Fishin' for Fun

Mon evening I started to have a lot of mild contractions, so Chris said i needed to call the Dr. SO I did, and they sent me to the hospital. What a nightmare.

I guess I misunderstood how things work. I know that while admissions is open I am supposed to go there first, but it was 6:30 and I knew they were closed. First I should say, I knew they were going to put me in triage, and they told me on the tour because of Hippa you can't have anyone back there with you. So I told Chris not to come, cuz he would just have to sit in the family waiting room. If something big was happening I would call him and we can figure out childcare then, but no point in jumping the gun.

SO, since it was 6:30 I went straight up to L&D. Where they told me I had to go to admissions. I told them thought they were closed and they told me I had to go to the ER for admissions. Then just as I am walking out the door they ask if my water has broke, and I didn't even turn around to tell them "no, I'm just having contractions"

So I walk all the way to the other side of the hospital to the ER. I stand at the counter waiting, and filing out the half sheet of nonsense about my name and DOB and such, as the admissions lay is flapping her jaw with some other lady. I finish and finally get her attention and give her the paper and ask, "do I go and sit down?" And she asks me why I am here, because apparently she can not read what I JUST wrote on the paper I handed her. "33 wk pregnant, having contractions, Dr requested monitoring." Now here is where things get confusing. I am not sure my OBs office said monitoring, but I knew they were going to hook me up to monitoring and all that crap so that is what I put. So she calls up to L&D and apparently the word "monitoring" has them confused. What about the other 5 words I wrote before that one! Finally she figures it out and has me sit in her "admissions booth" which consists of a chair by the front desk. Then she proceeds to ask me the same questions they asked me at preregistration. (what was the point of doing the prereg is you are just going to ask me all the questions again) She wasn't quiet about these questions either. I am sure half the er waiting room wasn't listening, but I still don't feel like announcing it to them. Then one of the question I could not understand what she said, so I said "what?" or something like that. Then she rudely repeated it like I was a misbehaving 3 yo. Finally she gave me a bracelet and had me go back to L&D. She didn't even offer me a wheelchair. SO I hiked it back to the other side of the hospital. I get to L&D. They tell me to go to the triage room and go to bed 1. I do, but it is dirty. SO I go back to the front desk. And before I can say anything, she asks if it is dirty and and send me back out into the hall to sit on a bench until it is ready for me. I sat there crying for 20 min. I know they were busy. I understand that. All the triage beds were full and I heard others talking in the hall as they passed by me that her daughter was in recovery for hours because they didn't have a postpartum room. I also found out that some of the ladies in triage were waiting for a room as well. But that doesn't make me feel any better. At least have someone come out and ask me what the heck is wrong, if I need anything.

So I finally get back to triage. They hook me up to monitors and check me. I am not dilated. At that point I should have said, "thank you, I'll go home now." But I didn't. The monitor did show I was having 4-5 mild contractions an hour, but I wasn't dilated so I could go home. With stress on the fact not to come back unless I have "painful" contractions. Fine, whatever. Never mind the fact that I feel like crap, I am way anxious and stressed out now, and I have had a headache for 48 hrs. My swelling has increased, not a ton, but more than it should. But I how are they to know that. Anyway. It was very emotional for me and bordering on traumatizing.

First of all, I think it is ridiculous that you can't have someone with you in triage. Women that are in triage are not there for fun. They are anxious, cuz either they are in labor or think they are in labor. So isolating them into a current with nothing to do except focus on the reason they are there is the wrong way to help them relax. The only thing to watch is the contraction monitor for everyone. So I could tell the lady in curtain 3 was uncomfortable. As if her panting and groaning didn't clue me in to that. Or how about the lady in curtain 2 who can't stop crying. Curtain 4 is a whole new issue, about how far along she is, because she hasn't seen a dr yet for any prenatal care. In a situation like that it is hard to uphold all of hippa, but my rights were broken back in the ER. And frankly I would rather have a healthy baby, and having my dh there is part of that plan. Crying and feeling rejected is not getting me to a healthy baby!