Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Nov
1
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Thoughtful Thursday! “Bring All The Snacks You Want To The Hospital…”
“Bring all the snacks you want to the hospital. Just hid them when the nurses come in.” – Midwife
There are 13 comments to this post.
Better yet, tell the nurse your midwife is fine with you eating during labor and that their hospital policy is not law, so you will be eating during labor.
I didn’t ask I just brought snacks with my last baby born in September. I’m positive my OB would have been upset, but if you don’t ask you don’t have to know for sure. I didn’t need them I had her three hours after I got there and had a stomach virus on top of it.
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Love this. That is the only part of my labor that I definitely would have done differently.
Heres the thing: I trust that you know more about childbirth than I do. I trust that you will do what you think is best, but trust me when i say that I need to eat. I throw up when Im extraordinarily hungry. Stupid, I know. But saying I cant have food because Im throwing up isnt going to save anybody any trouble.
I went almost exactly 48 hours without food. In that 48 hours, I labored for 18 hours, had major abdominal surgery, and started breastfeeding. I NEED FOOD.
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However nice this quote is on the surface, it actually makes me mad. Hey midwife, why don’t you just come out and say it, that if you want to eat be prepared for either deception or conflict? Or tell me what You will do to help me eat and labor in peace, cuz that is what I really need. I don’t need to be slinking around in fear while I’m in labor!
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Kaytee Reply:
November 1st, 2012 at 12:29 pm (Quote)
I actually agree with this and as a nurse, I hate this. It’s either a policy with sound reasoning behind it, or get/give an order to go around it. This splitting of staff never leads to something good and I have found it’s really for the ego boost of the nurse involved (oh, see, I’m the ‘nice’ nurse”). It only makes it harder for other nurses later.
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C.Pratt Reply:
November 1st, 2012 at 12:58 pm (Quote)
I won’t seek care from a provider I have to lie to. After all, it’s lives on the line at times. I am supposed to trust this person to keep me alive if something goes wrong, but I can’t trust them enough to tell them I ate? Setting aside the debate of whether it is a good policy or not, trust is a huge part of the healthy progression of labor.
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Linda Reply:
November 1st, 2012 at 5:31 pm (Quote)
I’m glad I’m not the only person that didn’t really see this one as being a good thing. Sneaking around isn’t a good idea. I want medical personnel around me that I can trust and that trust me; what this midwife did would make me really uncomfortable.
I don’t disagree with the fact that laboring mothers need nourishment. But do it legitimately and not by sneaking around behind backs.
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This was one of the selling points for me when I was looking for a midwife. The group I decided on has a standing policy of allowing snacks and juice while in labor, and they work WITH the L&D department at their hospital on this, not against it. So I won’t have to hide what I’m doing. 
(The only thing I’ll have to worry about is accidentaly dropping my snack in my birthing tub… But I’ll make sure DH knows to save the food if I have a contraction just then).
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I kind of have to agree with C Pratt on this one. While I absolutely love the fact that this midwife was willing to do what is best for her patient, it doesn’t seem right that the nurse is out of the loop here. It really is a shame that care givers have to do things like this in order for their patient to get good care.
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Add Your Comment.
I totally did this! I had crackers with my first, mcdonald’s with my second, and cookies with my third. I needed something to keep my energy levels up! And since I always throw up when I exert myself, I knew that I’d prefer to throw up real food instead of stomach lining. Ew!
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