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3rd Trimester
Jenlynn24
member
We can do no great things - only small things with great love - Mother Teresa
PP Hospital Care? Enlighten me...
Jenlynn24
member
Simply because I'm curious, but mostly apprehensive (I'm a planner - I just like to be mentally prepared) - can any second-time or more Moms share their experiences with post partum care in the hospital?
How often did they check on you, and did the frequency taper off the longer you were there? Exactly what did the nurses 'check'? Was DH there for everything, or did he politely excuse himself? Anything you can tell me would help! Thanks
We can do no great things - only small things with great love - Mother TeresaThis discussion has been closed.
Re: PP Hospital Care? Enlighten me...
I had a c/s as well and they came in every 2-3 hours for meds and to check the incision, position of uterus and to see if I was clotting effectively. DH stayed in the room. Honestly, at that point I didn't care if he stayed or left.
I also had compression sleeves on my legs to assist in circulating blood flow properly so I wouldn't get a blod clot.
When a pp nurse wasn't in there, the nursery nurse was bringing Emma to me so I could nurse her.
I can't remember exactly, as my memory of my time in the hospital is a bit hazy. I think they checked me every 2 hours for the first 24 hours, and maybe every 4 or so hours after that? I remember they would make me roll over on my side to check something on my back (not sure what, but now that I think about it, maybe my epi site?). Then, the fun part. They'd lift up my mesh undies and look down there as they pushed hard on my stomach, to see how much blood came out when they pushed. I always had to change my pad after they did this because a LOT of blood comes out. They also feel your stomach to make sure your uterus is getting smaller. DH stayed with me the whole time- the check-up only took a minute or two, and I figured he just saw me giving birth, so I didn't care.
I also had my IV in for at least 24 hours PP, which was a pain in the butt to sleep with and especially trying to go to the bathroom or change clothes (the IV was in my hand).
So, I was in a semi private room... this time I am hoping to get a private room.
My expereince was a little different since I was on insulin until delivery.. so I was checked every hour for blood sugars after delivery. Since I had an epidural they checked me frequently until it wore off and then every hour or 2 for the first bit. They press on your tummy and checked the amount of blood loss and for clots. As well as the stitches.
Then they are going to get you to go to the bathroom and tell you how to use the peri bottles.
The hopsital rooms baby in with you, so about an hour or 2 after birth my son came to stay in the room with me (he had to be in the nursery a bit longer becuase of the diabetes that I had) And the nurse helped me start nursing him as well.
Then before you leave they check your stitches one more time/ blood / and make sure that baby is placed correctly in the baby seat/ infant carrier.
I also have to add that I had a break down about 10 minutes before we left the hospital with our son just the baby blues/ hormones hitting that we were taking this baby home and he was ours.
Sorry for the run on sentences.
Good luck.
ditto the others.
Right after birth you get stitched up (if needed, I didn't tear with DS thankfully) while the nurse was doing the exam of the baby on your chest. (DS they had to take to suction as he had meconium, but then brought him right back over).
They'll massage your tummy and watch your bleeding for about 1-2 hours to make sure it's doing ok. I lost a lot with DS so I had to get some pitocin in an IV. They'll also help you nurse then if you want.
Then you get up and get ready for recovery....FUN. The nurse will walk you to the bathroom, watch you pee and show you how to use the peri bottle, pack your 'ice diaper' into your meshies, get you a fresh gown, help you shower, etc. DH was there in the room but was holding the kid and calling family, etc at this time.
Then we moved to our pp room, and the LC came in again to help nurse. Then you SLEEP. They come take vitals (temp, blood pressure) every few hours and I and the kids had blood sugar checks. They'll also check any stitches, hemorrhoids, etc. They will check your uterus to make sure it's hard and going down and check your bleeding. Expect to get woken up every 2-4 hours the first day, less the 2nd. They'll also ask how much baby ate and have you keep track of diapers.
How often did they check on you, and did the frequency taper off the longer you were there? I would say every couple hours around the clock.
Exactly what did the nurses 'check'? My temperature, they wanted to make sure I wasn't battling an infection. They would also occasionally want to check on the stitches and find out how the bleeding was doing. I was bleeding heavily in the beginning so I needed some sort of a shot to control it (given in the hip area). They were also there to find out my pain level and give me pain meds when I was able to take the next dose.
Was DH there for everything, or did he politely excuse himself? He watched my vagina explode...I really didn't care what he saw after that and he stuck around for the most part, sometimes he left....He usually stood by my side though. It was visiting family members who excused themselves.
Anything you can tell me would help! Thanks
YES...stay on top of your pain medication! One night nurse forgot to come in and I slept through the time that I should have taken my next dose. I woke up feeling like I had literally been run over by a truck. If you give birth vaginally, it's not just your vag that experiences pain. All the pushing (I pushed for 2.5 hours) causes pain in your whole torso...it's a real workout! Think about it like you are rowing a boat upstream; your torso, back and shoulders would be killing you, same goes with labor.
I'm a postpartum nurse. How much you're checked can depend on how you're doing and the hospital's policies. Assuming for a vaginal delivery, once a patient is on my unit and is stable, they get a full physical assessment and vital signs from each nurse - so once every 12 hours. We'll help you to the bathroom, bring pain meds, and help with breastfeeding and baby care and whatever else you might need, so we'll be in the room quite a bit (or less frequently if you prefer it), but at least at my hospital, we aren't constantly mashing on your uterus and staring at your perineum all day long.
For a C/S, patients get vitals every 4 hours for 24 hours, then it's every 12 hours. Right after the C/S and until you can walk around, we do check your bleeding pretty often, but once the catheter is out and you can get up and pee on your own, it's back to once a shift unless you're having complications.
If you need pain medicine, ask for it, or ask your nurses about their policies. At my hospital, it's only given "as needed" for a vaginal delivery. We offer it a lot, but it's not scheduled to be brought at certain times (unless you have a C/S). And we try not to wake people up to give pain medicine unless it's specifically asked for.
How often did they check on you, and did the frequency taper off the longer you were there? At first, probably every hour or two. He was born at 6:30pm and I don't think they were even out of my room until after 8pm.
Exactly what did the nurses 'check'? Squishing my tummy to make sure uterus was contracting to get rid of everything. Also checked temperature. I didn't have any blood pressure issues, but they kept the cuff on my arm for maybe 6-8 hours? It automatically took BP every 15-30 minutes. I don't remember them actually checking anything vaginal related.
Was DH there for everything, or did he politely excuse himself? He was there. Nothing to hide at that point.
Anything you can tell me would help! I had an epidural and that was weird to come out... it looked like a long tapeworm! About 9pm the nurses walked me to bathroom, and I honestly could NOT feel my legs from epidural. They put me on stool and showed me how to use peri bottle. Then gave me the mesh undies with frozen pad. That is when they cleaned up room and new sheets, etc. (labor, delivery and recovery all in same room for me). I remember them telling me to try to go to the bathroom often, but I sort of felt like I would never "feel" the urge to go ever again; everything just felt so numb. They brought me new ice pads every couple of hours. I only took ibuprofen, but keep on top of meds and ask if you need more. They offered me lots of pain drugs. And take the stool softener!
Ditto on everything these ladies said.
I also had to have a catheter the whole time I was there because I couldn't "void" (nurses' words). I couldn't pee after I gave birth so they reinserted one and emptied my bladder- DH stood there while they did it and it took about 5 minutes for everything to come out. I was still a little numb from the epi so that was fine just gross.
During the night, the nurse had me get up and try to go a few more times and still couldn't so in the morning, they reinserted the catheter (ouch) and left it in until the day I went home. I had to go a specific amount before they would let me leave. I had to pee into the "hat" in the toilet and that measured how much I had gone. Once I got home, I was fine.
I delivered in a birthing center, so that experience is probably different than a hospital. Basically after i delivered and was my OB was done with everything I got to make all the calls. we didn't bathe her immediately, instead I BFed and just hung out for about an hour. Then we called the CNM to bring us a bath for her - we bathed her, DH took her while I showered and got cleaned up, we ordered dinner and i had our CNM check my pad and my vitals, baby's vitals before bed.
i woke up the next morning with my OB (who was not the OB that delivered DD) knocking at the door (around 7am) while I was nursing. She said everything looked great and as soon as the pedi checked DD out we would be discharged. Pedi came, we filled out birth cert and some other stuff and went home 14 hours pp.
The nurses were in a LOT. To check both on my bleeding, my hemorrhoids, and the baby. DH was there for the whole thing ... although the first time I was shown how to care for myself and all the issues going on 'down there' I was taken into the restroom by the nurse, so he didn't see any of that (thank God).
Our pediatrician came in the morning after DS was born to take him to check him out, and then again the next morning for his circumcision. My OB was in the next morning as well to check on me as well. You really don't get much rest a relaxation in PP, and you have pretty much zero privacy, lol.
The Mouse ~ 06.12.08 | The Froggy ~ 02.23.11
Pretty much all that has been mentioned here for a vaginal delivery happened in both of mine. The only difference I had - at the same hospital, only 7 years apart - was that with my son they offered pain meds right away. With my daughter 7 years later they brought me Tylenol and Ibprofen. One of the nurses could tell I was still in a lot of pain a few hours later so she mentioned that she couldn't offer anything stronger, but, if I asked for it they could bring me Percocet....so, you might check into this if you run into the same thing. I had stitches with both of them so it hurt like the dickens and I can also confirm it isn't just your vag area - you are pulling/pushing with all your might so you literally can hurt all over.
Also, with my daugher, my pelvis was off kilter post delivery so that added to my pain - I literally couldn't lift one of my legs and could barely walk. I'm going to ask for the meds up front this time around to stay on top of it - to be comfortable and get some sleep.
They checked on me probably every hour or two. The baby slept in the nursery both nights I was there and they brought him in when he needed to eat. They checked on me overnight too because I had stiches. They made sure everything was looking ok down there and helped me to get around. H was there for an awful lot of it! I would say by Sunday when I left (I was there 2 days) they didnt really check on me more than once that morning.
The care was amazing and I almost cried when I left!
Braydon 1.23.09
I didn't read everyone's responses so sorry if I am repeating myself:
I was checked on every 2 hours. When they came in they checked my BP and temp. Asked if I needed any pain meds (if it had been 4 hours or more) and checked to see how the bleeding was. She would press on my belly, which is uncomfortable, but it was to ensure there were no clots, etc. My case is unusual though: my baby was in the NICU for 5 days and I spent most of my time in there with him. I missed probably 3 or 4 checks from the nurse and once I got back to my room I would page her to let her know I was back. Other things they helped me with was pumping so I could get my milk to come in since I was not BFing right away, taking showers, and making sure I ate since I was in the NICU all day. That was nice because the cafe was pretty strict about what time you ordered your food and they let it slide. DH stayed with me the first night and I am pretty sure he slept through the times the nurse checked on me. The second night he was at home with our dogs. Good luck! Hope everything goes well!
Immediately after the birth my nurses took me to my room and then they took me into the bathroom to help me clean up a bit. They had to watch me pee and then they helped me clean up afterwards. They came in and watched me pee until I had done it three times at that point they let me take a shower and I was allowed to use the bathroom by myself. I think the point of them taking you to the bathroom is to make sure you don't get lightheaded and fall down in there.
I didn't tear with my babies, so I think I was only checked down there a total of 2-3 times during the first 24 hours. They didn't actually look at my vagina, they would just make me roll to my side, pull up my gown, and check my undies to see how much I was bleeding. They did come in probably every 2 hours to check on me and make sure everything was fine. To be honest, it was extremely annoying.
I think they had to come and do bloodwork once or twice. I can't remember what they were checking though.
DH was there for all check-ups when he was in the hospital with me. He had just watched me push a human being out of my vagina, so I don't think he was too grossed out about watcing me turn to my side so they could check my pad.