Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Nov
13
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“He Failed The Hearing Test But Had A Big Poop!”
“He failed the hearing test but had a big poop!” – L&D Nurse upon returning baby after hearing test and walking out without providing any more information.
There are 19 comments to this post.
My mother in law has a genetic disease that causes severe congenital hearing loss and adult onset progressive vision loss. She will probably be completely blind in 10 years. If this was said to me about my baby with no other explanation I would have freaked! Even though it’s quite common for newborns to fail the screening test (especially if they’re not sitting absolutely still while it’s being done, such as maybe having a poop lol), it’s still kind of scary to hear. OP, I hope your baby’s hearing is ok.
[Reply]
OP, I feel your pain. We were told our daughter failed the hearing test by being told “By the way, your daughter is deaf.” WHAT?? We were crying when a lactation nurse came in and asked us what had happened. She was the one that helped us through. Not the nurse that told us. Eventually, after having her tested it was discovered that she was not deaf. She was a c-section baby and she just had a build-up of fluid in her ears.
I’m so sorry you had to go through this and be told something that could be so important so cavalierly. Hope all is well with your little one!
[Reply]
Jenny Islander had this to say,
Nov 13, 2012 @ 10:48 am (Quote)
Doop de dooo, I just gave you information that may drastically affect your liiiife, now I’ll wander off and forget you exiiiiist, doop de doo whateverrrrrr . . .
Memo to all providers: DO NOT DO THIS.
[Reply]
Relax people, a lot of newborns fail the test initially – sometimes it takes a little time for the amniotic fluid to drain out. They always retest again before discharge if this happens. And a big bowel movement is awesome, means mom is really producing!
[Reply]
Kathryn Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:19 pm (Quote)
While what you’ve said is probably accurate (I’ve heard this before but don’t know a lot about it), I wish the nurse would have had the consideration to tell the parents exactly that!
[Reply]
Tee Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 3:10 pm (Quote)
Yes, a lot of newborns fail the initial test. And yes, a big poop is a good thing. But you don’t walk into the room, announce that a baby failed a test of any kind and then waltz out without giving additional information. This nurse’s behavior was beyond unacceptable.
[Reply]
Details Reply:
November 14th, 2012 at 3:57 am (Quote)
See, the problem here is that the nurse is a little bit too relaxed and has forgotten that the parents don’t do this eveyday. If she had said, “He failed the hearing screen, but don’t worry about it. We will do another one tomorrow. He was probably just distracted by the big poop he was making.” Then she could have waltz off on her merry way without causing panic. Words have meaning. Pay attention to the details! And don’t defend the stupid.
[Reply]
Michelle Reply:
November 14th, 2012 at 12:39 pm (Quote)
The problem is that most parents probably don’t have any idea that “a lot of newborns fail the test initially.” None of my seven children did, so I had no idea, and having such a huge bomb dropped on me without any explanation that it isn’t actually a big deal would have caused me to panic.
The bottom line is, if newborns routinely fail the hearing test then parents need to be told that. And, actually, maybe that would be a good reason to just postpone the test a week or two. Why on earth would you routinely perform a test that is likely to throw a false result, especially if you’re just going to ignore the result and repeat in a couple of days?
[Reply]
Himmel, in what universe is this kind of behavior acceptable?! New Moms worry about their babies and rightfully so. You don’t get to walk into a room, announce that a baby failed the hearing test and then walk back out again! Compassion and common sense. Get some.
[Reply]
Hey! This is my submission. The hospital stay was terrible. As the nurse was walking away I asked what failing meant but it was too quiet b/c I was trying not to automatically burst into tears.
I didn’t know anything about how the hearing test worked. And I def didn’t know it was easy to fail.
I was half asleep and Hubs was passed out when baby Z was brought back to us. I was pacing the room just cuddling Z and bawling. I didn’t know how to wake my husband up and tell him our son was deaf (b/c that’s what I thought it meant).
My crying woke him up and he was really sacred too. But he went and go another nurse and she explained how many NBs ‘fail’.
So, baby Z is NOT deaf. He passed the next day but it was terrifying the 15 mins I didn’t know any better.
[Reply]
Tee Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 6:33 pm (Quote)
Of course that’s what you thought it meant! She certainly didn’t do anything to reassure you otherwise. I’m so glad that your little man wound up being okay!
[Reply]
Kathryn Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 6:38 pm (Quote)
I’d have had the exact same reaction! WHY someone would do something like this is beyond me.
[Reply]
Brittany Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 7:09 pm (Quote)
I am so sorry you had to deal with that! I would’ve been panicking and crying too. :’(
Don’t take this the wrong way but I’m glad you posted this because I had NO idea about this either. Im due in Feb and my luck the same thing will happen but if it does at least I’ll know better than to let her walk away.
Im glad Z is okay and that everything worked out.
[Reply]
This is one reason that I love hospitals that allow you to room in during the entire stay.
At my hospital, they actually bring all the equipment for the hearing test to your room and do it right next to you.
And honestly, I love doing all the firsts with my babies. That includes changing the first poopy diapers. I would have been upset if someone else was taking care of all that for me.
The lack of care about the hearing test would have made me upset for a very long time too.
[Reply]
As a mother of a deaf child, I’m appalled by this nurses lax attitude about this. Yes, the VAST majority of babies who do not pass their initial screening are hearing children but most parents don’t know this.
Also, there’s no such thing as “failing” the screening. You get either a pass or a referral for a more extensive screen done a few weeks later.
[Reply]
Add Your Comment.
Previous Post
« “…Look How Nice & Pink Your Skin Is & Look How Yellow His Is.” Next Post
“…I Can’t Lift Anything That Heavy!” »
« “…Look How Nice & Pink Your Skin Is & Look How Yellow His Is.” Next Post
“…I Can’t Lift Anything That Heavy!” »
GAH! Priorities?!?!
[Reply]