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December 2015 Moms
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Newborn Hospital Routines Procedures

Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
in December 2015 Moms
Has anyone else looked into what procedures are routinely done in your area with your baby? Such as immediate cutting of the cord, vitamin K shot, eye ointment, etc. If so, will you have them all done? Why or why not?
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Re: Newborn Hospital Routines Procedures

  • ammnam14ammnam14 member
    I haven't researched it too much but I'll be doing everything recommended. Immediate cutting of the cord and the vitamin K shot are the only things I've heard of so far. Why is the eye ointment needed?
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  • Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
    AudriannaMaria said:

    I haven't researched it too much but I'll be doing everything recommended. Immediate cutting of the cord and the vitamin K shot are the only things I've heard of so far. Why is the eye ointment needed?

    As far as I can tell from research, it is to prevent eye infections due to the mother having or had chlamydia and/or gonorrhea.
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  • Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
    I am talking to my OB next week and then I will decide what we will do. The only thing I know for sure is I don't want him circumcised unless there is an abnormality that makes it necessary. I also want to delay cord clamping until it stops pulsing, but that is totally negotiable depending on whether or not the birth is none-traumatic to the baby. I'm on the fence about the ointment because if it only protects against those two infections, I won't want it done to my son as I know I am STI free.
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  • Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
    Embuzz247 said:

    I'm a nurse who has worked in L&D so I'm well versed in the procedures and understand the reasons for them. I will be participating in the normal procedures.

    Eye ointment is used because babies often acquire bacteria from moms birth canal that can damage their eyes.

    I heard it was for gonorrhea and chlamydia only. If there are other bacteria/infections it protects against do you know what they are? I've been looking into this, but I haven't found much besides the STI's.
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  • laurabwalkerlaurabwalker member
    In Canada the eye ointment has been talked about lately, interesting info https://www.cbc.ca/m/news/health/newborn-eye-treatment-doesn-t-work-say-pediatricians-who-want-law-repealed-1.3000350

    I will be following through with vit K, and if baby comes out healthy and happy, doing delayed cord clamping as it is a routine practice in our hospitals.
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  • Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
    Embuzz247 said:

    Not just STIs. Mostly, e.coli, which everyone has and baby comes in close contact with vaginal birth.

    https://childrensmd.org/browse-by-age-group/newborn-infants/do-newborns-really-need-that-eye-ointment/

    That's a good article to read. Maybe the info I have been looking into is outdated, one-sided or poorly written? Either way, thank you for the article. Baby will be getting the ointment for sure. I plan on breastfeeding so it will likely be delayed until we see how he latches.
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  • ammnam14ammnam14 member
    Interesting. Thanks!!
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  • Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
    And I know this it is something people seem to find gross, but we will be delaying his bath as well and will bring our own soap because I know the baby soap where I will be is harsh.
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  • Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
    laurabwalker said:

    In Canada the eye ointment has been talked about lately, interesting info https://www.cbc.ca/m/news/health/newborn-eye-treatment-doesn-t-work-say-pediatricians-who-want-law-repealed-1.3000350

    I will be following through with vit K, and if baby comes out healthy and happy, doing delayed cord clamping as it is a routine practice in our hospitals.

    If the birth isn't traumatic, we will be doing oral vitamin K. If it has to be a c-section or there are complications, we will ask for the shot instead to get it into the bloodstream asap. We're considering prolonging the hep B until his check up with the pediatrician, as well.
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  • laurabwalkerlaurabwalker member
    Ah okay, do they give the Hep B vaccine at birth as well? We only give it when Mom is Hep B positive at birth in Canada, other than that it is routine at 2,4,6 months.
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  • Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
    It is routinely done here in the U.S. at birth unless otherwise requested. (At least in my area). I work for the hospital where I will be delivering and I know the employees are required to get a titer every year to ensure they are still immune, and to be UTD on vaccines. So I know for certain I do not have hep B and it's very unlikely the employees handling him would have either. So we will wait on that.
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  • Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
    This is all assuming his birth is complication free. The first rule of my birth plan is to be ready to flex to the needs of the baby.
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  • MorganW24MorganW24 member
    I birth at home so we opt out of most "normal" procedures. We do the vit K shot and that's it. We delay cord clamping until it's done pulsing and encourage as much baby mama bonding time as possible.
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  • Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
    MorganW24 said:

    I birth at home so we opt out of most "normal" procedures. We do the vit K shot and that's it. We delay cord clamping until it's done pulsing and encourage as much baby mama bonding time as possible.

    What are your reasons, if you don't mind me asking? This is my first baby. I enjoy hearing experienced moms views.
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  • Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
    I would love a home-birth, but this being my first child I am paranoid about something going wrong. My mother had home births and loved them, maybe the next one will be.
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  • yl1m32015yl1m32015 member
    sarahgn said:

    And I know this it is something people seem to find gross, but we will be delaying his bath as well and will bring our own soap because I know the baby soap where I will be is harsh.

    I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Especially if you want to use organic/chemical free soap then bringing your own is a great idea!
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  • Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
    I have sensitives to chemicals and scents, which is the main idea behind delaying his bath and using my own soap. I am a tech at the hospital where I am delivering and we had to use baby soap one night when we ran out of the regular adult soap. I couldn't believe how strong scented and harsh it was. I couldn't imagine using it on an infant. It was so harsh on the elderly patients thin skin. I felt terrible using it on them.
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  • MorganW24MorganW24 member
    sarahgn said:

    MorganW24 said:

    I birth at home so we opt out of most "normal" procedures. We do the vit K shot and that's it. We delay cord clamping until it's done pulsing and encourage as much baby mama bonding time as possible.

    What are your reasons, if you don't mind me asking? This is my first baby. I enjoy hearing experienced moms views.

    These are my personal views, I don't push them on anyone or judge other women for making different choices than mine.

    After doing a TON of research I knew the hospital experience is not what I wanted for my birth. This will be my 2nd home birth. For normal healthy pregnancies birthing at home is safer for mom and baby, all other industrialized countries have a higher home birth rate and have better infant and mother rates than the U.S. does.

    We were on the fence about the vit K shot with my first but he came very fast, 3 hours from first contraction to the time I was holding him, and felt like it was probably a good idea to give him it. There are no real down sides that I could find to the shot so we went ahead with it.
    We delay cord clamping because at birth anywhere from 20-50% of baby's blood volume can be in the cord. Babies that receive that blood typically have better apgar scores, less issues with breastfeeding, fewer breathing issues, and better overall health outcomes.

    We opt out of eye ointment because from my research unless there is an STI there really is no need for it. Any other bacterias that baby comes into contact with on his way out would be normal and just part of the birth process. If you choose to do the eye ointment, look into the benefits of delaying until after breastfeeding and some bonding time!

    Hep B we choose to delay because we use a delayed vaccination schedule for our son. We will have him vaccinated before he goes to school and is exposed to and is around large groups of kids on a daily basis. For now he is home with me and we feel most comfortable vaccinating against the higher risk issues than ones that are much less likely for his age group. (Once again personal opinion, not trying to start a debate!)
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  • Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
    MorganW24 said:

    sarahgn said:

    MorganW24 said:

    I birth at home so we opt out of most "normal" procedures. We do the vit K shot and that's it. We delay cord clamping until it's done pulsing and encourage as much baby mama bonding time as possible.

    What are your reasons, if you don't mind me asking? This is my first baby. I enjoy hearing experienced moms views.

    These are my personal views, I don't push them on anyone or judge other women for making different choices than mine.

    After doing a TON of research I knew the hospital experience is not what I wanted for my birth. This will be my 2nd home birth. For normal healthy pregnancies birthing at home is safer for mom and baby, all other industrialized countries have a higher home birth rate and have better infant and mother rates than the U.S. does.

    We were on the fence about the vit K shot with my first but he came very fast, 3 hours from first contraction to the time I was holding him, and felt like it was probably a good idea to give him it. There are no real down sides that I could find to the shot so we went ahead with it.
    We delay cord clamping because at birth anywhere from 20-50% of baby's blood volume can be in the cord. Babies that receive that blood typically have better apgar scores, less issues with breastfeeding, fewer breathing issues, and better overall health outcomes.

    We opt out of eye ointment because from my research unless there is an STI there really is no need for it. Any other bacterias that baby comes into contact with on his way out would be normal and just part of the birth process. If you choose to do the eye ointment, look into the benefits of delaying until after breastfeeding and some bonding time!

    Hep B we choose to delay because we use a delayed vaccination schedule for our son. We will have him vaccinated before he goes to school and is exposed to and is around large groups of kids on a daily basis. For now he is home with me and we feel most comfortable vaccinating against the higher risk issues than ones that are much less likely for his age group. (Once again personal opinion, not trying to start a debate!)
    No judgement here. As I said, this is my first so I like hearing both views on things. What resources do you have on the delayed vaccine schedule? I am not at all anti-vaccine, but I don't want my baby pumped full of chemicals with all in one shots. I already plan on doing single shots instead on a longer schedule. He will be going to the same pediatrician I did when I was a child, so I know her views well.
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  • MorganW24MorganW24 member
    I honestly read everything I could get my hands on. We talked a lot with our pediatrician about what he recommends, and what his honest opinions were about waiting on some. The big decider for me was educating myself about how the vaccines are made, what they contain, and what the side effects are. You can find all that on reputable sites like the cdc, etc. We personally don't follow a set delayed scheduled, we evaluate each vaccine individually and decide if it's something we want to give now or wait until he's older. There are some we also opt out of all together like rotavirus, simply because he's not in daycare and breastfed so he is low risk.
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  • duckinovenduckinoven member
    @MorganW24 thanks for sharing your views, I always find it interesting to hear different experiences and perspectives
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  • Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
    MorganW24 said:

    I honestly read everything I could get my hands on. We talked a lot with our pediatrician about what he recommends, and what his honest opinions were about waiting on some. The big decider for me was educating myself about how the vaccines are made, what they contain, and what the side effects are. You can find all that on reputable sites like the cdc, etc. We personally don't follow a set delayed scheduled, we evaluate each vaccine individually and decide if it's something we want to give now or wait until he's older. There are some we also opt out of all together like rotavirus, simply because he's not in daycare and breastfed so he is low risk.

    I have done some research, but not enough. I know for sure we will be vaccinating against the routine schedule incase the need arises to pin-point a reaction. Do you have any sites/articles saved on the subject? I will be research each vaccine individually regardless, but having some info from someone is always helpful :)
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  • MorganW24MorganW24 member
    Dr Sears has a vaccine book out, it gets a lot of heat, but is very informational on how vaccines are made and info on what would put your child in a low risk/ high risk category (daycare, breast vs formula, etc). Dr Sears is a delayed vaccine doctor and the book is written as such. Checking out websites like the cdc are good resources as well, but of course are written with a very pro vaccine stance. To me it's about educating yourself from all angles and then making an educated choice for your child! Hope that helps!
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  • Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
    MorganW24 said:

    Dr Sears has a vaccine book out, it gets a lot of heat, but is very informational on how vaccines are made and info on what would put your child in a low risk/ high risk category (daycare, breast vs formula, etc). Dr Sears is a delayed vaccine doctor and the book is written as such. Checking out websites like the cdc are good resources as well, but of course are written with a very pro vaccine stance. To me it's about educating yourself from all angles and then making an educated choice for your child! Hope that helps!

    Awesome! It definately helps, thanks a bunch. I'm ok with things written from a specific view as long as the info is accurate. I will be buying his book. Thanks again.
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  • Mizuiro007Mizuiro007 member
    sarahgn said:

    I have sensitives to chemicals and scents, which is the main idea behind delaying his bath and using my own soap. I am a tech at the hospital where I am delivering and we had to use baby soap one night when we ran out of the regular adult soap. I couldn't believe how strong scented and harsh it was. I couldn't imagine using it on an infant. It was so harsh on the elderly patients thin skin. I felt terrible using it on them.

    I'm curious if you have an idea yet what soap you'll try? I have skin sensitivities and my son does as well. CeraVe Baby worked well for us, especially over the winter when we were both broken out in eczema.
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  • monaclemeremonaclemere member
    Regarding the safety of homebirth:

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  • kristen2bkristen2b member
    Embuzz247 said:

    I'm a nurse who has worked in L&D so I'm well versed in the procedures and understand the reasons for them. I will be participating in the normal procedures.

    Eye ointment is used because babies often acquire bacteria from moms birth canal that can damage their eyes.

    I value and respect your opinion, so I'm asking what about with csections? Would you still do it then?
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  • redfallonredfallon member
    edited July 2015
    We did everything with DD that was recommended to us and we will do everything again. K-shot, eye ointment, etc. I only knew about these things as part of the birth process from the Bump Birth Plan doc that they have available. That's why I recommend looking at it to see what all the options and normal procedures are so that if you aren't sure about them, you can do a little more research to see if it's something you want to do, or to see why these things are recommended.

    Here is the link again:

    https://www.thebump.com/a/tool-birth-plan

    You can also take this to your OB/other provider and see what their normal procedures are. Some of the things that I questioned were things that my OB wouldn't do anyway, or some things on there were normal procedure for the hospital, such as baby staying in the room for everything, including any checkups or procedures.

    Jamie


    Lilypie Third Birthday tickers


     Lilypie First Birthday tickers

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  • AlejandraN2AlejandraN2 member
    Like @redfallon, we did everything that was recommended at birth for my first daughter (vita-k, eye ointment, hep b vaccine), and plan to for this one too.

    We follow a modified vaccination schedule too. Our pediatrician offers a regular one and a modified delayed one that they are comfortable with and we chose to go with the delayed. That meant we were at the doctor's every month for vaccines the first year, but my daughter was on a lot of other medication too so we felt that spacing things out was the right solution for our family. I chose never to have 2 live vaccines done at the same time. The pediatrician was comfortable with all of our choices.

    Definitely do your research on things and make sure you discuss it with your doctors/midwives and pediatricians and that everyone is on the same page. 
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  • yl1m32015yl1m32015 member
    kristen2b said:

    Embuzz247 said:

    I'm a nurse who has worked in L&D so I'm well versed in the procedures and understand the reasons for them. I will be participating in the normal procedures.

    Eye ointment is used because babies often acquire bacteria from moms birth canal that can damage their eyes.

    I value and respect your opinion, so I'm asking what about with csections? Would you still do it then?
    Great question. Honestly, yes. My reason being, the ointment will in no way harm the baby. There's no con to it. I've seen people refuse it with c-sections, snd I won't argue that in that case it may not be 100% necessary. But for me, I utilize preventative medicine and would rather have the ointment than have my newborn deal with pink eye.

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  • Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
    I have heard that if membranes in the vagina rupture before the c-section the baby is exposed that way. I would also imagine if the baby is in the birth canal before the c-section that it is definitely exposed.
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  • Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
    Mizuiro007 said:

    sarahgn said:

    I have sensitives to chemicals and scents, which is the main idea behind delaying his bath and using my own soap. I am a tech at the hospital where I am delivering and we had to use baby soap one night when we ran out of the regular adult soap. I couldn't believe how strong scented and harsh it was. I couldn't imagine using it on an infant. It was so harsh on the elderly patients thin skin. I felt terrible using it on them.

    I'm curious if you have an idea yet what soap you'll try? I have skin sensitivities and my son does as well. CeraVe Baby worked well for us, especially over the winter when we were both broken out in eczema.
    I'm not sure yet. I have heard CeraVe and Burt's Bees were decent products. There is a line called Earth Mama Angel Baby, but I would have to buy from Amazon and it's pricey, so I wouldn't try it unless the other options don't work.
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  • CMDDCMDD member
    I'll be doing everything my dr and husband recommend except I want to ask about delaying the eye ointment for the first while for bonding, attachment, and getting a latch.
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  • MorganW24MorganW24 member
    monaclemere said:

    Regarding the safety of homebirth:


    This article is 5 years old. There have been several newer articles stating the safety of home birth. Last year Britain even issued a statement urging women that home birth was SAFER than going to a hospital. I could post articles all day long to validate my choice to home birth and why it's safer for myself and my baby.

    https://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/world/british-regulator-urges-home-births-over-hospitals-for-uncomplicated-pregnancies.html?referrer=&_r=0
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  • monaclemeremonaclemere member
    MorganW24 said:

    monaclemere said:

    Regarding the safety of homebirth:


    This article is 5 years old. There have been several newer articles stating the safety of home birth. Last year Britain even issued a statement urging women that home birth was SAFER than going to a hospital. I could post articles all day long to validate my choice to home birth and why it's safer for myself and my baby.

    https://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/world/british-regulator-urges-home-births-over-hospitals-for-uncomplicated-pregnancies.html?referrer=&_r=0
    That's Britain. This article is a peer reviewed study for the U.S. which I where I live.

    I was simply providing information for others who may not be familiar with the home birth vs hospital argument. I don't agree with your statement that a home birth is safer and there are studies that back my position, as well.

    We are obviously on opposite sides of the topic. I say do whatever works for you and your family.
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  • Gingermom15Gingermom15 member
    This isn't a thread to argue what is right, but how we do things and our reason behind them :) There is no perfect way to have a baby, we can only do what we consider best for our families and babies.
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