Delivery tables

[Fdavis]

Do you set your vag delivery tables up in your LDR(P)s or do you set them up in your ORs and move them? Do you cover them or leave them uncovered? How long before delivery do you set them up?

[MissBrittanyRN]

The hospital that I worked at had large (about 10x10) walk in closets in each patient room for storage, etc. The techs set up the delivery tables wearing sterile gloves in there, when delegated by the RN - which depending on the nurse could be at any point during the labor, but ideally would be at least active labor, or sooner depending on pt's hx. They remained there and covered with a sheet from the prepackaged kit during labor, and were pulled to the bedside at 10cm, or pushing. The problem is when the table would be set up sooner than necessary, because hospital policy required tables to be discarded after 8 hours, and obviously throwing away tables was not cost effective. I believe education was researching a general standard around the time I left there.

[SoCalL&DRN]

Hi! We set up our delivery tables at 6 for multips and 8 for primes. They stay covered and are considered "good" for 12 hours. They are set up in the room and stay covered until MD is at bedside for delivery.

So Cal

[NurseNora, BSN, RN]

as a doula(hospital only, no homes) and RN student, I have only seen the break away L/D beds...I didn't know there were separate delivery tables. Are they like the beds? Are they flat? Do you transfer mom to that table just for delivery? Interesting.....

That's what we used to use in the bad old days. The delivery table was like a wide OR table. When a primip was showing at least a "quarter's worth" of caput or when a multip was complete or nearly so, we'd roll the labor bed across the hall into the delivery room and make the woman slide over to the table. We were very progressive and had one of our tables set up with a gadget to raise the mom's head; all the rest stayed flat. We only used that one table for women wanting "natural". We had huge padded metal leg stirrups and handles for mom to pull against while pushing. We also had leather arm restraints so she wouldn't reach up for her baby and contaminate the doctor.

I once read that changing to a different bed at that time was lilke trying to change beds in the middle of orgasm. I like the way we do it now much better.