Warning to expecting moms: Required to wear mask during PUSHING at Holy Cross

[Anonymous]

Did your OB or your initial L&D nurse not tell you what the mask policy was?

I delivered pre-vaccine (I did have to wear a mask even with a negative test) and I don't have a sense of current policies, so I am curious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here is Holy Cross safety procedure. Masking at all times is required, even if patients. This shouldn't have surprised you.

https://www.holycrosshealth.org/health-and-wellness/safe-care/

do they mask patients in surger? No, they do not. there is obviously a difference between a vaccinated, covid negative woman in active labor, and a hacking patient coughing in the ER waiting room.

Wait, what?

If it's not under general anesthesia, then yes, they are masked. If they are fully sedated, there is a cuffed airtight tube down their throat, and they are not breathing through their nose -- or mouth, except through the tube.

Do you understand how surgery works?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if the woman in the throes of childbirth refuses, takes it off every time they put it on and/or fights back, what’re the hospital people going to do? Abandon her? Physically restrain her? Shoot her up with chemical restraints? People in medical facilities too commonly forget that patients are not prisoners or children and it is the professionals who owe the duty to the patient, not the other way around.

I hope more people start doing this.

No, but if I were your medical professional, I would exit the room and cover myself in more complete PPE, the kind we use for confirm positive patients. I would take time away from your care to protect myself and my other patients. I would not stay in an enclosed space with an unmasked person. And that would impact your care.

Similarly if you were brandishing a knife or trying to attack me, I would stop care and make the scene safe for myself. Same as if you lit candles or tried to smoke a cigarette in your room. I would require you comply with hospital policy that protects you and everyone else.

You like drama, eh?

This isn't about drama. [/another healthcare provider]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want to continue having skilled nurses in the room while you deliver your baby, wear your mask. It’s for the nurses safety. Even though you had a negative test and are vaccinated, test can be wrong and we all know the Delta break through the vaccinations. It’s not all about you mama! Sounds like you delivered a healthy baby with no lasting negative affects from wearing a mask. Also it’s not just holy Cross.

oh ffs. it is all about the woman physically pushing out the baby. she was vaxxed and had a negative test. forcing her to wear a mask was absolutely irrational.

Guess what it’s probably to protect the unvaccinated nurses.

[Anonymous]

I am so sorry, OP. I had a baby 6 months ago and I can not imagine having to go through with it with a mask on. I got a rapid covid test right when I was admitted. Masking while trying to give birth is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ACOG only recommends being masked if positive with COVID and even then notes masking may be difficult while pushing and that medical providers should wear protective gear.

https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/coronavirus-covid-19-pregnancy-and-breastfeeding (see the section about Labor and Delivery - what happens if I have COVID-19).

Last time I had a baby I needed supplemental oxygen and was nearly passing out from pushing. No way could I have worn a mask. This is one of those policies where we are taking COVID precautions beyond anything reasonable. We have vaccines that work very well. Healthcare providers should be well vaccinated by now and can wear medical grade masks. Maybe make unvaccinated pregnant women mask, but no way would I be happy about pushing a baby out of me, struggling to breathe and being told to wear a mask when I’m fully vaxxed.

Virtually EVERY hospital in the DMV is requiring masks upon entry to their facility - hard stop. Breakthrough and community transmission is a real thing. Even moreso in a hospital. Also, try to think about other patients for a second. THe nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers are going room to room, caring for others. They are masked to protect you and themselves.

We aren't talking about going in to a grocery store to buy food; we are talking about a hospital where sick people are - much sicker than a woman giving birth.

We should really talk about the medicalization of childbirth and how births are taking place in hospitals nowadays vs 150 years ago when most women gave birth at home. Male doctors convinced us we should all comply and deliver in a hospital. Well, hospitals are petri dishes of infection - so yes, wear that mask to protect you.

This is a popular take but I disagree with it. I had complications during delivery with my third that could only have been addressed quickly and effectively at a hospital. After two easy deliveries I actually considered a home birth for my third, so glad I didn’t go for it.

When I gave birth we had to wear masks in most of the hospital, including waiting room and recovery room when nurses came in, but not in the labor and delivery room. Thank god.

[Anonymous]

I gave birth at Sibley last month and none of the nurses cared about whether I was masked after the negative test came back. Looking back, I had it off for a long period of time during labor and nobody ever prompted me to put it back on. Even in recovery nobody who came in ever prompted me to put it on, through I tried to have it in reach and remember myself out of respect for them (but also was up and about with a newborn, so wasn’t always immediately able to grab it when someone popped in). Nobody seemed to care.

[Anonymous]

I think the op should create a fake (read: don’t use your own name) Twitter account and tweet at the hospital about this experience. Heck, tweet at all local hospitals. And 7 on your side and other local news outlets.

You have nothing to lose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the op should create a fake (read: don’t use your own name) Twitter account and tweet at the hospital about this experience. Heck, tweet at all local hospitals. And 7 on your side and other local news outlets.

You have nothing to lose.

“Hospital follows CDC and state guidelines for patient” is not going to be news at 11, and the fact that many other women also have delivered in masks will make it even less remarkable.

[Anonymous]

You should not have to put up with disrespectful behavior during birth. Request a meeting with the patient advocate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also cracking up at:

-the notion that shift changes should have been planned around this one woman's labor schedule

-the idea of a new mom so pissed at wearing a mask that she is posting on DCUM instead of focusing on her recovery and her baby

-the idea that someone would change their entire hospital/doctor based on this post

Oh hi. OP here. Still at the hospital awaiting discharge. Baby is asleep, I am alone in my hospital room, as I have been for hours and hours. Husband is home taking care of the other kid. Posting on DCUM is not taking away my focus on my recovery and taking care of the baby. Sheesh. Have you ever been admitted for days in a hospital? It is boring as get out. I’ve made all the phone calls to friends and family, texted with co-workers, taken a bajillion pictures. I am really not focused on this one event. But people should know.

I was led to believe by others who have delivered babies during the pandemic that although it is usually written hospital policy that you have to wear a mask during labor and delivery, that you will be allowed to go without a mask by the nurses anyway. And that was the case. I wore a mask during the early stages of labor, but the nurses said I could take it off, so I did. That is, until a new nurse came on and started to enforce the written policy. It was really unlucky timing for me because that meant I had to wear a mask during the very hardest part of labor.

If people are planning on delivering at Holy Cross, I don’t want them to be blindsided like I was.

Also, the way in which she asked for me to put on a mask was completely unacceptable. I was in so much pain that I was unable to speak, let alone reach over with my own hands and put a mask on my face. There was no way I could comply IMMEDIATELY in the way she wanted me to. Then she spoke incredibly sternly with me, a patient in enormous pain.

Most of my Holy Cross nurses have been wonderful and caring, but people should know this has the potential to happen at this hospital. There are many choices in our area for care.

You should complain about that nurse. Do you remember their name?

[Anonymous]

These hospitals need to be taken to task for the way they treat laboring and post partum women.

Im sure Jeff will take this post down, as he did my last one.

[Anonymous]

Sorry OP. I gave birth in November 2020 wearing a mask (Virginia Hospital Center). It was because the COVID test they gave me in triage took forever to come back (and no vaccines back then). I am shocked that they made you wear it after a negative test - I was allowed to take it off after my results came back. But it was all over by then.

I was also unable to get an epidural because the anesthesiologist wouldn't come in until I had tested negative. The good news is, when you are giving birth with no pain relief you kind of forget about the mask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ACOG only recommends being masked if positive with COVID and even then notes masking may be difficult while pushing and that medical providers should wear protective gear.

https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/coronavirus-covid-19-pregnancy-and-breastfeeding (see the section about Labor and Delivery - what happens if I have COVID-19).

Last time I had a baby I needed supplemental oxygen and was nearly passing out from pushing. No way could I have worn a mask. This is one of those policies where we are taking COVID precautions beyond anything reasonable. We have vaccines that work very well. Healthcare providers should be well vaccinated by now and can wear medical grade masks. Maybe make unvaccinated pregnant women mask, but no way would I be happy about pushing a baby out of me, struggling to breathe and being told to wear a mask when I’m fully vaxxed.

Virtually EVERY hospital in the DMV is requiring masks upon entry to their facility - hard stop. Breakthrough and community transmission is a real thing. Even moreso in a hospital. Also, try to think about other patients for a second. THe nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers are going room to room, caring for others. They are masked to protect you and themselves.

We aren't talking about going in to a grocery store to buy food; we are talking about a hospital where sick people are - much sicker than a woman giving birth.

We should really talk about the medicalization of childbirth and how births are taking place in hospitals nowadays vs 150 years ago when most women gave birth at home. Male doctors convinced us we should all comply and deliver in a hospital. Well, hospitals are petri dishes of infection - so yes, wear that mask to protect you.

This is a popular take but I disagree with it. I had complications during delivery with my third that could only have been addressed quickly and effectively at a hospital. After two easy deliveries I actually considered a home birth for my third, so glad I didn’t go for it.

When I gave birth we had to wear masks in most of the hospital, including waiting room and recovery room when nurses came in, but not in the labor and delivery room. Thank god.

Yep, +1. I would have been one of the tear-jerker cases on Call the Midwife. Pre-E with large, posterior baby, 4+ hours pushing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry OP. I gave birth in November 2020 wearing a mask (Virginia Hospital Center). It was because the COVID test they gave me in triage took forever to come back (and no vaccines back then). I am shocked that they made you wear it after a negative test - I was allowed to take it off after my results came back. But it was all over by then.

I was also unable to get an epidural because the anesthesiologist wouldn't come in until I had tested negative. The good news is, when you are giving birth with no pain relief you kind of forget about the mask.

You couldn’t get an epidural? I am so sorry.