Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Sep
28
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“Let Me Explain The Risks Of Refusing The IV…”
“Let me explain the risks of refusing the IV. If you refuse the IV, you will dehydrate which will cause fetal distress and then you’ll need a cesarean.” -L&D Nurse to laboring mother.
There are 41 comments to this post.
I love the “will” part of that. Not “may” but “will.”
Also, the only reason you “will” dehydrate is if the hospital prevents you from drinking during labor. So they’re knowingly creating a dangerous situation from which they’re happy to save you.
Also: dehydration will cause fetal distress? Dehydration for how long? If you keep a prisoner without water for 24 hours, it’s a human rights violation, but the hospital does it routinely?
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Kasondra Reply:
September 28th, 2011 at 5:53 am (Quote)
Puh-leeze, if we kept a death row inmate strapped to a bed, in pain, bullied him into an epidural and cath, and refused him water and food for 24-36 hours people would be ALL OVER that mess.
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Heather Reply:
September 28th, 2011 at 6:58 am (Quote)
Well, I can say you can be very dehydrated for at least 10 hours with no distress in baby. Just from experience. Since most moms don’t seem to have labors as long as mine, I’d think most moms wouldn’t hit a point where they were that at risk. Although it’s pretty miserable, being dehydrated in labor: I don’t recommend it. Nor do I recommend an IV!
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Lysana Reply:
September 28th, 2011 at 8:18 am (Quote)
Agreed. I was pretty much zoned afterwards (10 hrs in the hospital for me, too), but my baby girl was just fine! I also don’t recommend it, though…it made breastfeeding a bear for the first week (I didn’t realize my problem was insufficient hydration until about 4 days in). Find some way to be hydrated if you’re refusing the IV…sneak in water bottles or SOMETHING! 
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lilmrsmchenry Reply:
September 28th, 2011 at 9:15 am (Quote)
Heck, drink out of the sink if you have to, lol.
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Heather Reply:
September 28th, 2011 at 2:35 pm (Quote)
I went into the hospital after 9 hours of labor and not eating/drinking all day because even the thought of it nauseated me. I had to get an IV because I was very dehydrated and still couldn’t force it down my throat. It was a 23 1/2 hour labor, so I was in the hospital for 14 hours or so.
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Lysana Reply:
September 29th, 2011 at 6:57 am (Quote)
They had to give me a bag of fluids when I first got to the hospital, as well. I just don’t do well with drinking enough when I have distractions (and being in early labor definitely qualified, LOL). I had a saline lock, and spent the rest of my labor unhooked. They said they wanted to give me another bag of fluids after she was born, but I guess they forgot. At the time, I didn’t care (didn’t think I really needed it) but in retrospect, I wish I’d gotten it, because of the breastfeeding.
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Jade Reply:
September 28th, 2011 at 9:44 am (Quote)
Between my mother and I we have been through labours lasting 24,63,18,9,3,26,13 hours, neither of us had an IV BUT we were both allowed to eat and drink throughout all of the labours with the exception of the 26 hour one where I just drank anyway. (All except the 26 hour labours were planned homebirths, the 63 hour one did end in a hospital transfer but mum wasn’t there all that long before bub was born)
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Really? Guaranteed? Wouldn’t a drink do the job?
It’s a good job our cave-ancestors invented that IV pretty quickly really, isn’t it?
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HAHAHAHA Has this nurse heard of water? Or has she heard of ingesting ice chips?
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Aron Reply:
September 28th, 2011 at 8:57 am (Quote)
…or juice, tea, gatorade or whatever else sounds appealing to the client?
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BeckyJ Reply:
September 28th, 2011 at 12:17 pm (Quote)
Yeah. Well, you knew what I meant. lol I don’t even see how an IV is easier for THEM! They have to put it into your arm, keep checking the bags, change them, check the IV to make sure it’s staying in place. It’s just trouble for everyone.
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Aron Reply:
September 28th, 2011 at 1:16 pm (Quote)
Definitely true! And don’t worry, I was just hitching a ride on your train of thought.
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Kristy Reply:
September 28th, 2011 at 2:23 pm (Quote)
Yes, but that has them busy doing medical things so they can feel all important and ‘nursey’. Fetching you a glass of water feels far too beneath their skills.
I know… there do exist nurses who wish to treat the patient… like a real person or something. But the ones like this would rather fix a problem than treat a person.
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Here and I was expecting something about bleeding out and not being able to find a vein. Dehydration is easy. (Water, ice chips, etc.) Bleeding to death is a much more effective threat. Get with the program! Geez if you are going threaten somebody at least make it a good one!
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Sheva Reply:
October 1st, 2011 at 9:13 pm (Quote)
Yeah! The world spontaneously combusting is also a good one.
Sheesh – I have to convince my clients to eat/drink without “permission” and that the nurses won’t figure it out.
For the ones who are vomiting I do recommend accepting the IV, but I watch it like a hawk to make sure it’s just a fluid drip and that they’re not sneaking anything else in.
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Sometimes they can’t see the answer staring them in the face – I had major abdominal surgery about 10 years ago and was in the hospital for a week, and my IV kept infiltrating after a few days so they took it out since I was able to drink. Well apparently I was getting dehydrated so the doctor ordered an IV – I refused. Flat-out refused. I told them to give me as much water as they wanted and I’d drink it but I wasn’t getting another IV. And what do you know? They gave me water, I drank it, and I wasn’t dehydrated anymore. And I’d think the risk of me having to undergo crash surgery were infinitely higher than a laboring mom.
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Karolyn Mac had this to say,
Sep 28, 2011 @ 8:27 am (Quote)
Seriously? During my labor water was like the most delicious thing on the planet. My doula kept it flowing and no one batted an eye. Geez, just let the woman drink some water or really, anything she wants. Get a grip.
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Jenny Islander had this to say,
Sep 28, 2011 @ 9:24 am (Quote)
I actually benefited from an IV for hydration because I had an extremely rapid labor, which mean that all of the usual labor signs were sort of telescoped into one big rollercoaster of adventure, including the nausea, which translated into “I don’t care what you eat or drink, you’re gonna hork it up.” AFTER I successfully had the baby, the placenta appeared to be only partially detached and stuck that way, so the midwife took me to the hospital, where they put in an IV in case I hemorrhaged. As it turned out, the placenta detached safely on the ride there. But they put I don’t know how much Ringer’s into that IV and it felt goooooood.
BUT–I got treatment for a problem when it actually happened instead of having to lug around an obstructive, distracting object on the off change that a problem would happen later on.
Also note that the elapsed time from “Here comes the Ringer’s” to “Wow, I had no idea how thirsty I was!” was about half an hour. After that I didn’t need the IV.
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C.Pratt Reply:
September 28th, 2011 at 9:48 am (Quote)
I know we are getting a bit off topic here, but I had an IV after my last birth, and it made me feel much better too. But it was in response to a hemorrhage, after an all natural birth, not as a preventative measure that would have made it harder for me to wiggle my baby down. THAT is the difference And my HB midwife had no trouble placing it in spite of my being in borderline shock and bloodpressure dropping, AND I’ve been told I have hard viens, so yeah, keep that contraption away from me until it’s indicated. I freaking hate needles…
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juliewashere88 had this to say,
Sep 29, 2011 @ 6:35 pm (Quote)
No, the risks of not getting an IV are that IF (again, IF) you become dehydrated, hemorrhage, or go into shock, it could be harder to place an IV. Not getting an IV doesn’t cause anything.
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because when a mom’s in labor the body shuts itself down and it becomes physically impossible for her to swallow water… *eye roll*
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