You don't supposedly get deprived of oxygen for two hours and be a mostly normal child....or live at all.

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

Never seen it happen. Nurses will deliver a baby if necessary.

[Julius Seizure]

Well, I know nothing about this Rosemary Kennedy situation except what I just briefly read here on the interwebs, but does anyone else think it's possible that the lobotomy caused her ultimate problem?? The one they wanted her to have because she wasn't doing too good of a job conforming to the family standard for "appearances"?

That story doesn't add up. You don't supposedly get deprived of oxygen for two hours and be a mostly normal child....or live at all.

She apparently wasn't a "normal" child, but had cognitive and behavioral delays. Then again, I am only learning what I know from a brief google search conducted today.

‘Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter,' by Kate Clifford Larson - The New York Times

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

That story doesn't add up. You don't supposedly get deprived of oxygen for two hours and be a mostly normal child....or live at all.

In most cases, it seems like 'holding a baby in' would be a recipe for cord compression and hypoxic ischemic injury. I guess if you have a prolapsed cord case, you might 'hold the baby in' by pushing the head back towards the uterus to take pressure off of the cord...

The only case I've actually seen was a case of footling breech in triage; the MD felt feet in the lady parts, and basically 'held the baby in' (and begged the mom not to push) for the 3 minutes it took to run her to the OR and put her under general for a crash section. Not a 'good' option, but the best option they believed they had. Baby was totally fine, but mom was pretty traumatized.