Have you ever had a pt and her spouse have sex in their room "to get things going naturally"?
We had a couple come in that had had intercourse that am, stimulating contractions. Her cervix was changing but then stalled out around 7 CM. The mother to be's sister was gaurding the door. Her nurse went to go in to the room because the central monitoring was showing a decel. When she approached the room the sister stopped her and told her what was going on.
To make a long story short it sure enough stimulated contractions, her water broke and delivered precipidously and the nurse delivered as her doc was in the OR.
In our busy unit with all our experieced and long time nurses said it was a first for them. Would love to here if you have had a similar experience;
Eww. Sex in the hospital setting? Some people are just weired. Just do it 30 times/day( if you have to) at home before going to labor,so you don't have to be the topic of the day in the hospital lol.
Specializes in CT stepdown, hospice, psych, ortho.
I agree with you Crunch. There is a time and a place and the hospital is not one of them. That is what you do before you show up at the hospital in labor and if labor doesn't start then you do what hospitals do to stimulate labor. Sounds very suspicious to me. I wouldn't want that doctor taking care of me.
Irregardless of whether the idea of having sex in a hospital is appealing, why would a natural way of stimulating labor be offensive? Is it better to go ahead and hang a pit drip when contractions stall out?
On the other hand, for the sake of her comfort, I'd have probably been more inclined to suggest mom to be stimulate her nipples vigorously.
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
One of my kids was born in the home city of the "free birth movement" so I constantly was hearing about things of that nature . . as I recall it wasn't the sex itself that got things going it was having the Big O. How you could even get that into it in a hospital room dilated to 7cm I'm not sure. . .but most of those weren't delivering in the hospital. Preventing the nurse from entering for anything bad on the monitor=not cool.
But my crazy imagination was going alone the lines of Nascar Nurse's comment - I imagine the kid rubbing his head after he was born and saying hey!! What the hell was that all about?"
We're not talking about submarines here, people...it's semen. And to add, as I volunteer on a postpartum floor, if I walked in on a couple "getting busy", I would die of embarrassment right on the spot.
I see nothing inappropriate in recommending sex AT HOME as a method of stimulating labor. However, the hospital room at 7 cm is not appropriate. It is not a hotel, the staff are required to check on you at regular intervals - not optional by standard of care - so there is no expectation of total privacy.
I'm very concerned that the nurse would be prevented from addressing the deceleration. If there had been negative consequences to the baby from prolonged bradycardia do you think the parents would have taken responsibility?
In these circumstances and to encourage natural progress of labor I believe nipple stimulation would have been more appropriate.
Then you'd be surprised to find out a) how many OBs/midwives recommend this as a way to kickstart labor; and b) how many people take them up on it. Regarding the last bit, 'newer' does not always equal 'better'. Sex releases endorphins as well as oxytocin. And as already mentioned, there is the prostaglandin factor. All 3 can help relax a cervix and/or speed things along in a stalled out labor (say, Mom gets to 5 or 7 and stops). No need to resort to other more painful methods of getting there.
In the hospital, if this were my pt, I'd close the door and come back in half an hour. That's just me. Obviously not talking about a high-risk or a pretermer here, just so we're clear.
Yes newer is not always better, but in this case most women don't even want to see their partner during pregnancy not to mention having sex with them before delivery. If it helps for a safer delivery fine, do it before coming to the hospital, sex in a health care facility is highly unacceptable I don't care what you call it. A stubborn cervix is a common issue in pregnancy, so obviously there are suitable SAFE drugs which are made to treat this issue, rather than to put the pt through more intense pain ( that she's already in) by her partner/husband.
Oh and by the way a C section is a medical procedure/surgery ( there are actually several types ) that provides a safer delivery for the baby and the mother. There are cases in pregnancy which a C section must be done to save either fetus or mother
1. Prevents the baby from getting STD,s which the mother has
2. Dystocia
3. Cord prolapse
4. Hypertension
5. Uterine rupture
6. Multiple births ( twins ,triplets )
7. Fetal distress
8. Placental problems
9. Can't remember the rest right now
So if sex before delivery could do any of that listed above ( except number 2 and not in all cases ), there wouldn't be a reason for a C section procedure, so yes my friend in this case "newer" is better.
Specializes in ICU, Home Health, Camp, Travel, L&D.
Can't count the number of times I've told a labor check pt to go home & have sex. Hey, what gets 'em in, sometimes will get 'em out.
And, yes, have had couples do the deed in the pt bathroom w/ door locked, in the parking lot per pt report, and other undisclosed hospital locations.
I just have to say that, while sex in the hosp is not what I consider a great place, I'm not thinking it's our job to legislate their choices...which, unless they are rolling in the floor, are not unsafe. Smoking in the room, sure, that's something to have a rule about...
Also, after having pit inductions and pit augmentation w/ some of my own kiddos, I'd take intercourse anyday! Esp when the OP said her labor had putzed out.
A stubborn cervix is a common issue in pregnancy, so obviously there are suitable SAFE drugs which are made to treat this issue, rather than to put the pt through more intense pain ( that she's already in) by her partner/husband.
Um...how to put this delicately? Sex is a heck of a lot less painful than those 'safe drugs'...assuming you're talking about pitocin? I have to ask, have you ever had this drug drip into your vein? It hurts like the devil on wheels. A whole lot worse than sex.
Oh and by the way a C section is a medical procedure/surgery ( there are actually several types ) that provides a safer delivery for the baby and the mother. There are cases in pregnancy which a C section must be done to save either fetus or mother
I'm quite aware of the actual medical indications for a c/section. I work in this field full time. However, we're not talking about uterine rupture, a cord prolapse, or any of the other emergency conditions you mention (please note that my previous post said 'newer is not always better'). We're talking about 'failure to progress', which is a very very common reason that women get sectioned these days. At least in my facility it's why most primary c/sections happen. And if sex can get a cervix started back dilating, rather than taking Mom back in the OR for a section that may not have to happen...then I say go for it. It can't hurt to at least try.
It may seem like I'm picking on you....I'm not. But there are a few things in your post that needed clarification.
Yes newer is not always better, but in this case most women don't even want to see their partner during pregnancy not to mention having sex with them before delivery. If it helps for a safer delivery fine, do it before coming to the hospital, sex in a health care facility is highly unacceptable I don't care what you call it. A stubborn cervix is a common issue in pregnancy, so obviously there are suitable SAFE drugs which are made to treat this issue, rather than to put the pt through more intense pain ( that she's already in) by her partner/husband.
Oh and by the way a C section is a medical procedure/surgery ( there are actually several types ) that provides a safer delivery for the baby and the mother. There are cases in pregnancy which a C section must be done to save either fetus or mother
1. Prevents the baby from getting STD,s which the mother has
2. Dystocia
3. Cord prolapse
4. Hypertension
5. Uterine rupture
6. Multiple births ( twins ,triplets )
7. Fetal distress
8. Placental problems
9. Can't remember the rest right now
So if sex before delivery could do any of that listed above ( except number 2 and not in all cases ), there wouldn't be a reason for a C section procedure, so yes my friend in this case "newer" is better.
Sex has a heck of a lot fewer side effects than labor augmenting drugs and c-sections. Also much more comfortable! Even at 7 cm!
Remember this is a forum for L & D nurses so we are quite aware of the indications for c-section and labor augmentation. As a nurse midwife I would love to have any of my patients use intercourse as a means to have a normal labor and delivery before resorting to drugs. You should read up on side effects, risks and benefits of cervidil, cytotec, pitocin, and cesarean section before making this call, you will be mighty surprised about what you find.
And to add, as I volunteer on a postpartum floor, if I walked in on a couple "getting busy", I would die of embarrassment right on the spot.
healthstar, BSN, RN
1 Article; 944 Posts
Eww. Sex in the hospital setting? Some people are just weired. Just do it 30 times/day( if you have to) at home before going to labor,so you don't have to be the topic of the day in the hospital lol.