Ok....another rant guys.
Is it too much to friggin' ask that staff not go in and out of rooms without knocking and/or identifying themselves...especially during a delivery. I was in a delivery early this morning. The woman was pushing, she's muslim and very private. In ten minutes time, while she was pushing, 4....yes 4 staff members walked in and out of the room for various reasons. I was livid!!!!!
After the delivery was over I went to the charge nurse and raised hell....she was one of the guilty ones to have walked in that room. She apologized and promised that that issue would get addressed. I told her this happened many times before. It's very distracting when women are going natural...it sometimes interrupts their 'zone'. But even simpler, it's basic common courtesy. Knock, wait for an answer, stayt behind the curtain and say what you need. It's not that hard!
7 comments:
You are absolutely right!! We can be bad about that on our floor, too... typical of us getting desensitized to the whole event (another example- talking about mundane things during a delivery or surgery... forgetting that this is a huge moment for the patient and they really don't care how Johnny is doing in baseball)...
I try to be good about knocking but some people are awful about it.
And it DOES mess up a labor patient's 'zone', both mentally and physically... we ALWAYS have what I call the "Doctor pause" that happens when I call the MD in for delivery (we don't have CNM's ...wah!) ... suddenly their contractions take a long pause before going back to the pattern they were in, never fails!!!
along those lines - I was at a birth last week and the anesthesiologist asked the mother if she minded him exposing her abdomen (just her belly!) with her guests in the room (doula and husband). The fact that this was so rare and shocking made me realize how commonplace this lack of courtesy is. He said something about not "treating her like the OBs did" and I was so impressed. I thanked him for that. She also had several uninvited, unannounced paraders through the room - including someone who was just rifling through drawers to find supplies for another room.
Shameful.
Oh yes I agree! I had a patient once who screamed "get out" to a crowd of medical students once. They hadn't even asked if they could observe and came in whe she was pushing. She was young and it was her first baby. All I was thinking was "good for you mama, you're going to do just fine!" :0)
MM
From a momma's point of view- it is the most rude thing I have ever experienced to have nurses walk in and out of a room when you are delivering. It doesn't seem to happen (that I noticed) while in labor. But once I'm exposed to the world to push... in comes the parade.
It is so disrespectful. We are, in essence, paying for the room and privacy.
By the time I was pushing each of my daughters in to the world I had an entire audience (which I didn't exactly notice until I was done pushing).
I give my Hypnobabies Students a sign to put on their door! Do you think that helps?
It says something along the lines of, "Hypnobabies mom birthing inside. Please only enter if necessary and stay QUIET!"
Sheridan - I do think it helps!
Ciarin,
hey, this is so true. I was at a hospital yesterday and there was total disregard for the patient's "space and zone." But I write here to ask you if you would be willing to post on the topic of positions that women can use for pushing with an epidural.
I worked with a woman whose doc said at week 10 of pregnancy that he thought she would need a c-section because of her anatomy. He induced her at week 39 to avoid big baby. Told her the baby felt BIG like 8.5. Labor moved a long. she got epidural at 4 cm, 80% -2. Was complete 7 hours later with lots of pitocin. Pushed for three hours, mostly in lithotomy position (My suggestions of side pushign shot down and laboring down too.) and doc called it. Baby didn't move past 2. Mom had been up all previous night and not eaten in 24 hours. She was toasted.
Mom started pushing before she had pressure. Doc wanted coached pushing instead of laboring down.
I see it all as an orchestrated c-section set up. But I don't know. So I am wondering if you have some gems up your sleeve for helping a mom with an epidural push through a "tight fitting pelvis."
I feel like hands and knees or a supported drape could have been helpful, but those are not going to happen with an epidural. I don't know. Or something with one leg higher.
By the way, the baby weighed 6.5. Not so big. This hospital is super management oriented, very high c-section rate. Most moms get induced. No one goes past 40 weeks. In short, not my favorite place to do my doula-ing.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
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