What Are Your Vital Sign Requirements For A Normal Newborn?

[obnursesteff]

We are a low risk, small rural hospital birthing center. The local pedi is instituting a drastic change in our vital sign checks to q15min x4, q30min x2, q1hx2 then q4h. What do other birthing centers do??

[JenTheRN]

Those sound like post-op vs to me. That's what we do on our post-partums and post-op c-sections. What is the reasoning for a normal newborn? It sounds like major overkill to me. We do a vs at birth and one at one hour of age, and then routinely q 4 hours. Of course on a sick baby it's different.

ETA: The more I think of this the stranger it seems. I mean, doing all those vital signs on a baby takes major time away from bonding and breastfeeding. Especially during the direct post partum period.

[CEG]

I am a student still but as a mother I can say I would not be pleased with this. How on earth could you breastfeed you baby with someone doing vitals like that? And how about bonding time?

The hospital where my babes were born did birth, the baby went to the nursery for an hour about 2 hours after birth and I am assuming they were done there, and then Q4 in the day and not at all at night unless we were awake.

Is this change in response to something bad happening or a bored pedi?

[babyktchr, BSN, RN]

We do q 15mins x the first hour then q 4 hours x 24 hours. After that they are q shift. Visual checks documented every 2 hours.

[MemphisOBRNC, BSN, RN]

I agree that vitals that often should be on the delivered patient, not the newborn. We do vitals on the newborn upon admisision and at 1 hour, along with the accucheck (Blood sugar). If the temp and glucose are OK, we give the bath and recheck the temp. After that, an entry is made in the chart q 2-3 hours and vitals q shift.

Have someone like the manager or chief of staff ask to see where this recommendation has been published.

[htrn]

Wow, I want to work in ya'lls nursery. We do VS q15 min X 4, q30 mins X2 then q4 hrs. If LGA or other risk factors, we do CS at 30 minutes then hourly X 4 if all above 45 then we can quit. If not, then the poor kiddo has hamburger for heels by 12 hours old.

[BirthingBabies]

We do q15 after birth... then after an hour or so we will check again and then q shift....

[RNnL&D]

We are a low risk, small rural hospital birthing center. The local pedi is instituting a drastic change in our vital sign checks to q15min x4, q30min x2, q1hx2 then q4h. What do other birthing centers do??

We do VS at birth, 30 minutes, 60 minutes, then hourly x3, q 2hrs x 1, then q shift.

[dawngloves, BSN, RN]

We are a low risk, small rural hospital birthing center. The local pedi is instituting a drastic change in our vital sign checks to q15min x4, q30min x2, q1hx2 then q4h. What do other birthing centers do??

That's what we do in the NICU! I forget what they do to the healthy babies.