Baby warmers in PACU?

Published

With C/S deliveries in the past the baby would go directly to the newborn nursery. Now we are taking the baby back with us to the recovery room and keeping baby there while we recover the C/S. Our manager refuses to put warmers with resusitation equipment in the recovery room. Is this a violation of patient safety? Is this somehting that is allowed? Anywhere I have worked in the past has always had a warmer with resusitation equipment in PACU.

Thanks!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Are you required to bring baby back with you to recovery.. now not only are you resp to recovery a post surgical pt but a newborn in transition without proper equipment? not on my license... I would find someone to talk to about this, does she have a reason? I sure do hope it is a good one.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

We will have another nurse to stay with the newborn but no warmer with resusitation equipment. Her reply was skin to skin if baby gets cold and we can resusitate on moms chest...really? I am hoping to find documentation that this is a violation of pt safety. I also plan to go to risk management.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER.

Interesting visual, bag and mask on a semiconcious crying woman's bare chest. Or do they want you to keep the baby covered while you perform CPR?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.

Your manager is not practicing STANDARDS of CARE. It is EVIDENCED based. Get her information and point it out.

If she is smart, she will conform. Otherwise, she will go down with the ship if something goes wrong....

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

All we have is warmers with resuscitation equipment. The O.R. crew comes and gets one while we are getting mom ready on our unit. When baby is born it is brought to this warmer; if there are not other patients in the PACU we admit baby there while mom recovers. We just wheel the warmer the baby is already on (one with resuscitation equipment) into the PACU. This does seem like a safety issue to me...what if the baby crumps in the PACU? Some times resuscitation requires oxygen and intubation, you can't just do CPR all time; and on mom's chest?? I would not feel comfortable with that, its not a very good back board and my hands are too small to do the "full hand wrap around baby and do chest compressions with thumbs" thing

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

I'd definitely kick it up to risk management. If standards of care are to have resuscitation equipment available for every delivery (and they are), then this is a clear violation. It's one thing to recover baby on Mom's chest if she wants it and all is going well, but the second that kid starts to crump you better have stuff ready to go. I'm shocked that this is allowed.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.

Clearly not standard and putting both the mother and the baby at risk. Has this manager considered what she is doing? These women are post anesthesia patients...first and foremost...then they are status post delivery, both situations requiring monitoring for life threatening complications. That is why they MUST go to PACU and it is ALSO why most L&Ds have their own PACU with approp trained staff. So lets suppose for a second that this MOM crumps. Now you have a baby with no safe harbor while the mom is busy trying to die. Lets say that the Mom needs to get up to the BR...gee, that never happens in the L&D PACU...what do you do with the baby? Put it in the Mom's bed? Just pull off that soiled pad and lay it right there?

I agree that this needs to go directly to risk management. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment