Welcome to Gaia! ::

*note* I had meant for this to be less 'rant/vent'-ish...but I'm sure you can pull something out of it to talk about. sweatdrop And sorry if this ends up a double post. My first attempt seems to have vanished, but you never know with Gaia...

Well, as some of you may have noticed, I haven't been on the last couple days. And if you didn't notice, pretend. xd

I had an appointment with the ob and when she checked my blood pressure, she sent me immediately to the hospital. Once admitted, they started running all sorts of tests. -_- There was talk of possibly having to deliver me right then and there...and I'm not due until mid October. Well...I'm still waiting on some tests to come back...but until then, I'm ordered to rest. Fun stuff. xp

While I was there...one of the nurses...well, she struck me as odd. At first she seemed nice enough...but then...I don't know. She had to ask me a series of questions, which was fine. But then, once she'd figured out that I had already gained about 35 pounds during the pregnancy, she really started laying into me about how my being in the hospital now was my fault. Now...I'm well aware that that is too much weight to gain. But keep in mind that the first couple months I was preggy, I had no idea. The second I found out, I changed my eating habits drastically. Since then, I've gained the proper amount of weight..or so says the doc. Well, this nurse wouldn't even let me say it...she was telling me to stop eating potato chips (I don't even eat those in the first place. rolleyes Gotta love those stereotypes) and stuff like that and that I needed to lose a bunch of weight...now. While pregnant. Now maybe the 50 books and reliable websites I've read are wrong...but I thought losing weight during pregnancy was a bad thing.

Finally, she left. She was off duty. But...the next day...she got called in and dropped by to "say hello". I pretended I was sleeping. But I could hear her talking to my dad. My dad, being the person he is, made a little joke about how he'd had to bring me a salad 'cause I didn't eat the lunch they had given me (they covered everything in gravy...*shudder*). The nurse had the balls to say (not jokingly) that it was "better I didn't eat anything. Skipping some meals could be good".

Again, many books and websites would beg to differ. Not to mention I find something about her statements very disturbing. I'll be honest...I used to have some big issues eating. At all. It was rare that I'd eat more than one very small meal a week. Someone saying something like that nurse did can be very 'triggering' for someone like me. Luckily, with a bit of a nap and a clear head, I was able to see her comment for what it was, but it still bothers me...I mean, who else is she saying these things too...? Not to mention that her so-called 'advice' was a direct conflict with what the doctor told me...and forgive me, but I tend to trust my doctor who's seen me throughout my pregnancy more than some half-witted nurse who just met me.

I was finally released yesterday afternoon. Except for the one test result that has yet to come back, things are looking good. But, that one test is the 'big one'...so I'm not completely in the clear.

The good news though...? That Glucose Tolerance test I had over the weekend (the one I thought would kill me), ended up coming back normal. Go figure. xd

She was in the Antepartum unit. And oh, I remember her name. I probably should report her...

Damn...it did totally eat the thread.

I had posted that if you are overweight and pregnant then you shoud be aware that BP cuffs that are too small will give improper results AND sometimes electronic BP cuffs read incorrectly for some people regardless, like me (granted I'm overweight but it doesn't explain why the correct cuff would put me into dangerously high BP readings). I REFUSE to have my BP taken electronically now thanks to a nurse who told me she has problems with her BP and it being taken electronically (and she was stick thin). I always have them take it manually.


Here is the inofrmation on the improper bp cuff size:
http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/lgbpcuffs.htm

We had a really atrocious nurse in Triage when I went in and thought my water was leaking and was admitted for high blood pressure (legitimate this time I was in pain though apparently not in "real labor" baby's head ended up stuck under my pelvic bone looong story).

Anyway, she said that anyone who thought birth was natural should see the women and babies in the ICU. My husband got pissed and wanted her gone, naturally.

I got in trouble for not gaining enough weight at first. You should never skip a meal if you're pregnant. Some women just gain more weight than others. My Aunt Lynn gained twice as much weight as I did when she had her son and shes barely an inch taller than I am.

She needs to be fired...badly. Before she gives bad advice to someone who might actually listen to her.

Ok - that lady is completely in the wrong. My OB has repeatedly mentioned that a pregnancy weight gain of up to 60 pounds is normal and healthy. Blood pressure during pregnancy is less often related to weight and more often related to stress triggers and blood sugar (thus why many women who have gestational diabetes have toxemia).

Losing weight during pregnancy, ESPECIALLY the later months can be very dangerous to the baby, and in extreme cases can cause fetal distress. Instead of losing weight, try to just maintain what you are currently at.

Nothing any fiddle faddle nurse says should make you do anything that might endanger your baby.

Thanks for the responses guys...I most certainly will not have her in delivery, as when she asked me if I planned on an epidural, and I said 'no', she acted as if that was completely stupid. She said she gave me a 20% chance of making it without one. I mean, I plan on having some pain killers, but needles + my spine = me passing out. She kept insisting that I was being silly.

*sigh* Sometimes I wonder how these people find jobs...

Its your choice. She needs to not have her job.

Out of my 5 kids, I had NO pain medicine with 3 of them. I only had an epidural with the first one because they were prep'ing me for a C- Section and I did have a C-Section with the last child. SO many women go without any pain medication.