Is it proper for a nurse to tell a patient who has gone to the hospital in labor to "go home and come back when you can't talk through your labor discomfort"
What is that all about. If you are in labor, in this case every 3-5 minutes documented but do NOT need pain meds just yet, this does not sound proper to me, especially since what is the point of "controlled labor"
That is my rant----happended to my daughter who did agree to go home but had to come back after 3 hours when she absolutely needed pain med control and did deliver 11 hours later
Oh and by the way-----the nurse discharged the patient, never seen by the MD----but supposedly did talk with the MD
I'm really not trying to sound "mean" here or be offensive....but, don't you think you have some small responsibility of educating yourself before you actually go into labor? If nothing else, there are lots of good books on the subject, geared for lay-people; and there is always the option of a prepared childbirth class.
Again, not to sound rude or anything, but the ER does not consider someone in early labor an "emergency".... I notice you did go home, labor and then return the next morning/day to deliver....
No excuse for "rude" nurses, of course, but perhaps they were busy that night and were trying to rush through things....
Congrats to you on your birth!
I did read books about the development of my baby during each week of pregnancy. The development really intrigued me, I really didnt think that far ahead to the whole labor process. Now, I agree that the ER was correct with sending me home but I also think the nurses could have explained why i was being sent home instead of just saying go home until it hurts so much it cant hurt anymore. I thought nurses are supposed to educate patients and I think would be beneficial to tell a pregnant woman,especially if its her first child, why she is being sent home. I understand that the nurses could have been busy but still no excuse it would have taken less thatn two minutes to tell me why I was being sent home.
Im not sour or anything. I just hope those nurses I had the night before I gave birth to my daughter dont show their face when I decide to have baby #2!! :chuckle
Thanks I cant believe my lil princess is going to be 2yr in a few weeks. Whew I know understand what people say when they say 'kids grow like weeds' and 'it goes by in no time'.
I tell people all of the time to come back when pain gets to where you cannot walk or talk thru them. It is a reference point for them..as opposed to coming in smiling, full makeup on and an entourage bigger than the preidents. Contractions ever 3-4 mins doesn't mean much if the cervix is closed. Everyones pain tolerance is different also. I find family members have a harder time with being sent home than the actual patient sometimes.
Don't mind me....I shouldn't be replying..I am cranky. Just wanted to express that I say the very thing you described....but as a reference. I am not mean or berating about it. Sometimes those first time mommies have that horrible prodromal labor that last weeks. I feel for them.
this was how it was for me. My labor started and stopped for about 3 weeks and i went in probably 5 or 6 times thinking finally this is it, my cervix was changing but it would stop soon after so byt the time i really was in continuous labor i had been dilated 3.5 and effaced 50% and it took the 3 weeks of start and stop to get there, so they made me walk up and down the staris for 2 hours to keep it going. THis was my first. I had some slighlty cranky nurses that told me that if i could talk to them then i wasn't in labor and it couldn't hurt that much. , but you know there were also nice ones who explained the process and how this happens to some first time moms, and validated that I was in labor, but it stopped and now you need to go home and rest. Some people have better interpersonal communication skills than others. I was so embarrassed about everybody knowing me on site that when I finally was in labor that was continuous I didn't want to go the hospital because i was sure they'd give me that look! :chuckle
I can see both sides of this one, and I agree with both SBE and BETSRN.
I think that pumping milk instead of putting the baby to breast, especially so early, can throw off a milk supply this early in the game. There's great debate about nipple confusion, and as someone who's training to be a lactation educator, I can argue both side of that little coin. As a doula, I always suggest that the best thing to do is simply snuggle up next to your baby in bed and nurse them, which allows you to get sleep as well. It's very safe to do so, and helps stimulate all those great mommy hormones that keep you happy. :)
When you sleep near your baby, your sleep patterns coincide with the baby so that when they're stirring, you're stirring as well. Anecdotally, I can attest to this from my own experience as a mother - it's AMAZING. This is backed up by the research findings, too. James McKenna, a researcher at Notre Dame's Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Lab, studies mother-baby sleep diads, and it's fascinating what results are coming from his research. There is also research to suggest that, done safely, co-sleeping may help to prevent SIDS. Breastfeeding also is known to help prevent SIDS.
Instead of pumping, perhaps take advantage of the time to sleep!!!!! That way, you'll rest, recover from giving birth and prevent running your immune system amuk because you're trying to do so much. We all know how it is, wanting to accomplish stuff with a new babe and being so tired. It's tough.
Best of luck to you. I would encourage you to find a La Leche League chapter as well - I found them an invaluable support in the early days of my parenting, and it was nice to be able to go to a place where nursing amongst other people was no big whoop, and there were other mothers who knew what I was going through. Some LLL Leaders have been called breastfeeding Nazi's, which is a disgusting mischaracterization of their mission. And it's amusing that LLL gets portrayed as a hippy group, when it was originally founded by 7 mothers at a Catholic church picnic!
For anyone interested in taking a look at mother-baby sleep and the cosleeping issue, here's a link to Dr. McKenna's site:
The reason I asked about crying it out is because in our culture, many people have no problem with letting little newborns do so, justifying it as "setting the schedule". This is most deleterious to the infant, and our society needs to be educated not to do it. Once they're older, it becomes more a personal and sleep issue, but at the beginning, it's just plain unwise, and so I always ask.
Best of luck,
Alison
PS. Out of curiousity, how close was the baby's actual birth weight to the ultrasound prediction?
They predicted 8lbs 14 oz, but he was only 8lbs 6 oz. It really was a blessing he was delivered by c-section since his placenta was grade 3 and his cord was 3x around his neck and my pelvic outlet really was much smaller than could have delivered his huge round head YIKES!
, but you know there were also nice ones who explained the process and how this happens to some first time moms, and validated that I was in labor, but it stopped and now you need to go home and rest. Some people have better interpersonal communication skills than others. I was so embarrassed about everybody knowing me on site that when I finally was in labor that was continuous I didn't want to go the hospital because i was sure they'd give me that look! :chuckle
judy ann
225 Posts
" It will all be ok, despite our good works, they all become TEENAGERS some day!!!! And then you will look back fondly on these days and laugh...."
An aside: adolescence--the terrible twos with hormones!
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