Just got a G1P0 at 37wks, transfer from L&D. Advanced maternal age (she's pushing 50), but no other health or pregnancy issues. She was cervidil'ed yesterday, no progress (shocker at 37wks, huh?), so she's hanging out here for "therapeutic rest", re-evaluate tomorrow.
I knew she was gonna be fun the second she came here...complained that at 0100, the "best" we could get her to eat is turkey with lettuce and tomato on a roll, a banana, juice, milk, crackers and yogurt (I think that's pretty good, no?) requested a private room--sorry, no, we're almost full. Put her in a double room but no roomate right now, so she's by herself.
"This toilet bowl is filthy!"
"No, Ms. G, that's a chip in the plastic, but I'll wipe it down for you if you'd like" and so I wipe it down....
"It's still there! This is really disgusting! Maybe we can page a maid?? Or can't I just have another room. Can't you move someone from the private room into this one?"
I ask her if they taught her how to measure her urine. "No, I'm just going to leave it in the white thing [hat]. You measure it. That's what they did down there [L&D]"
I explained to her very nicely that they only have one patient at a time on L&D while I have 5 right now, and showed her how to do it. 10 min later she buzzed me to empty her hat.
:angryfire
Then her mother who was with her asks "So, sweety, tell the nurse when you want your cervidil so she can make sure you get it" I kinda interrupted and explained that there were limits (recent PO intake) and schedules, etc.
Mom chimes in "Well, she wants it at 6am. Don't you dear? Nurse, can you write that down-SIX AM"
Pt-"Yes, 6am. And please...be a good nurse and make sure the doctors are here at 6am, not 6:15 or 6:30...I want to get this over with. And I need sleep-don't wake me up until the doctor is here with the medicine in his hand."
Lady--if you think you're tired now, wait till you have a baby screaming every 2 hours and no permanent support (single mother by choice).
Yeah, that particular patient sounds like a brat--but what's with all this negativity about older first time moms? "Pushing fifty" likely encompasses anyone 40 and up.
WOW... Do women really have FIRST babies when they are that OLD?????
I want to say that is just irresponsible and selfish. No wonder their attitudes seem to really suck.
And having a baby at nearly 50???????? Give me a break!!! :uhoh21:
You don't know everyone's story and really, what business is it of yours anyway? Just do your job.
Sheesh, and I thought us ER nurses were the mean judgemental ones. Yikes!
I gotta say, I admire all of you who do L&D and Mother-baby. In my rotation in nursing school, I had the most obnoxious, demanding families to deal with, I swore I would never, ever do it.
My favorite was the college professor, who at age 40, was having her first baby. She, of course, wanted everything NATURAL. When I went to check on her and baby, she, baby, and HUSBAND were all in bed, NAKED. (except for diaper on baby). Husband demanded to see my ID, because he knew there were unauthorized personnel running around. (You'd have more cred, bub, if you put your PANTS on.)
They had a CD with some sort of drumming music on, I guess to add to the natural atmosphere.
They were quite put out when we had to take to baby and put under the bili lights.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
wow... do women really have first babies when they are that old?????
i want to say that is just irresponsible and selfish. no wonder their attitudes seem to really suck.
yes, some women have their first babies when they are that old. sometimes it's by choice, but sometimes it's because they tried and tried to have babies when they were a more "appropriate" age, and it just never happened. but it's happened now and they're ecstatic and they're going to enjoy it no matter that the baby's father was a one-night stand from their wild business trip to omaha and they haven't seen him since, no matter that their husband left them for his much-younger assistant years ago and no matter that irritating youngsters find it somehow distasteful to see a middle-aged woman having a child.
how is it irresponsible or selfish? that woman probably had a job with benefits and a living wage, a home, and the financial resources to care for her child. selfish and irresponsible would be having a child at 14 when you have no job, no income and no home but keeping the baby because "it will love me" while you continue partying like the teenager you are and leave the child alone or dump it on your parents.
her attitude sucked, i'll give you that. but i also find the attitude of someone who called a woman "irresponsible and selfish" merely because she was in her forties and having a child somewhat sucky as well.
yes, some women have their first babies when they are that old. sometimes it's by choice, but sometimes it's because they tried and tried to have babies when they were a more "appropriate" age, and it just never happened. but it's happened now and they're ecstatic and they're going to enjoy it no matter that the baby's father was a one-night stand from their wild business trip to omaha and they haven't seen him since, no matter that their husband left them for his much-younger assistant years ago and no matter that irritating youngsters find it somehow distasteful to see a middle-aged woman having a child.
how is it irresponsible or selfish? that woman probably had a job with benefits and a living wage, a home, and the financial resources to care for her child. selfish and irresponsible would be having a child at 14 when you have no job, no income and no home but keeping the baby because "it will love me" while you continue partying like the teenager you are and leave the child alone or dump it on your parents.
her attitude sucked, i'll give you that. but i also find the attitude of someone who called a woman "irresponsible and selfish" merely because she was in her forties and having a child somewhat sucky as well.
Yeah, that particular patient sounds like a brat--but what's with all this negativity about older first time moms? "Pushing fifty" likely encompasses anyone 40 and up.
And having a baby at nearly 50???????? Give me a break!!! :uhoh21:
You don't know everyone's story and really, what business is it of yours anyway? Just do your job.
Sheesh, and I thought us ER nurses were the mean judgemental ones. Yikes!
I was going to say that I wasn't being negative, but I can see how you would believe that I was being negative. Especially with the comment about being selfish at the end of my post. You are right, I don't know everyone's story.
In my initial post, I meant to express my amazement that ANYONE would WANT to start a family at fifty. I mean, most people are thinking of retiring and traveling and doing "fun" stuff vs. running after an active toddler, school aged child, teen or college aged child. Don't get me wrong, some people LOVE that kind of thing and maybe she does (but not from the sound of the story I read). "Tired of being pregnant! 6 AM not 6:15 or 6:30"
I think of fifty year olds like my mom, who loves going and doing and enjoys her grandchild, way more than she did her own children because she is not responsible for raising him.
Besides that, while older moms are becoming more prevalent b/c of women advancing themselves in education and carreer before starting a family, Isn't fifty about the time that menopause starts? So in that context wouldn't that be outside the biological norm?
I don't find pregnant middle aged women distasteful. lol... I may be one in the not too distant future.
Yeah, I wouldn't stereotype regarding age - it is like saying all nurses eat their young and you know we've done away with that old wives' tale;) . . .she has probably always been a bit of a prima donna.
I was surprised to read that patients are supposed to measure and empty their own urine . .. wow, how do you know they are being honest?
yes, some women have their first babies when they are that old. sometimes it's by choice, but sometimes it's because they tried and tried to have babies when they were a more "appropriate" age, and it just never happened. but it's happened now and they're ecstatic and they're going to enjoy it no matter that the baby's father was a one-night stand from their wild business trip to omaha and they haven't seen him since, no matter that their husband left them for his much-younger assistant years ago and no matter that irritating youngsters find it somehow distasteful to see a middle-aged woman having a child.
how is it irresponsible or selfish? that woman probably had a job with benefits and a living wage, a home, and the financial resources to care for her child. selfish and irresponsible would be having a child at 14 when you have no job, no income and no home but keeping the baby because "it will love me" while you continue partying like the teenager you are and leave the child alone or dump it on your parents.
her attitude sucked, i'll give you that. but i also find the attitude of someone who called a woman "irresponsible and selfish" merely because she was in her forties and having a child somewhat sucky as well.
thank you for saying what i could not without needing more bp meds!
i cannot have children. i would have given every ounce of my being to have a baby, even in my forties. those who judge have no idea what some "older" women have gone through to finally have a child.
I was going to say that I wasn't being negative, but I can see how you would believe that I was being negative. Especially with the comment about being selfish at the end of my post. You are right, I don't know everyone's story.
In my initial post, I meant to express my amazement that ANYONE would WANT to start a family at fifty. I mean, most people are thinking of retiring and traveling and doing "fun" stuff vs. running after an active toddler, school aged child, teen or college aged child. Don't get me wrong, some people LOVE that kind of thing and maybe she does (but not from the sound of the story I read). "Tired of being pregnant! 6 AM not 6:15 or 6:30"
I think of fifty year olds like my mom, who loves going and doing and enjoys her grandchild, way more than she did her own children because she is not responsible for raising him.
Besides that, while older moms are becoming more prevalent b/c of women advancing themselves in education and carreer before starting a family, Isn't fifty about the time that menopause starts? So in that context wouldn't that be outside the biological norm?
I don't find pregnant middle aged women distasteful. lol... I may be one in the not too distant future.
Yeah, me to. I am 41 and have 2 teenaged girls but would like one more. I hope the nurses don't think of me like that if I do!
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
What makes me angry is their physicians never set limits from the outset, rather leading them to believe we will bend to their every whim on command. I have been known to have words with the doctors on cases like this. I will also quote policy verbatim for them, if it's clearly a violation to honor whims and wishes. And I will document the heck out the entire shift to CYA myself.....
There are always plenty of these patients out there to drive us to drink.....I try not to let them get to me and will set limits on a professional level whenever possible. IF they get truly unruly and out of control I will speak to their physicians about it. That is about all anyone can do. But make no mistake, I don't cater to them anymore than I would the teen mom in the next room who is making no demands on me. They all get my best.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
?????????????? What doctor would even allow this?
zillions of them do. If I had a dollar for every "social induction" or induction for "maternal discomfort" I had to do ----(yes exactly those words in the indication for procedure are used by OBs)----I would retire and never work again. IN a beachfront house, no less.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
yes, some women have their first babies when they are that old. sometimes it's by choice, but sometimes it's because they tried and tried to have babies when they were a more "appropriate" age, and it just never happened. but it's happened now and they're ecstatic and they're going to enjoy it no matter that the baby's father was a one-night stand from their wild business trip to omaha and they haven't seen him since, no matter that their husband left them for his much-younger assistant years ago and no matter that irritating youngsters find it somehow distasteful to see a middle-aged woman having a child.
how is it irresponsible or selfish? that woman probably had a job with benefits and a living wage, a home, and the financial resources to care for her child. selfish and irresponsible would be having a child at 14 when you have no job, no income and no home but keeping the baby because "it will love me" while you continue partying like the teenager you are and leave the child alone or dump it on your parents.
her attitude sucked, i'll give you that. but i also find the attitude of someone who called a woman "irresponsible and selfish" merely because she was in her forties and having a child somewhat sucky as well.
thank you....
from a hopeful mom of one more who is "pushing old" herself here, having waited until truly ready and able to have kids!
"selfish" is the person who purposely has a baby for any reason other than wanting to nurture and raise up a greatly-loved, well-adjusted and productive member of the human race, be that by biology or adoption!!!!!
;) 
Miss Mab
414 Posts
Yeah, that particular patient sounds like a brat--but what's with all this negativity about older first time moms? "Pushing fifty" likely encompasses anyone 40 and up.
And having a baby at nearly 50???????? Give me a break!!! :uhoh21:
You don't know everyone's story and really, what business is it of yours anyway? Just do your job.
Sheesh, and I thought us ER nurses were the mean judgemental ones. Yikes!