water breaking with meconium

[samuel's mama]

Do they really need to monitor the baby constantly if the water breaks and there is meconium present? My good friend is at the hospital right now and is in the beginning stages of labor but not being allowed to walk around because of this. Anyone else had this happen?

[emnic77]

It was 11 years ago when I dealt with this, but yes...this was my experience as well. Maybe she could negotiate and get monitored every 15 minutes if she's allowed to walk around? Ugh. Best of luck to her.

[moms angels]

My youngest daughter was born with meconium and she was monitored very closely. They need to monitor baby to make sure it isn't blocking babies air flow or cause an infection in the windpipe or lungs. A ped will check baby after the birth until he/she's about 2 months old to make sure the lungs are functioning good.

[Wittyone]

Our hospital does not require continuous monitoring unless the meconium is thick or there have been non-reassuring heart tones. However, it sounds like she is also in a hospital where women are not allowed to ambulate or be out of bed once the water is broken (because you can certainly be continuously monitored outside of the bed!). The practice of bedrest following rupture of membranes is outdated and not evidence based but it practiced in a lot of places.

[jecombs]

Could she request a telemetry monitor? It has no wires, so she could move around and still be monitored.

If everything looked good on the monitor, I would request to have it taken off and just monitor intermittently. Staying flat in the bed is not good for keeping labor moving in the right direction.

[bender]

I used a telemetry monitor with my baby after meconium was discovered. Since most of the women who gave birth at my hospital got epidurals, they had several of the wireless mobile ones around. At the very least, your friend should ask for monitoring with longer wires (which was another option I had) so she can move the stand and walk around a bit.