Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Dec
24
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“…Is There Supposed To Be That Much Blood?”
“Oh my gosh, is there supposed to be that much blood?” – L&D Nurse to OB after birth.
There are 13 comments to this post.
I think this one is understandable – especially given the fact if the L&D nurse was a student/newer. I’d rather they ask those questions and get the proper facts. If it was made in an obnoxious way I would think it might be inappropriate though.
[Reply]
Eileen Reply:
December 24th, 2011 at 9:28 pm (Quote)
I think if there wasn’t the “Oh my gosh!” and it was said in a calm, matter-of-fact way, then *maybe* it would be permissible, though still not ideal. But while I’d rather have the nurse ask those questions too…NOT in front of the mom while the situation is occurring! Ask the doc when you both leave the room! I know that if someone said this during my birth my husband will flip out, because he will already likely be worried about me!
About the best I can say for this one is it seems to not be intentionally malicious. However, nurses working around conscious mamas need to remove shocked phrases from their vocabulary and learn to put on a calm face no matter what.
[Reply]
Jane Reply:
December 25th, 2011 at 5:12 am (Quote)
Even if the nurse didn’t know how much blood there should be after a normal delivery, that wasn’t the way to say it. First, does this nurse think the doctor won’t recognize a hemorrhage?
And if the nurse did want to call attention to the blood loss, s/he could say something like, “Doctor Smith, how should I assess her blood loss?” or “Doctor Smith, would you like me to record her blood loss as within normal limits?”
[Reply]
Laura Reply:
December 26th, 2011 at 8:20 am (Quote)
What Jane said. Depending on the mother’s position, she may not have been able to see the blood loss. With my first birth, a similar exclamation from the cleaning crew was my first clue that I’d lost a LOT of blood…and I was fine, until they said that and I kind of freaked. Luckily, my OB was still in the room and I looked at her…she was calmly sewing up my tear…and I know and trust her and realized almost at once that the blood loss was fine, if messy, because otherwise she’d be focusing on IT!
But this kind of comment can be very scary. It should be asked/said in a way not to alarm the mother, if it needs to be said at all. (If the nurse wants to know for their own info, they should ask later. If they’re trying to make sure the doctor has noticed, they should phrase it carefully, as Jane notes.)
[Reply]
Jane Reply:
December 26th, 2011 at 8:40 am (Quote)
My midwife said to me after my third birth, “I just want to let you know that losing over {specific amount, I forget} of blood is considered a hemorrhage, and you’ve lost over that amount.” No panic in her voice, but more like “I just wanted to let you know that some people get jittery if they have three cups of coffee, and this is not decaf.”
Later on the pediatrician examined my baby and said something along the lines of “Ninety percent of newborns have a heart murmur on the first day, and she’s one of them.”
Like you said, there are good and bad ways of delivering information. 
[Reply]
Kate, Ren's mama Reply:
December 29th, 2011 at 11:56 am (Quote)
I like the way your midwife informed you, Jane. I lost a lot of blood with my first and I was mad that they *didn’t* tell me. Two days after DD was born, they told me, “Your iron levels are really low, probably because you lost over a liter of blood. We think you’re going to need a transfusion.” That was the first I heard about the blood loss, and I was irate that they didn’t tell me sooner. That said, the nurse in the quote above did not handle the news in a good way, either…
[Reply]
oh i had one like this, talk about making you wonder about your care
mine said umm does it usually look like THAT, this was just before discharge and they hadnt checked me AT ALL after having my son so i think she was hoping it did but of course no, luckily it doesnt affect me
i also had a gp (not my reg) ask me what blood tests need to be done for pregnancy??
[Reply]
The problem with this statement is that it should not have been said within a mother’s ear shot. If this nurse was unsure about the amount of blood loss, she should have asked in a more appropriate time and manner. I mean, without a pink link we don’t even know if it WAS a significant blood loss or not.
[Reply]
Jessica had this to say,
Dec 25, 2011 @ 2:43 pm (Quote)
I agree it was wrong to ask like that and startle the mother. However, when reading some of the other posts on here about nurses dismissing a mother’s blood loss, I would much rather hear this coming from a nurse. Professionalism still needs to be on the priority list though.
[Reply]
I overheard a nurse said the same thing during my labour (as I was walking from the birth centre to the labour ward and bleeding on the floor as I went). My midwife assured her immediately that it was fine and normal and I trusted her completely so I was reassured too, but I do think the nurse could have been a little more tactful!
[Reply]
Add Your Comment.
Previous Post
« “I’m Gonna Cut Her Because She’s An A$$hole.” Next Post
“It Doesn’t Matter If Your Room Has A Tub…” »
« “I’m Gonna Cut Her Because She’s An A$$hole.” Next Post
“It Doesn’t Matter If Your Room Has A Tub…” »
What a shame nobody took 5 minutes to explain to this *L&D NURSE* what LABOUR AND DELIVERY is actually like, and what pure idiocy on her part that she didn’t bother to learn about the job she was doing. My 4 year old was better prepared to attend a birth than that.
[Reply]