I'm sending it as soon as I buy more ink for the printer. What do you think?
I am writing in regard to my recent childbirth experience at your hospital in September 2007. I have several concerns with staff members and procedures during and following childbirth.
When I arrived at your maternity unit, I was immediately strapped with moniters and instructed to lie in bed. I had been laboring well on my own at home for many hours and had been managing my contractions well by walking and squatting. Lying down intensified the pain and was very uncomfortable to me. When I complained to the nurse on duty, R, I was told to stay in bed until my baby woke up. This took over an hour. I remember my childbirth instructor said you had wireless moniters. Why could I not have used one of those? When I was finally allowed to walk, I had to carry the monitor cords around my neck. It was very uncomfortable and upsetting to me.
I refused an IV initially, because labor was going fine, my baby was well, and I wanted to have as natural a birth as possible. I had been drinking plenty of water. I wanted to be as mobile as possible. I did not want an epidural. I was repeatedly told I needed an IV anyway. I finally agreed to a heparin lock, but R attatched the solution without my permission. Perhaps nurses find it more convenient to introduce an IV "now" rather than "later." I do not believe it is always apporopriate for a nurse's convenience to be more important than a laboring mother's.
The doctor wanted my water broken after only a couple hours at the hospital. I did not feel my labor needed to be rushed. I was managing my contractions well, and my baby was doing fine. I finally agreed to this procedure after being in the hospital for only four hours. It made my contractions much more painful and made a mess with all the leaking fluid. Lamaze International advises a mother's labor be allowed to progress on its own with interventions only when necessary. My labor was progressing fine. Even the doctor told me I was doing well. So, why was my water broken anyway? This puts more stress on the mother and baby.
The two nurses who attended to me during labor, R and L, were complaining about how tired they were. They complained several times to me. I hadn't slept in a while and was trying to manage labor. I found their complaining inappropriate. In my vunerable state I felt guilty for inconveniencing them and not delivering my baby more quickly. This is not how a laboring mother should be made to feel by anyone, especially the nursing staff. A laboring mother needs reassurance that she is doing a good job. Sometimes I received kind and reassuring words, but the negative complaining was very discouraging.
When it came time for me to push, L squirted Johnsons Baby Shampoo into my vagina. When my sister asked her what she was doing, L replied, "I can make bubbles!" I'm not sure why soap was used in my vagina. I have never read about this being part of the labor and delivery routine. Soap is irritating to mucous membranes like that in the vagina. Soap in the vagina can also cause yeast infections and urinary tract infections. A labor and delivery nurse should know this. Every woman should know this about vaginal care. Soap could also get into the baby's eyes when passing through the birth canal. I want to know why soap was used on me and what will be done to stop this nurse from using it on other patients. After two hours of soap in and tugging on my vagina, it swelled and forceps were needed to deliver my baby. I understand the possible benefits of perineal massage, but after two hours this also becomes irritating to the vagina. I believe that soap and tugging irritated my vagina and contributed to the swelling.
I have written a letter to the Johnsons company about the misuse of their product by your hospital.
During the pushing phase and in between contractions I was made to feel even more uncomfortable by L. She was nodding her head and closing her eyes as if briefly dozing. It was very upsetting to me. I felt like she hated being there and thought this baby was taking too long to come out. I knew that a normal delivery could take hours of pushing, but in my vulnerable physical and emotional state, I could not help but feel like I was inconveniencing her. I understand that nurses are very busy and need to work hard, but they should never behave like this to a laboring woman. I am more angry about the behavior of this nurse than anything else I experienced during my stay at your hospital. I request that L be evaluated for her behavior. My husband and sister witnessed this also, and can provide letters of testimony.
I have more complaints about the behavior and inconsideration of your staff. In my room during recovery I could hear nurses complaining outside my door. I kept shutting my door, but nurses would leave it open. I would hear them complaining about how tired or busy they were. I had trouble sleeping through this. At one point a nurse shouted in the hallway, "This one's going to have a ruptured uterus and ruptured bladder!!" This is not something I wanted to hear after my difficult childbirth experience.
I received no response after pressing my call button. A nurse had taken my new baby for a test, but didn't bring her back. I did not know where my baby was. I pressed the call button, but there was no response. I had been instructed by one nurse to stay in bed and only get up with assistance. Later, a different nurse told me that I had been "taking it too easy" and needed to get up and walk around if I wanted to see my baby. I was very confused by this conflicting advice, and felt that the nurses had no right to keep my baby from me.
I am requesting that some action is taken against the staff's inappropriate conduct. Nurses need to be kind, considerate and encouraging. They also need to be kept up-to-date on current labor practices. I have enclosed a copy of Lamaze's Care Practices for normal birth. Everyone of these was violated during my childbirth. I advise that your staff read over them, and any other current literature that would be educational. Nurses also need to understand that every mother and baby are different and need individualized care.
I was also offended by the "gift bag" full of formula I was given. This is a formula company marketing to your patients and does not belong in a hospital. Many hospitals refuse to hand out this propaganda including public hospitals in New York. I believe P___ Hospital should follow their excellent example.
I will be waiting for your response.
Sincerely,
(Narn)
I am writing in regard to my recent childbirth experience at your hospital in September 2007. I have several concerns with staff members and procedures during and following childbirth.
When I arrived at your maternity unit, I was immediately strapped with moniters and instructed to lie in bed. I had been laboring well on my own at home for many hours and had been managing my contractions well by walking and squatting. Lying down intensified the pain and was very uncomfortable to me. When I complained to the nurse on duty, R, I was told to stay in bed until my baby woke up. This took over an hour. I remember my childbirth instructor said you had wireless moniters. Why could I not have used one of those? When I was finally allowed to walk, I had to carry the monitor cords around my neck. It was very uncomfortable and upsetting to me.
I refused an IV initially, because labor was going fine, my baby was well, and I wanted to have as natural a birth as possible. I had been drinking plenty of water. I wanted to be as mobile as possible. I did not want an epidural. I was repeatedly told I needed an IV anyway. I finally agreed to a heparin lock, but R attatched the solution without my permission. Perhaps nurses find it more convenient to introduce an IV "now" rather than "later." I do not believe it is always apporopriate for a nurse's convenience to be more important than a laboring mother's.
The doctor wanted my water broken after only a couple hours at the hospital. I did not feel my labor needed to be rushed. I was managing my contractions well, and my baby was doing fine. I finally agreed to this procedure after being in the hospital for only four hours. It made my contractions much more painful and made a mess with all the leaking fluid. Lamaze International advises a mother's labor be allowed to progress on its own with interventions only when necessary. My labor was progressing fine. Even the doctor told me I was doing well. So, why was my water broken anyway? This puts more stress on the mother and baby.
The two nurses who attended to me during labor, R and L, were complaining about how tired they were. They complained several times to me. I hadn't slept in a while and was trying to manage labor. I found their complaining inappropriate. In my vunerable state I felt guilty for inconveniencing them and not delivering my baby more quickly. This is not how a laboring mother should be made to feel by anyone, especially the nursing staff. A laboring mother needs reassurance that she is doing a good job. Sometimes I received kind and reassuring words, but the negative complaining was very discouraging.
When it came time for me to push, L squirted Johnsons Baby Shampoo into my vagina. When my sister asked her what she was doing, L replied, "I can make bubbles!" I'm not sure why soap was used in my vagina. I have never read about this being part of the labor and delivery routine. Soap is irritating to mucous membranes like that in the vagina. Soap in the vagina can also cause yeast infections and urinary tract infections. A labor and delivery nurse should know this. Every woman should know this about vaginal care. Soap could also get into the baby's eyes when passing through the birth canal. I want to know why soap was used on me and what will be done to stop this nurse from using it on other patients. After two hours of soap in and tugging on my vagina, it swelled and forceps were needed to deliver my baby. I understand the possible benefits of perineal massage, but after two hours this also becomes irritating to the vagina. I believe that soap and tugging irritated my vagina and contributed to the swelling.
I have written a letter to the Johnsons company about the misuse of their product by your hospital.
During the pushing phase and in between contractions I was made to feel even more uncomfortable by L. She was nodding her head and closing her eyes as if briefly dozing. It was very upsetting to me. I felt like she hated being there and thought this baby was taking too long to come out. I knew that a normal delivery could take hours of pushing, but in my vulnerable physical and emotional state, I could not help but feel like I was inconveniencing her. I understand that nurses are very busy and need to work hard, but they should never behave like this to a laboring woman. I am more angry about the behavior of this nurse than anything else I experienced during my stay at your hospital. I request that L be evaluated for her behavior. My husband and sister witnessed this also, and can provide letters of testimony.
I have more complaints about the behavior and inconsideration of your staff. In my room during recovery I could hear nurses complaining outside my door. I kept shutting my door, but nurses would leave it open. I would hear them complaining about how tired or busy they were. I had trouble sleeping through this. At one point a nurse shouted in the hallway, "This one's going to have a ruptured uterus and ruptured bladder!!" This is not something I wanted to hear after my difficult childbirth experience.
I received no response after pressing my call button. A nurse had taken my new baby for a test, but didn't bring her back. I did not know where my baby was. I pressed the call button, but there was no response. I had been instructed by one nurse to stay in bed and only get up with assistance. Later, a different nurse told me that I had been "taking it too easy" and needed to get up and walk around if I wanted to see my baby. I was very confused by this conflicting advice, and felt that the nurses had no right to keep my baby from me.
I am requesting that some action is taken against the staff's inappropriate conduct. Nurses need to be kind, considerate and encouraging. They also need to be kept up-to-date on current labor practices. I have enclosed a copy of Lamaze's Care Practices for normal birth. Everyone of these was violated during my childbirth. I advise that your staff read over them, and any other current literature that would be educational. Nurses also need to understand that every mother and baby are different and need individualized care.
I was also offended by the "gift bag" full of formula I was given. This is a formula company marketing to your patients and does not belong in a hospital. Many hospitals refuse to hand out this propaganda including public hospitals in New York. I believe P___ Hospital should follow their excellent example.
I will be waiting for your response.
Sincerely,
(Narn)
So sorry you had to go through all that! It's a very well written letter, will be interesting to hear the response!
. My only comment is the part where you're talking about the perineal massage. The very first time you mention it, you refer to it as "tugging", which is a little unclear. You soon follow up using the term "perineal massage", but I think you should use that term from the start, or something like "tugging/perineal massage".
