Insane visitors!

Specialties Ob/Gyn

Published

I'm a graduate nurse (took my NCLEX last week) and I work on a postpartum floor in a rural hospital, and for the most part, I love it. I'm just a little baffled by some of the visitors we get -- we get them at all times of the day and night, regardless of when the delivery was. Visiting hours end at 9pm and people seem to think that they can just come waltzing in b/c the mom delivered after 9pm. It's like HELLO? This woman's been in labor all day, has been through a delivery and it's now BEDTIME!! I've had patients that have had probably 10 people in our little private rooms less than 5 minutes after we get them into the bed on the postpartum unit. :rolleyes: And then, while you're doing frequent vital signs and have to check the patient's fundus, lochia, etc., the people in the room make a big deal of us asking them to step out! What's the deal? I realize this is a big thing, new member of the family and all that, but good grief! Provided there are no complications, mother and baby will be home the following day - does everybody and their dog really need to come visit in the hospital?

Anybody else feel this way? Thanks for letting me vent...

:nurse:

Okay you guys, I had one that almost knocked off my feet. I had one a couple of weeks ago where the girls dad and husband pulled up chairs to the end of the bed when I said I was going to check her. As I am trying to be discrete and check her (she said she wanted them to stay) I anounce that she is now 5cm. Then the girls mom says"Well, are you sure that baby's head is down there, cuz when Bobbie checked her, he thought he felt a foot!"

I know I looked shocked .and said,"When did you check her?" and he crossed his arms over his chest, looked up in the air and said."I'm not telling, cuz you and the doctor might get mad." I proceeded to explain the need to keep vag exams at a minimum and that we need to keep as sterile as we could to keep the risk of infection down:eek: :confused: :eek:

I am so glad to have found this site:kiss because I thought here in Arkansas we had the strangest people.:lol2: It's good to know, and a bit of a relief to know there are weirdos all over the country.:smokin:

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

oh yuck...yea i have seen girls whose signficant others have checked them and actually were able to accurately describe dilatation and presentation to a degree....some were farmers, (guess they figured it was no different than checking a COW in labor?) .....others were just wierd.... NO WAY would ANYONE get to doing that on ME except a trained medical professional SHEESH...one would think the world was just FULL of MORONS. Or is it just me?????:o

Specializes in NICU.

lindalou,

Was "Bobbie" the husband or the father?!

I just love visitors or callers who, at 0730 want me to see if a pt is awake because THEY don't want to wake them up. When I tell them the pt is asleep, they want me to wake them up to tell them they have a call/visitor. That's not gonna happen.

Last week I had a first time Mom who just delivered and wanted to breastfeed without the huge audience that had gathered at her bedside. I kicked out everybody but Dad and helped her get the baby latched on. Dad and I ran interference for her as her many admirers kept trying to come in to see how it was going. One visitor showed up as I was wheeling a cart into the room to transfer the pt up to PP. I told everyone they needed to step out again when a "gentleman" who had just arrived and barged in on breastfeeding told me I could "just wait a few minutes". Since Mom was done trying to breastfeed, I had no reason to keep her in L&D any longer. I told the "gentleman" that I would not hold on and he needed to step out NOW. As I was getting Mom cleaned up and transferred to the cart, she thanked me for trying to keep her visitors out while she tried to breastfeed her baby. Some visitors just don't get it. This isn't about them, it is about Mom, baby and (hopefully) Dad. Sometimes it seems like it is a race among the visitors to see who gets to say they saw the baby first. I love it when I get a patient who tells me they didn't let anyone know they were coming to the hospital. Mom and Dad should have the first few hours to themselves after the delivery to get to know baby and for Mom to get a little rest and food.

KRVRN, Bobbie was the dad.......Thank goodness.

Specializes in OB, Post Partum, Home Health.

I had a pt last week that wanted 7 visitors in the room when she delivered. NOPE, sorry, 3 is my absolute limit, and is acutally a written policy in our hospital. She threw an absolute fit and said that she would just ask the doctor because she knew that he would say it was OK. They were very upset when I kindly but gently explained that it was a hospital policy and that doctors didn't have any control over it. Why is it that pt's think that doctors have all the power? They think that if the doctor says it is ok that it is like God saying it is ok. At least the doc backed me up and agreed that he had no control over it (little did they know that he doesn't like a lot of spectators either!)

With may second baby I went into labour at 11pm. Needless to say after being up with my other baby since 6am I was tired. I got not sleep that night and delivered at 1 am the next night. After being in awake for 42 hrs I was exhausted. I was put in a semi private room. There was no one else in the room thank god. But no later was I settled in bed then the family of the patient that they were bringing in from a CS flooded the room, lights on all clammoring on about the baby. She showed up in the room 2 hrs later and had a nurse in with her talking about nursing at 4am! The family still chatting away. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! I still cringe. The next afternoon she was resting so I left the room so I didn't interupt her with my visitors. However when I went back to the room for my much needed nap, There where all 6 of her family chatting like I wasn't there.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

that is why private LDRP's or LDR and P's are the ONLY way to go. Too bad, the military has not caught on yet....no such privacy once you have had a baby. They need to tightly control visitors in a semi-private room situation, for the sanity of all patients involved. but then, who gets rest in the hospital ANYway?

My dh delivered my twins. I was complete at change of shift. Most of the staff from both shifts were in there. Plus the OR crew, in case I needed a section. Spectator sport! :eek: :D

When I was in the Navy, we didn't have many private post-partum rooms, but we did keep very strict visiting hours.

Best one I have to share is from when I did a rotation in L&D while in school. The patient had her mom with her, her husband .....and the baby's father. Wierd. They all seemed to get along just fine.

Specializes in OB, Post Partum, Home Health.

wow, that is funny that you would say that because i had that exact situation today. Just hours ago!!!!!!!

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