I just got home from the NICU.... - Page 3

[LBBmom]

Mamabeard...I would almost bet your infant's hypoglycemia was caused by post dates and placental insufficiency. If your placental was in really bad shape, there had to have been placental insuffiency. Every search I did on placental insufficiency stated that hypoglycemia was a possible post delivery effect on the baby.

*edited to add that I don't know how you managed to not push for 45 minutes! They begged me not to push with my last delivery (doctor wasn't there), but there was just no way! My body took over and I just couldn't stop it. I'm surprised that they didn't just deliver you in the ambulance. : Paramedics are trained to deliver babies and have adequate equipment on hand.

Oh wait...I see the ambulance drivers didn't seem to have a clue. Sheesh!

[LBBmom]

Bec...I don't understand why they wouldn't let you breastfeed. If we have a baby who really needs the calories/sugar, we let mom nurse, then either wait and check a blood sugar or follow the breastfeeding with EBM in a bottle or formula. And I'm puzzled by the antibiotics. We only start antibiotics if there is a real reason to suspect infection....hypoglycemia does not fit that criteria.

I'm sorry your experience was so negative. I hope your next one is a very positive one for you.

[mamabeard]

not pushing was certainly the hardest thing i've ever done in my life, that is forsure! i assumed it was a matter of life and death, tho, since my son could have been in distress.. that is the only way i managed to hold him in. i have pretty strong willpower when i need to. it seemed the ambulance drivers really had no experience with labouring women.. i kept trying to squeeze the one guy's hand during contractions.. i just needed to.. and he wouldn't let me, and kept telling me to straighten out and lie flat. finally at the end (of the very long drive), he did let me squeeze his hand a couple of times, tho.. but they both seemed kinda freaked out and unaware, yeah..


bec, i was allowed to breastfeed, however, because it was just collostrum in the first day, they supplemented formula, and then gave him my breastmilk in the tube once it came in for the next couple of days. i'm not certain, but as far as i know my son's levels also stabilized pretty rapidly (i remember there was no longer a threat of convulsion), and yet he was also kept in NICU. i wonder if he, too, was given antibiotics without my knowledge? and i still don't understand why he couldn't room with me, considering he was only tested every 3 hours or so. whenever i went in the room, he was being ignored. he wasn't hooked up to anything. i certainly would have been paying more attention to him if he were in the room with me, than anyone was paying him in NICU.:

[Greaseball]

I'm not saying sick babies should stay with their moms and not have their special equipment that they need. I'm saying every mother's room should be set up to deal with very sick babies, because rooming in should not be viewed as a luxury or perk, but rather as a necessity.

And yes, each baby should be entitled to a private nurse who will room in with mom & baby if mom wants.

I was seeing a licensed midwife who said she would be OK delivering a 34-weeks gestation baby at home. She would not routinely transfer; only as necessary.

[khrisday]

I'm saying every mother's room should be set up to deal with very sick babies, because rooming in should not be viewed as a luxury or perk, but rather as a necessity.

hmmmm......

In an ideal world, sure. But I can't see how a recovery L&D room could possibly be equiped with the equiptment that my dd needed- a heart/lung bypass machine requiring surgical insertion and removal, and TWO round the clock nurses assigned to just her- as well as many blood products, medicines, and intravenous nutrition.
Nor do I think it's realistic or practical for that to happen. What about when mom goes home and baby is still there? Or when baby is transferred from the hospital where they were born or admitted, to a larger hospital who is equipped to handle truly ill infants. I can see this for routine care of neonates who are recovering from minor illnesses, but for those who really are very sick and in life threatening danger I don't see how it can work. I think that you're being a little niave in what kind of care some babies really need.

[spero]

"hmmmmmmm" indeed

I don't know about where you live, Greaseball, but in my state there is already a *severe* shortage of nurses. I did not meet one nurse in our NICU who ever worked less than a 12-hour shift (5-6 days/week)...they had to, in order to meet the demand. Only in a perfect world would there be enough nurses, equipment, and insurance to provide private rooming-in care of critically ill and/or premature infants and their mamas.

It simply is not a realistic expectation.

[Greaseball]

What about when mom goes home and baby is still there?

When would that ever happen? Wouldn't most moms be willing to stay in the hospital however long their baby was there? Don't most insist on it?

It may be more practical from the hospital's point of view if mom just camped out in the nursery, but if every mom did it there would be no room for the staff. Also, think of how germ-laden those nurseries are, much like hospitals in general.

T
I'm in Oregon, BTW, and am not sure how different the midwife licensing rules are, but I know they are even different for each midwife in my town. The one who can attend premature births also can attend breeches and twins, while the others in my city cannot.

[lilyka]

Originally posted by Greaseball
When would that ever happen? Wouldn't most moms be willing to stay in the hospital however long their baby was there? Don't most insist on it?

fortunately my baby who had to be in the NICU was my first and I had the luxury of staying at her side at all hours of the day. However if a mom has another baby at home to care for, or no transportatin or live freaking forever away they may have to leave thier baby more often. My friend had a baby with congenital defects and had to be on life supprt her entire life (11 days ) in the mean time her sister who had just turned 2 and had never spent more than an hour or two away from mom and was still nursing had the flu. They lived an hour from town and it was the dead of winter and the roads were terrible. Added all together she didn't have the option of camping out at the hospital. It was horrible and heart wrenching for her to choose between her two babies. So not always an option. Also some babies in the NICU actually are sick and need that kind of care. Many of them however I think wuld be just fine with some TLC, a little monitoring while rooming in and some extra checking up on.

As for the Antibiotics to every baby in the NICU. that is standard here to. Until they prove they don't have an infection they are on an IV antibiotic. Thier reasoning to me was that it is easies to get an unbilical IV started in them right away (because they assume they will need it) and if they do have an infection it is better for all of the babies if they are on antibiotices (another reason a baby should only be subjected to the NICU only if they really need it) we are talking about gathering 30-100 immuno suppressed individuals, some who actually are sick from infections and putting them in one room where parents and visitors go in and out all day. Not so bright really.

[khrisday]

What about when mom goes home and baby is still there?
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When would that ever happen? Wouldn't most moms be willing to stay in the hospital however long their baby was there? Don't most insist on it?

When would that ever happen???
Whenever a micro-preemie is born, or a child who will need surgery shortly, or a baby that has a severe infection, or a million other reasons. I can show you a nursery full of babies at UCSF who have been there weeks, if not months. Most of these babies were not born at that hospital, and their moms are not patients at all. They have no patient priveledges, and no right to a hospital room, even if there were one available. When a newborn is transferred to a big city hospital, if the family is lucky their social worked will fil them a newrby place to stay at low or no cost. If not, they must pay for a hotel room. It's not something that most families can do for very long. Life goes on, even when you have a sick baby, and there are things that HAVE to be done.
Again, we're not talking about a baby that's a couple weeks early, with slight jaundice, or a minor blood sugar issue. We're talking about babies like my friends 1 pound (each) micro preemies who spent 5 months in the NICU.

[spero]

Originally posted by Greaseball
When would that ever happen? Wouldn't most moms be willing to stay in the hospital however long their baby was there? Don't most insist on it?

Of COURSE most moms would WANT to stay! I most certainly was willing, BUT CONSIDER THAT:

I had 3 other kids at home who were confused, scared, and missing their mama terribly

I couldn't rely on friends and family to care for my children indefinitely; dh HAD to return to work; and I didn't want my kids stuck in the Ronald McDonald house all day, being cared for by complete strangers

My baby had been transferred to a large city hospital an hour from our home, and we had absolutely no idea how long she would have to be there (a whole other long story)

I had *no* patient privileges at this hospital...I was 3 days post partum and [barely] sleeping on waiting room couches & chairs (some parents even slept on the floor), I had nowhere to shower, and I couldn't afford to eat in the hospital cafeteria for days on end...I had to consider my own health and well-being

I wanted desperately to be with my baby 24 hrs a day...but it just was not doable. We mamas have to do the best we can, and not beat ourselves up for what we can't!!!

edited, because I am desperate to make a point here!

[LBBmom]

Originally posted by Greaseball
I was seeing a licensed midwife who said she would be OK delivering a 34-weeks gestation baby at home. She would not routinely transfer; only as necessary.

I find that very scary that she would be willing to deliver a baby SIX WEEKS premature at home. I'd be finding another midwife, because that one obviously does not show good judgement.

[LBBmom]

I really don't have much more to add at this point. The last 2 posts before mine summed up some good points.

I am a mom of 3, soon to be 4. I am as attached to my kids as a mom can be. If my newborn were in the NICU, I would not leave his side as long as I was in the hospital. Unfortunately, we do not have a big support system and life goes on. My husband would HAVE to go back to work, and I would have to be home to care for my others kids. I would spend every minute I could with my newborn in the evenings and weeknds, but it just would not be possible to be there 24 hours a day.

We have babies who have celebrated their first birthdays in our unit, believe it or not. It makes a few days NICU stay seem like a picnic.

[candiland]

It just seems a little harsh to me to be so critical and condeming of nurses who helped to save your babies lives!

Um, it seems you are getting a bit defensive. I would hope to assume that most NICUs aren't like that. No, I was looking around, and the nurses weren't doing anything. One was staring at a computer screen, another was doing paperwork... totally, completely ignoring this baby the entire time. Sorry, that's the facts.

[candiland]

*repeat*

[LBBmom]

Originally posted by candiland
Um, it seems you are getting a bit defensive. I would hope to assume that most NICUs aren't like that. No, I was looking around, and the nurses weren't doing anything. One was staring at a computer screen, another was doing paperwork... totally, completely ignoring this baby the entire time. Sorry, that's the facts. I wish my experience had been different, but it wasn't.

Um, maybe you didn't read my post where I apologized for being too harsh. ????

I really do have one big problem with your initial post. If it was SO bad in the NICU, and the babies were being so mistreated, then why the heck didn't you go find the charge nurse and report it to her? Why would you just leave without doing anything?

[Lucky Charm]

Why would you just leave without doing anything?

Because its easier to do nothing and complain about it, than to actually do something.

My son was in the pediatric unit and when we were walking around the unit with him in his stroller, we went by a room with a tiny newborn, couldnt have been more than a few weeks old, crying in his crib, all alone. Mom was nowhere in sight (and the three days i was there, i never saw her or anyone). we continued to walk the circle, repeatedly going past this baby's room (all the way at the end of the hall, mind you) and no one enetered. finally, after about 20-30 minutes, i went to the charge nurse and told her. I just couldnt stand it. I was not rude or agressive, just upset that this helpless baby was by himslef crying. She went to the baby, and held it and rocked it till the baby calmed. she put him back in his crib, and they changed his room so he could be closer to the nurses station. I never heard him cry again, and i usually saw the baby being held by one of the nurses or an elderly volunteer.

[SarahGuinn]

Originally posted by LBBmom
... why the heck didn't you go find the charge nurse and report it to her? Why would you just leave without doing anything?

I second that question.

Also, staring at a computer screen and filling out paperwork are vital parts of nurses' jobs. It may sound stupid but a paper trail and a updated file on your baby could be part of saving that baby's life.

I was another mama with a barely necessary nicu stay. I didn't get to take him out of the nicu until we were being discharged and I sat and waited for the neonatologist to come by and see that he didn't need to be there. I had to fight for it. Luckily I was in a position to do so.

I think that we can all agree that we find problems with the medicalization (if that's a word) of birth. There can be a middle ground here. I just get tired of people complaining about "those parents" that aren't in there visiting their babies, or "those medical institutions" that won't allow in rooming for sick babies.

If you have such a huge problem with the state of affairs, work on it, don't come venting about it here because you'll probably run into some people with very legit reasons for the very things you're venting about.

Volunteer.

[Lucky Charm]

Also, staring at a computer screen and filling out paperwork are vital parts of nurses' jobs.

Unfortunately, i can vouch for this. I am not a NICU nurse, but an ER nurse, formerly a CVICU nurse. The paperwork involved in patient care is mind boggling. couple that with the never ending needs of patients and their familes, and well, my head feels like its going to come of my shoulders.

[mamabeard]

i think volunteering is a great idea. i've been thinking about it the last few days since it was suggested, and i wish i could start right away, but as i'm due with my second next month, i don't think that's going to be able to happen for a couple of years at least, unfortunately.

but yes, i agree; if we are struck by the sadness of the present situation, we should take that as our call to action.. and i think for some of us, helping in this way could bring healing to ourselves as well.

[Greaseball]

All I know is my own experience. Again, I have not had a sick baby, but when my half-sister was born and stayed in the NICU for 3 months, her mother stayed with her. (Of course, she was born by c/s, so my stepmother was a patient as well.) She also had a job and another child, but still stayed the whole time. I don't know if she had rooming-in or not.

Even if I was not a patient, someone would have to drag me out of the hospital in cuffs to keep me from staying with my kid! My presence is not negotiable. As the mother, my orders are just as important as the doctor's.

I have also had a hospital job doing paperwork, and I would never forgive myself if I let it get in the way of caring for patients. (This was a mental hospital, though, so maybe it's not a good comparison.)