Hospital birth with no IV or hep-lock?

babydontforget · October 2012

We toured one of our two hospital options over the weekend, and I asked the L&D nurse if I would be allowed to opt out of the IV and instead do a hep lock. She said totally, and that in fact some low-risk patience opt out of both.

Interesting. I didn't expect that. Did anybody here opt out of even the hep-lock? Are you glad you did?

sbevmc09 · October 2012

Huh, I'm pleasantly surprised that she mentioned opting out of both!

I personally plan to get the hep-lock. I am not planning on needing to use it, but I'm notorious for having terrible veins and in the event that something would need to be administered I'd rather not have to deal with them searching for a vein they can use and/or sticking me somewhere really uncomfortable! In my situation I'd rather just have them put it in when there's no rush so it's there in the event something would come up.

Squirrel29 · October 2012

I opted out of both for my VBAC this past May, which was a hospital water birth. I made this decision with my doctor's support. We discussed it at length prior to my labor. I know some people think this was a risky decision but my doctor had no reservations about it. My reason for not wanting it was that this was my third birth. During my first birth (a successful induction) I could not stand the feeling of the IV in my arm during the pushing stage. It was distracting and I was a little out of my mind and ended up almost ripping it out and bleeding all over the place. With my second birth I ended up with a cs and hated everything about that experience. I went into this VBAC wanting to go all natural and wanting to birth in the water and I truly felt that having a hep loc would be a hindrance for that goal. However, had my doctor advised me to do it I probably would have. That being said, the nurses made a big deal about my refusal and notified me that it was hospital policy for all VBAC's and required me to acknowledge that I was refusing against medical advice. Had I not had the lengthy discussion about it with my doctor beforehand I would probably would have given in at that point too.

ETA: I'm really glad I refused it. It was a beautiful experience to give birth on my own without any wires or needles or unnecessary medical assistance.

babydontforget · October 2012

This is a good point. I also have tricky veins...

sbevmc09:
Huh, I'm pleasantly surprised that she mentioned opting out of both!
I personally plan to get the hep-lock. I am not planning on needing to use it, but I'm notorious for having terrible veins and in the event that something would need to be administered I'd rather not have to deal with them searching for a vein they can use and/or sticking me somewhere really uncomfortable! In my situation I'd rather just have them put it in when there's no rush so it's there in the event something would come up.

wifeofadam · October 2012

With #2 I didn't have either at the hospital. I checked in and was only at 4 cm. I told them I didn't want either and they said they would let me labor for a while without them, but that eventually they would need to at least put the Hep-lock in. I ended up progressing so quickly that they never had the chance to give me one. I do remember them giving me an IV while I was pushing, but I was too focused to really care. I still think it's strange that they decided to give a woman pushing a baby out an IV, but I guess they said they wanted it there in case they needed to give me pitocin for bleeding. I would think a shot to the thigh could have covered things.

My friend tried to refuse both and they flat out would not let her. She's sort of a pushover, so she didn't really try to press her luck. I wonder what would have happened if she refused. I mean, what can they do - make you go home while you're in labor and refuse to help you? I would think that they would just make you sign a waiver and then probably give you a difficult time for the rest of the birth.

abell77 · October 2012

Yep. My hospital does not routinely give iv's or hep locks. with my first birth I didn't have an iv until the last 15 minutes because my midwife was concerned I was dehydrated. With my second I was supposed to have a hep lock and iv due to being gbs+, but when I arrived at the hospital fully dilated, there was no time for that. I loved being wire free while in labor.

sschwege · October 2012

My hospital is like this. I would have agreed to a saline lock if that had been the recommendation, but my MWs do it on a case-by-case basis and I didn't need one. I do wonder if I should ask for one this time around 'just in case', but I probably won't. I have really good veins and I trust my MWs' opinions. It was really nice to be able to labor and push with nothing attached to me. Soon after I gave birth, I said to DH I gave birth the way women having been doing for centuries, to which DH added, except for the Jacuzzi jets! Yes, yes except for the Jacuzzi jets

alanap · October 2012

I didn't get hooked up to anything with my first birth. It was a great experience and I will be doing the same with LO.

I can't imagine having a needle stuck in my arm while in labor.

bdutton0005 · October 2012

The first time I didn't have the option to opt out of the hep-lock and this time I wouldn;t even think of fighting it. As PP said I don't have the greatest veins and technically in an emegency they are supposed to have you from your room to the table with the Dr cutting in under 5 mins. I wouldn't want the added stress of knowing they are taking extra time to have to try and stick me and get me under. That being said my Dr isn't pushy about sections, he prefers not to do them unless it is a true emergency and I feel that I am educated enough to know a true emergency.

ncbelle · October 2012

I had a hep-lock both times because I was GBS+ both times and opted to get IV antibiotics. As it turned out, I also ended up requesting a bit of IV fluids both times because I threw up pretty badly and felt very dehydrated - I was allowed to eat and drink freely both times but I couldn't even keep ice chips down.

Anyway...I'd be totally fine laboring without one in. But I also didn't find it that big a deal to have one (and if I'd not had one at the start, I probably would have gotten one after all the puking!). But if I get a 3rd go round and I'm not GBS+ I'll probably start without.

WaitingOnTwoPinkLines · October 2012

alanap:
I didn't get hooked up to anything with my first birth. It was a great experience and I will be doing the same with LO.

I can't imagine having a needle stuck in my arm while in labor.

It isn't a needle, it's a catheter.

Personally, I am opting out of IV fluids but getting a hep- or saline-lock. I have awesome veins, but I'd prefer to have a catheter in place in the event of an emergency. Emergent patients often have horribly low BP, which can make catheter placement a b!tch, no matter how good your veins are.

KelliLynee · October 2012

It was in my birth plan just to have a hep lock and my MWs were on board. When I got to the hospital at 3cm but in very active labor... DD was born less than 3 hours later, my MW just asked me what I wanted to drink and said she wasn't going to bother with the hep lock.

Sawyerplus1 · October 2012

DS1 was an 'in hospital' birth center birth, DD was a hospital birth, and DS2 was a free standing birth center birth. The only time I needed an IV was during DS2s birth for my GBS. I never had an IV otherwise, or even heplock.

runrinserepeat · October 2012

I opted out of both, and I'm glad I did. I feel like even the hep lock would have distracted me from relaxing. As it was, I zoned out for much of transition, relaxing to the point of falling asleep in the tub.

10Nessie · October 2012

I plan to opt out of both and my midwife is very supportive of this as long as I keep myself hydrated on my own. (I am also low-risk)

Our hospital now has the water birth option, so I'm hoping to have as few hook ups as possible since I would like a water birth.

tokenhoser · October 2012

I had neither for L&D. I arrived 10 cm dilated and ready to push. I drank water through my labour (and didn't puke). There was no need for one and it wasn't suggested.

I ended up needing antibiotics after the birth, though, so I had a hep lock put in an hour or so after the birth.

AmyRI · October 2012

I had one last time. It went unused until after I delivered DS, when they gave pitocin to help contract the uterus.

I asked my doc (who is very pro-NB) about skipping the hep-lock this time and consenting to a shot of pit afterwards instead, but she very strongly prefers to have the lock in place. It was not a big enough deal for me to argue the point further, so unless I show up pushing I will get the lock again this time.

Dman85 · October 2012

I had no IV when I delivered. It was nice to move around as I please. I also was able to eat the whole time and do as I pleased. There are perks to not having any drugs

mrsodonnell12 · October 2012

sbevmc09:

Huh, I'm pleasantly surprised that she mentioned opting out of both!

I personally plan to get the hep-lock. I am not planning on needing to use it, but I'm notorious for having terrible veins and in the event that something would need to be administered I'd rather not have to deal with them searching for a vein they can use and/or sticking me somewhere really uncomfortable! In my situation I'd rather just have them put it in when there's no rush so it's there in the event something would come up.

100% this. I did a hep lock with DS and they ended up using it for some pitocin because I was bleeding pretty heavily after he was born (very quick delivery). This time around, I will probably do the same thing just to be on the safe side, however, I plan to talk to my MW about it more in depth next week. I do have the option of opting out of both though.

tokenhoser · October 2012

I received post-birth pitocin (standard at my hospital) as a shot in the thigh.

I think it might be marginally slower acting than an IV dose, but there is a way to deliver it in an emergency without a hep lock.

aylafsu88 · October 2012

I opted out of a hep- lock. I was planning to get one but when I arrived at the hospital my water broke and I went into transition. They asked if they could put the hep-lock in and I told them heck no! At that point I was focusing on each contraction and things were going really quickly. The last thing I wanted to deal with was having a hep-lock put in. I dont regret not having at all. I was free to labor in the tub and even got to push for a few contractions in the tub. Plus I did not have to wait for them to take it out! I would recommend not getting one!

caeraRose · October 2012

I'm terrified of needles, and seriously considered opting out of the hep-lock. I discussed it with my doctor, and she explained how difficult it often is to find a vein in an emergency, so I went ahead and had one. I'm not sure if I would have had much of a choice in the end, because I had to have Cervadil to get things started, but even with my fear of needles, it wasn't as bad as I anticipated. It turned out to be a good thing I had it, too, because I started bleeding quite a lot at the end, and the Pitocin they gave me after DD came out helped with the bleeding.

aliena · October 2012

I had neither for my birth and 24 hr hospitalization. I had a pill for bleeding. If I had a hep-lock I would have been seriously tempted for pain meds. I had some weak moments.

pc150805 · October 2012

I opted out of both and my OB was totally fine with it. They had pit ready in a syringe next to the bed in case I started to hemorrhage, but that didn't happen so I didn't need it. My BP did start to climb at one point and the nurse told me she was sure the doctor would want to put in a heplock and I said I'd rather discuss it with him. He came in and said that he would give me a 1/2 hour for it to go down before putting in a heplock. It went down, I didn't get one.

StefandTodd · October 2012

I opted out of both...I was far enough along, well hydrated, and they let me sip apple juice. They weren't happy about it since it meant I also opted out of antibiotics despite being GBS+, but once I made it clear that I was not getting antibiotics, they didn't care about me having it for any other reason.

funchicken · October 2012

I had a hep-lock the first time around, and I don't know if the nurse taped it down wrong or what, but it hurt the whole time that it was in. I opted out of it for my second birth, and I'm glad I did. My labor was super-fast, and I was much more comfortable without the hep-lock in. I didn't need IV fluids, so I'm glad I opted out of it.

PansyPants · October 2012

I opted out of both. I had a very low risk pregnancy and ended up with no interventions for the birth. I just made sure to drink a ton of water during labor so that if they needed to put an IV in for an emergency, I would have nice full veins to find. I've never had anyone struggle to put an IV in me or to draw blood so I didn't have to take that into consideration. I just get a mental paralysis when there are needles in me. I feel like I shouldn't/can't move because of them and I didn't want to feel that way during labor.

shortstuff15 · October 2012

RedheadBaker:

PansyPants:
I opted out of both. I had a very low risk pregnancy and ended up with no interventions for the birth. I just made sure to drink a ton of water during labor so that if they needed to put an IV in for an emergency, I would have nice full veins to find. I've never had anyone struggle to put an IV in me or to draw blood so I didn't have to take that into consideration. I just get a mental paralysis when there are needles in me. I feel like I shouldn't/can't move because of them and I didn't want to feel that way during labor.

As someone stated above, there is no needle left inside you. A needle is used to insert a catheter. The needle is removed.

Isn't a hep lock just an IV needle unhooked? I've honestly never heard of a hep-lock until here. I had an epidural for my first birth and the needle was definately in my hand. When they unhooked it after birth the needle was still in my hand and it hurt to move my hand. My second birth was not medicated at all and I had nothing in or on me at all.

tokenhoser · October 2012

The difference between a "needle" and a "catheter" doesn't really matter if it freaks you out. I did have the hep-lock (which is just the plastic tube) for 24 hours post-birth, and I'm glad I didn't labour with it. It's just not my favorite thing to have stuck in me, and I do feel like I have to baby it to keep it in place.

Again, I DID have post-birth pitocin. They just jabbed my leg.

[Deleted User] · October 2012

I didn't have to opt out of the IV or hep-lock. They never mentioned it.

I had a retained placenta and needed an IV when they were working all that out, and it wasn't an issue.

Edit: and having the hep-lock in for the next almost 24 hours (they had to wait to be told by someone that they would remove it) was such a pain in the ass, I'm so glad I didn't have to think about it during labor. It was painful and would have been distracting to me.

Hyaline · October 2012

I planned a natural, med-free birth but ended up needing interventions for unavoidable medical reasons (guh!) and was glad I had the hep-lock in place. Honestly, the policy irks me, so I'm glad they let you opt out out of principle, but I was glad we didn't have to fuss with finding a vein for the IV in the heat of the moment. Not that it would have been life or death, but it would have been a bigger pain, especially since I don't have "easy" veins

thebigmare4 · October 2012

I was told that I would have to have one or the other. But I showed up pushing and no one mentioned the hep lock or IV.

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