Conference moira::parenting_v3

    My question with all this is how will you know if it is "really
    necessary"?  We pay our doctors a lot of money for their expertise, and
    since a Dr. has no way of detecting fetal distress other than by
    monitoring, what is the complaint against it?
    
    I had one for the entire labor (actually, I had two, internal and
    external).  Layed there the whole time, playing cards with my husband.
    Rather that they had the monitors and knew when the baby went into
    distress, as opposed to finding out the hard way.
    
    

    I do agree with both .0 and .1 - Monitoring may be necessary to detect
    if any problems occur. If I hadn't been monitored, there would have
    been SERIOUS problems for my son. The baby was laying on his cord and
    standing up caused him to cut off his blood/oxygen supply. BUT, if a
    monitoring session shows nothing wrong, get back out of the bed and get
    moving around. If they request that it be done again after a minimal
    amount of time, I'd ask why they are doing it again; if the first
    monitoring session discovered something. Personally, I found the
    sessions a good way to break up the long period of my labor (while I
    was still upright). 
    
    Do ask though if you feel it is getting obsessive - like every hour.
    If I had to guess, I'd be willing to bet they try to do them every 2
    hours to check progress. Monitoring is one of the most unobtrusive ways
    of finding out the information they need. 
    
    Andrea 

    
    My water broke and I was induced with Pitocin. I had the monitor
    on throughout the whole thing, it was uncomfortable, I have to 
    admit. 
    
    The way I see it is - if that's the way the doctor wants it, let it
    be. I don't want him/her to feel uncomfortable about the situation 
    becuase of my unsual demands and then make mistakes, afterall, it 
    is my life and my baby's life that are put in his hands.
    I am an engineer and I would be a little uncomfortable (if not upset)
    if some novice comes along and tell me that my professional judgement
    is off.
    
    One common problem is that, there won't be a nurse there with you 
    every minute and I can guarantee that the doctor won't be there
    every minute either. A midwife may provide such personal attention.
    So, the monitor "kind of" replaces human attention!!!
    
    Maybe you can strike a compromise with the doctor or nurse when time
    comes. 
    
    Good luck,
    Eva.

    I really just wanted to know, barring unforeseen circumstances how
    often other than your initial entry into the labor/delivery room how
    that they would monitor you (ie., every hour, every two, etc).  
    Like I mentioned, and at least 2 of you seemed to understand,
    that if things are going well overall, I would hope they wouldn't
    continuously monitor and restrict you to bed as that usually (as my
    doctor told me) usually changes your labor pattern.  The move you move
    the more the labor tends to progress - gravity I guess.
    
    I would certainly NOT want to create a stressful environment for the
    baby, nor with my doctor.  And as previously stated, want to do
    whatever it takes to help get the baby into the world as safely as
    possible.  Each doctor has his/her own opinions/routines.  Not being
    guaranteed my own doctor during delivery I just wondered what everyone
    else's experiences were and was there a "standard" time.
    
     
    
    

    I had external monitoring for two of my deliveries.  On the first the
    graph produced by the monitor was behind me but was visible to my
    husband.  He watched it and used it to know when my contractions were
    coming.  On the second the graph was where I could see it.  I could see
    the contraction coming before I could feel it and was therefore better
    prepared to "breath".  

    My first was a c-section, with no previous labor.  The second was
    a vaginal delivery, but due to the previous c-section, and the fact
    that I was induced by pitocin, they had internal and external monitors 
    on me the entire time.  They didn't bother me at all.  I liked being
    able to watch for the oncoming contractions, and see how much "harder"
    they were getting.  It expecially helped when I was pushing, because I
    couldn't feel the contractions any longer when I started the pushing.
    As far as wanting to walk around, I didn't want to.  When the
    contractions got hard, I just wanted to be in bed!
    
    Good luck!
    Janice 

    I agree with .6. By the time I was hooked up to the monitor I was in
    hard labor and didn't want to budge from the bed. I asked my doctor
    the question of whether they would unhook me from the monitor if I
    wanted to walk around during labor (standard information from
    Childbirth class). She kind of chuckled (she just got back from
    maternity leave) and said that yes if I wanted to get off the monitor I
    could to walk around, but most likely I wouldn't find it necessary. And
    she was right, by the time I checked in and hooked up I was in hard
    labor and just wanted to rest in between contractions, not walk.
    
    If you are really worried about not wanting to be hooked up to a
    monitor try to labor as much at home as possible. I can say that when
    the contractions start taking your breath away (I would pace around
    my house then when the contraction hit, I'd squat) it can be a little
    frightening the first time. That was when I wanted to make sure I made
    it to the hospital and had someone check me out. 
    
    Then again everyone's labor is different and I guess I just wanted to
    point out that worrying about whether you have to be hooked up to the
    monitor too much my not even come to pass. As for me the
    uncomfortableness of the monitor came into play because after they
    place the monitor on the spot where they locate the baby's heart beat,
    you hate to move around too much for fear of knocking it off that spot.
    Plus when I had reached the point where I was hot and even the hospital
    gown felt like a ton, the two inch wide belt felt like a girdle (this
    was when I would tell my husband not to touch me between contractions,
    then the minute I felt another contraction coming on, yell for him to
    take my hands).
    
    Take care and have a healthy baby, the best is yet to come!
    -Jan-

    I remember worrying about this exact same thing during my first
    pregnancy - would they let me up to walk around if I felt like it. 
    Depending on the circumstances of your early labor, they probably will. 
    But I must agree with one of the prior responses - try to do your early
    labor at home, where you can walk to your heart's content.  Later on
    you simply won't feel like it.
    
    But additionally, I think monitoring may be one of those things you
    simply have to recognize as being necessary to the overall health of
    the baby and you, to make sure things are moving along OK.  
    
    Thank God they finally got rid of the mandatory enema (:-P)!!!!!
    

    Hope this answers your question specifically.  I delivered at Worcester
    Memorial, I imagine the procedure is different other places.
    
    I was hooked up to the monitor as soon as I arrived for approximately
    15 minutes.  Then, the doctor checked me.  Then, I was told I could
    walk around for an hour or so, then to come back and get monitored and
    checked again.  They said this could continue until I was ready to
    deliver.
    
    FYI, when I first checked in it appeared my labor would be "fast", ergo
    the 1 hour check-in.  Otherwise, perhaps it would have been longer in
    between monitoring and doctor's checks for dilation.
    
    Keep in mind... something I didn't think about too much or I would have
    done things differently... the moment you get ANY medication i.e.
    Demerol shot, Epidural, etc., you're in bed hooked up to the monitor. 
    This is because of the possible (probably rare) complications to you or
    the baby when medication is introduced.  In my case, my blood pressure
    dropped to a dangerous level when I received my Epidural due to the
    fact that I was dehydrated. . . guess I stopped eating/drinking too
    soon :)  Because of the monitor, they were able to quickly rectify the
    problem, and 30 hours and a cesarean later, my healthy baby girl was
    born.
    
    Good luck, I found the entire staff at my hospital excellent and very
    flexible, so just make your needs known and I'm sure you'll be
    accommodated as much as possible.
    
    Cheryl