Question about your rooms..

judyblueeyes · May 15, 2007

Yes, we have "infant stabilization" pods scattered throughout or 45 L&D rooms. Each pod can acomodate up to 4 kids and they are always up and ready to go.

HappyNurse2005, RN · May 16, 2007

right now, no, but the infant area (bed/scale/supplies) is an alcove off the main room, so enough people around the bed (nnp, rn, etc) could block the baby from parents view.

nitetimeobnurse · May 16, 2007

Our infant area of the room, is equiped with a curtain to close, but not a separate room.

KellNY, RN · May 16, 2007

I'm not sure it's the best idea to not "subject" the parents to any measures taken. Sometimes not knowing can be scarier than knowing, and in the unfortunate event that a baby dies, at least the parents were able to see you doing everything you could. Just my thoughts.

Having said that, we stabalize the baby in the same room mom delevered in. NICU is just down the hall if we need to transport.

SmilingBluEyes · May 16, 2007

I'm not sure it's the best idea to not "subject" the parents to any measures taken. Sometimes not knowing can be scarier than knowing, and in the unfortunate event that a baby dies, at least the parents were able to see you doing everything you could. Just my thoughts.
Having said that, we stabalize the baby in the same room mom delevered in. NICU is just down the hall if we need to transport.

Absolutely agree with this post.

We stablized in our LDRP. Seriously compromised infants are transported to the SCN for further tx and evaluation, behind a closed door, usually.

SmilingBluEyes · May 16, 2007

PS I did make a decision to bring a dad in to see us coding his baby (who did not make it) some years back. Some criticized me mightily for it. Others praised me. (He was not there cause we were in the OR and mom was under anesthesia). He and the family were very upset not to be allowed to know what was going on, so I brought him at his urging and let him observe. Later on the whole family thanked me.

So, it can vary. I do not believe we should routinely exclude family from seeing our efforts esp when they really, really want to be there, for whatever reason.

nurseynightnight · May 16, 2007

I have to agree that it is best to stabilize infant in front of the parents. If your mother or father were coding wouldn't you want to be there?? I would.

We are a small hospital (700 deliveries/year) so our warmers are right in the room with mom without any kind of wall or curtain. We stabilize as best we can then move to the nursery.

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · May 16, 2007

Full disclosure: I don't do L&D. I do mother/baby & nursery.

But I like the idea, as a nurse and as a mom, to do everything in front of the parents. Like someone else said, it would seem that not knowing, not seeing, is worse than seeing it, as bad as it may be. If that were my baby, I would not want you taking him/her away from me just to spare me anything.

When I am in nursery & we are working on a bad baby (waiting for transport to NICU, or just getting them to transition), we are in a glass fishbowl with our actions fully visible to anyone who walks by. Since that's the case, I make every effort as soon as it's feasible to step outside and let Daddy (or whoever has the other bracelet) what it is we're doing and why. Usually you can see the look of relief on their face, not necessarily bc their baby's ok, but because they know what's going on now, vs watching but not hearing through a wall of glass.

Our NICU team is at highrisk deliveries also, and they are right down the hall (within shouting distance in some pods) from us if they need to come take a baby.

MemphisOBRNC, BSN, RN · May 16, 2007

Stabilize in the room and transfer to NICU if needed.

BittyBabyGrower, MSN, RN · May 22, 2007

Thanks :) They want to put a few rooms in with an attached alcove....we have had some horrible things lately (lots of 23 weekers dying) and with the family screaming, we can't hear each other and we get louder and soon it is a fiasco! Also in some of the rooms, the warmer is behind the door, next to the linen chutes and there is NO room to get more than 2 people in there or to open your trays if you need them and then God forbid someone opens that door and hits you. The whole place needs a redesign.

Thanks again for your input!

RNmom08 · May 22, 2007

I remember my nursing instructor saying there had been a study done that said it was "better" for the family to be in the room with a critical patient during treating them. (I would think this would apply here too.) I did an observational in ER and the family was in the room as the dr's and nurses was working on him. (he did die at hospice later that day)

I would agree that not knowing is worse than knowing for a family member.