questions nurses ask during labor

nodito · August 2013

In the natural childbirth book I've liked best, Natural Hospital Birth, the author suggests that it's helpful for the mom's primary support person to be familiar with mom's pregnancy and medical history so he can answer any questions posed by nurses during labor. She gives the example of a woman who underwent IVF and was asked a dozen times by different hospital staff what medications she was on and when they were discontinued. Apparently this can be especially helpful if the woman arrives at the hospital in late active labor or in transition, as I would love to do.

I've had a pretty uncomplicated pregnancy so far, but I thought it would be helpful to type up a little cheat sheet for DH that he could refer to when the nurses ask me questions I don't want to concentrate on. Stuff like, known allergies, medications, no high blood pressure,, etc. What other types of questions are labor and delivery nurses or OB staff likely to ask?

annabelle.27 · August 2013

Mine asked if I had ever had herpes and if I had any allergies or underlying health conditions. I think that was it.

aylafsu88 · August 2013

My nurse did not ask any questions like that. When I arrived I was in transition and things moved very quickly. We gave her our birth plan, she read it over quickly and asked about putting a Heplock in. I refused the Heplock and got in the tub. She only check me when I was feeling the urge to push. I saw the on call OB from the practice and he only came in when I was pushing. I was holding LO in less than 2 hours. Maybe my situation was not the norm but I never had any questions like you described during L&D.

cyprissa · August 2013

I was a homebirth transfer...came in at 9.5 cm and they asked me tons of ridiculous shit. Give DH all your info because I think this varies a lot by hospital. They even asked me when I last took prenatal vitamins. Thankfully my midwives were with me and had my whole chart or I would have been super annoyed and pissed off.

robyn2201 · August 2013

I would just go over stuff with your DH in case they do ask. I was never asked anything like that at either of the two hospitals that I delivered at. Well I take that back. With DD2, they asked me tons of questions after she was born because they didn't have time to do so prior. She was born 12 min after I arrived.

If you don't have a doula there, make sure you talk to your DH prior about how you want him to remind them of your birth wishes, even if you have a birth plan. I think they sometimes go on auto pilot and forget that you want certain wishes, like delayed cord clamping or no pitocin unless needed/

And you never know, you could arrive fully dilated like I did, and they literally don't have time to read your birth plan. Someone needs to step up and tell them your wishes. Most likely you will not be in the mindset to do so.

Luv2Run1st · August 2013

I had my husband answer as much as possible. It was a huge distraction to have dumb questions asked like "what is your pain level?" I think we did ask them to stop asking such a pointless question. You are smart to have a cheat sheet for your husband. Great idea.

sschwege · August 2013

With my first I'm not sure what they asked because DH was able to answer them all. The only one I remember that he couldn't answer was "Who is the baby's pediatrician?" I know I had to answer two questions on my own. "How many times have you been pregnant?" and "Any STDs?"

With DS I arrived ready to push and it was all such a blur. The only questions I remember were, "When did your contractions start?" and "First day of last menstrual?" (I wanted to shout at the nurse at that point, really?!) That nurse was a piece of work though, DH could physically see the head and she was handing me consent forms to sign!

summerandmatt · August 2013

I think its really smart to give DH a cheat sheet. It's so annoying that they ask so many questions OVER AND OVER!

Arielle27 · August 2013

I went to the hospital with ptl at 31 weeks. It was the middle of the night and I wasn't in that much pain (but with contractions every 3 minutes for over two hours), so I drove myself and my husband stayed with the kids until it was a reasonable hour to call a babysitter. In any case, in admitting I was shocked at how long it took them to process me and how many questions they asked me. At least 15 minutes! And I was pre-registered! I kept thinking, they could not possibly take this long if I were in the throws of active labor! I hope not at least... In not planning on going into the hospital until the baby is ready to pop out if possible (if at term, etc)!

But I really like the idea of a cheat sheet...! I just have to remember the questions they asked...

pdilly2b · August 2013

I don't think I was asked anything. Our hospital had some sort of pre-admittance form (that you gave them weeks in advance) with all of that info so it was already in the system when I showed up in labor. I think they asked me like name and address and SS# or stuff like that to match me with my info at the reception desk, but that was it.

AmyRI · August 2013

I was asked my full name and DOB, EDD, doctor's name, pediatrician's name, allergies, current meds, GBS status, when contractions began and their interval in the last hour, and if waters had broken (if so, what time).

And then they constantly asked me to rate my pain level on a scale of 1 to 10. I wanted to punch every nurse that asked, especially when I was in labor the second time. If I say a number that's too high, they'll push meds. If I say a number that's too low, they'll try to send me home. But that doesn't seem to be the kind of question you can write down an answer for now

Arielle27 · August 2013

Along those lines... The first time I was in labor I waited as long as I could before going to the hospital, which was 2-3 hours of intense active labor (contractions every 1-2 min the whole time). I walked to the hospital and was 5 cm. They asked me to rate the pain, and I didn't want to say 10 because I figured it would probably get worse (not true!), so I said a 9. The nurse actually laughed. To this day I wonder if other ftms say 9 because they are embarrassed to say 10!

tokenhoser · August 2013

If you can, pre-register and get a copy of your chart at each of your last few prenatal visits (mine was just 2 printed pages of my test results and such). Hand that to them when you check in. It doesn't stop the stupid questions, but it helps.

I swear, they are just used to people that either show up at 3 cm or have an epidural (or both). The idea that I'm HAVING A BABY HERE and didn't want to talk about my birthday, address, health card number, blah blah blah... I only had to do it with DS over two years ago, and I'm still annoyed. This time it focused a lot on "did you have prenatal care?" and other "Are you a crazy free-birthing hippy?" questions... that got better once my doctor showed up.

SweetPeaK26 · August 2013

They asked if I was currently in an abusive relationship... In front of my husband. Not sure what that was about!! Lol.

They asked me if I'd had any issues from an epidural, how many pregnancies, how many live births, vaginal/c section, any surgeries, any stds. Any Bp issues, ill effects from anesthesia, drug or food allergies.

I can't remember any more right now, and I know alot of that is already in my OB charts, but the hospital always asks anyways.

mysticl · August 2013

SweetPeaK26 said:

They asked if I was currently in an abusive relationship... In front of my husband. Not sure what that was about!! Lol. They asked me if I'd had any issues from an epidural, how many pregnancies, how many live births, vaginal/c section, any surgeries, any stds. Any Bp issues, ill effects from anesthesia, drug or food allergies. I can't remember any more right now, and I know alot of that is already in my OB charts, but the hospital always asks anyways.

That is a standard question at some OB/Gyn practices, women's hospitals and maternity wards. However, the partner is not supposed to be present when they ask.

My OB's office has their charts linked with the hospital so my records were automatically available to the L&D nurses. They just checked on any current medications and allergies with me.

JCWhitey · August 2013

Sounds like a good idea! I can't really be of help, though. I don't recall being asked any questions when I arrived. And I hadn't gotten a chance to register at the hospital yet (was going to do that after my next appointment) so they didn't have any history on me. I think the nurse maybe asked DH a couple of questions but the majority were asked after he was born.

But definite a brief medical history, your birthday, gestation (EDD), and any issues that may come up during labor would be a good bet. I'd also make sure he was on the same page as you as to what to do during an emergency, including any religious wishes you may have should things not look good. I had all of this in my birth plan but I noticed most people don't include this in theirs so it would be good for someone to know ahead of time if you have a request like a priests' blessing or whatever.

lalamakita · August 2013

I arrived in transition and they asked us a ton of questions (pre-registering didn't matter, and I hadn't gotten a final copy of my birth plan to the doc, so it wasn't in the system) - and I hadn't recently reminded my DH of some of the details. I'm allergic to sulfa based antibiotics and he said sulfates - or sulfites - both very different - so I hear him being confused and I scream "Sulfa based drugs" - I just couldn't handle the back and forth. My doula used that as proof I was very much 'present and lucid' during those moments. Ha!

I loved the irony of having to sign all sorts of papers after the birth - like permission to do a c/s or give anesthesia. Stupid.

Unknown · August 2013

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ssemovsk · August 2013

I think it varies by hospital. It took them 15 min to check me in too and the hospital was dead. I actually enjoyed answering questions as it took my mind off the pain I was in. I labored at the hospital for 15 hours and suprisingly they did not ask me if I wanted an epidural after I told them in the beginning that I was not planning on getting. My nurse happened to he a hypnobirth teacher so that made things run much smoother