Birthing at hospital - can they force you to send baby to nursery? - Page 3

[Rani]

My dd was born in ABQ NM. They kept trying to take her to the nursery and I refused. I would nurse, then as soon as she fell asleep they would insist I wake her to nurse (you know, every 4 hours is every 4 hours :LOL). Anyway, we solved the problem by having it in our b-plan, but also dh or our friend that acted as doula was there all the time. If they wanted to take the baby, dh or Val went with her. Finally, toward the end, one of the nurses (they were all quite offended by this behaviour), asked if dh thought they were not good nurses...why didn't he trust them? I wonder why!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I told them a polite fiction about his troubled past with hospitals and that, no, it wasn't them specifically, but that he was paranoid about hospitals.

Also, they only took the babe for bath (which dh insisted he give) and for weighing and such...I was lucky I guess.

Good luck and stand firm!!!!

[MamaTaraX]

Originally Posted by erin_brycesmom

actually nope, they don't allow the parents in at the hospital I birthed at.

Lots of hospitals don't. You can still take the baby down yourself and stand there at the window like a hawk. Trust me, they'll get whatever done much faster with you standing there. For my 2nd's hearint screen, I laid him in the bucket myself and stood in arm's length the entire time. The lady thanked me for doing so, citing that most of the parents just leave the baby, though they are all encouraged to stay right there. I've watched it with other parents too. WHen they take the baby down themselves and stand there, the baby is handed back with much more speed.

This all reminds me of something I'd forgotten: When I had my 2nd, I had this really nice nurse on the post-partum unit. She joyfully bounced in around 1am to take the baby to the nursery. I was all scratching my head and such and she gave me some lameness aout checking out the baby and taking his temperature. I asked could she take his temperature here, were there no thermomenters in the room? She looked comletely perplexed and said "well, yes, I do have one in my pocket" She took his temperature. She "needed" to weigh him. I wasn't sure why, especially not why in the middle of the night. She was really nice though so I said "You can weigh him if I can carry him there myself" She didn't see why not. So she got her stupid weight on him and I took him myself. She personally tucked the baby into my bed beside me and wished me a good night afterward

Namaste, Tara

[CEG]

Originally Posted by stayathomecristi

"Please notify the nursery that I want non-separation" upon arrival and also put it in writing.

.

I really hope this does work for you I would be a little cautious though. The problem is that the OB director is not on the floor. She is in her office somewhere, or she is at home on a night or weekend. If you go in saying she told you this, there is a chance they will continue to tell you it is not allowed, etc. It sounds like if you can get to her she can make it happen. Maybe you can talk to her again and get some personal contact info. I just don't see the staff going along with this too easily... After all, common sense says babe should stay with mom if she asks and they still argued with you about it AND defended their policy. They didn't mention this as an option- even though the director says it is. I would definitely take as many steps to get this put into place early as I could. Best of luck to you with your delivery and babe!

BTW, the bath is for the convenience of the staff, a baby covered in dried vernix, fluid, and blood is a biohazard and you have to put on gloves. A baby who has been washed does not require any barriers.

[erin_brycesmom]

Trust me, they'll get whatever done much faster with you standing there.

Like I said, that didn't work for us but I'm glad it worked for you.

To those who are about to be dealing with a hospital birth - I would recomend printing out the AAP's policy statment on BFing and taking it with you to present to any staff who tries to take the baby to the nursery, especially this part:

Healthy infants should be placed and remain in direct skin-to-skin contact with their mothers immediately after delivery until the first feeding is accomplished.156–158
The alert, healthy newborn infant is capable of latching on to a breast without specific assistance within the first hour after birth.156 Dry the infant, assign Apgar scores, and perform the initial physical assessment while the infant is with the mother. The mother is an optimal heat source for the infant.159,160 Delay weighing, measuring, bathing, needle-sticks, and eye prophylaxis until after the first feeding is completed. Infants affected by maternal medications may require assistance for effective latch-on.156 Except under unusual circumstances, the newborn infant should remain with the mother throughout the recovery period.161

http://www.breastfeedingtaskforla.or...ement.htm#R152

I found that when I was in the hospital they liked to throw the AAP's recomendations out left and right, like when I went for my early discharge. I think it would have been helpful or at least priceless had I had a copy of this to whip in their faces when they tried to take the baby to do all of the above things in the nursery. Funny they only seem to care about the AAP's recomendations if they go along with their own personal hospital protocol.

[OnTheFence]

Some hospitals do not allow parents in the nursery for security or health reasons, which on some level I get. I just wouldn't birth at a hospital like that. I want me and my husband to have full access to our baby at all times, no questions really asked.

Believe it or not there are extremes to the other side as well. My friend lives outside of Atlanta and there is no newborn nursery for healthy newborns. Everything is right there in your room and that is where your newborn stays. At times she said this was problematic, especially with a first time mom and her having had a csection. I know another mother who had had many children and didn't mind her baby going to the nursery because she was a lite sleeper and wanted the have a 2-3 hours of solid sleep uninterrupted, but that was not something they did at that hospital. There was a full rooming in policy. Let's just say she wasn't too happy about that.

I know that when I had Katie twice I went to the nursery for an extended length of time. Both times I was there there was this one baby that was in there. I was told that the mother didn't want her in the room with her at all unless she had visitors. The nurses literally had to "force" the mother to feed the baby and the mother would not change the baby's clothes or diaper at all. It was really sad. She just didn't want the baby in there with her at all. One of the baby nurses said that they were going to have psych consult with her before she left because she acted so distant with her baby. What made it even sadder is that the hospital I give birth at requires that the nurses wear gloves when they have any physical contact with the babies, even while just holding them. So that baby had little to no skin to skin contact.

[babycatcher01]

with the hospital that I have worked for, and during my schooling as a nurse, If a doctor find that a baby needs to be "observed"for some reason, that baby can become property of the hospital, that is after a cps call. There was a nurse that took a rectal temp a normal 99 degrees, and she put it under axu temp. They contacted cps they said they were indagering their child because they refused antibiotics for their babies"infection". They left AMA and cps was looking for them at home.


The advice I can give you is after the birth and the post exame of both you and baby, and things check out, sign you and you baby out of the hospital. Say if you have any concerns or problems they will be the first you contact, other then that say thank you for their time and be on you way. Never be harsh just stick up for yourself in a respectiful way and dont let baby out of your sight, you can refuse any and all testing, but when you sign the waver make sure you cross out the part that you are not endangering you or your child and as a result of not having the test. Just write in yourself that these test and procedures are not nessary at this time and you do not hold the hospital accountable if any problem arise as a result of not having the test. It will be hard and they will not see from you point of veiw, they are looking for something wrong. Just be strong.

[MandyWelch]

I don't post very often in this forum but I am a nurse in an NICU at a family friendly hospital (if there is such a thing). Our protocol states that if a baby is born at less than 35wks (even 34 and 6/7 days) it has to be brought to the NICU for observation. Usually those babies do not just stay for observation and end up staying at least 3 days but usually a couple of weeks. If as a mom you think your baby is fine, of course you can refuse medical treatment for your child. If we feel that the child is in danger, we get a court order to treat the child. We've only done this on very specific occasions like when a family refuses blood products for religous reasons and the baby has a dangerously low hematocrit (blood count).

Something else to remember is that if you chose to leave the hospital with your child AMA, your insurance will not cover you or the baby for anything up until that point.

And no, nurses will not pry the child from your arms 99.9% of the time (I can't vouch for crazy nurses). We just simply make a note in the chart that mom refuses x or y.

Here's hoping your baby cooks a while longer.

Mandy

[Maridith222]

Be firm.. The hospital I had my son at was great and really helped us foster our breastfeeding relationship and told us how lucky our son was to not be circumsized. IF they pressure you, and there are no complications, you are always free to discharge AMA.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by MandyWelch

Something else to remember is that if you chose to leave the hospital with your child AMA, your insurance will not cover you or the baby for anything up until that point.

This seems to be an urban legend. I can't imagine that it's legal.

-Angela

[MandyWelch]

Originally Posted by alegna

This seems to be an urban legend. I can't imagine that it's legal.

-Angela

I have heard our docs tell parents this before, and our particular doctors don't lie. I will have to say that I have never checked into this myself, and it might just be some insurance carriers and not all.

Mandy

[OnTheFence]

Originally Posted by alegna

This seems to be an urban legend. I can't imagine that it's legal.

-Angela

It's not. We agree on something again. Don't Faint ok?

I was told this by hospital staff and it is completely untrue. I left AMA with Jack and called my insurance company the next day. They do, by law, have to cover your hospital visits even if you choose to leave against medical advice. I had an HMO at the time that really sucked to be honest with you. I now have BCBS, a very good plan, and I have confirmed with them during my pregnancy with Katie that they would pay for my hospital/surgical bills if I left AMA.

[OnTheFence]

Originally Posted by MandyWelch

I have heard our docs tell parents this before, and our particular doctors don't lie. I will have to say that I have never checked into this myself, and it might just be some insurance carriers and not all.

Mandy

I'd bet the farm that they are lying. I had a ped. and three nurses tell me at the hospital they would not pay. My sister is a RN and said that this is said to scare patients into complying. I was also told that if I left, my baby would die and they would call CPS on me. I called my attorney from the hospital who said that I could leave, but to get a second opinion the next morning and not to let CPS in the door if they came to my home but to hand them her card. CPS was not called. I did get my second opinion. And that baby they told me would die, is 4. My insurance also paid the hospital bill, all the tests, and even the meal I ate while I was there.

[the_lissa]

I don't live in the U.S., but I can't see how that is legal. It totally negates informed consent.

[MandyWelch]

Originally Posted by OnTheFence

I'd bet the farm that they are lying. I had a ped. and three nurses tell me at the hospital they would not pay. My sister is a RN and said that this is said to scare patients into complying. I was also told that if I left, my baby would die and they would call CPS on me. I called my attorney from the hospital who said that I could leave, but to get a second opinion the next morning and not to let CPS in the door if they came to my home but to hand them her card. CPS was not called. I did get my second opinion. And that baby they told me would die, is 4. My insurance also paid the hospital bill, all the tests, and even the meal I ate while I was there.

Wow, good to know. I'll have to talk to the docs about this tomorrow at work. We have only had this issue come up twice in the 10 years I've been there and our docs always just ended up discharging the baby. That's one thing I don't like about my job, we often don't get to hear outcomes after babies are discharged...unless they come visit or someone calls to tell us funeral arrangements

Mandy