Do New L/D Technologies and Procedures Do More Harm to Mothers and Babies Than Good?

Recently I had the honor and joy of being invited to attend the labor and delivery of my 4^th grandchild. It was such a privilege to have had the opportunity to offer my daughter support and to help when requested, and be among the first to witness and welcome the arrival of the newest member of our family.

My daughter was admitted to the hospital 10:00 pm Sun, the date and time instructed by her Dr. to have labor induced (contrary to my grandson’s opinion that 10 months was better than 9).  Shortly after being induced my daughters’ blood pressure rose, with further test she was diagnosed with the condition Preeclampsia. 

Preeclampsia is a disorder that occurs only during pregnancy and the postpartum period and affects both the mother and the unborn baby. Affecting at least 5-8% of all pregnancies, it is a rapidly progressive condition characterized by high blood pressure and the presence of protein in the urine. Swelling, sudden weight gain, headaches and changes in vision are important symptoms; however, some women with rapidly advancing disease report few symptoms.*  Preeclampsia Foundation

She was moved from labor to delivery room. Electronic Monitor hooked up for mom and baby, IV with Magnesium Sulfate and Pitocin was administered and Oxygen was offered, within a few hours she was dilated 3cm and was offered Epidural to help with pain and aid in lowering blood pressure.  This provided enough relief to get some rest; her hubby was offered a cot to sleep on.  Sometime around 2:00am the blood pressure dropped significantly and Ephedrine was administered.

This was the regiment that lasted for the next 14 hrs. Around 4:30pm, Monday she was dilated 10cm plus. She proceeded with the aid of the well qualified nurse to begin the pushing process, the baby was crowning just as her doctor was called in for an emergency C Section with another mom. Pushing had to be stopped and more Epidural was administered to lower blood pressure and to slow down the labor. 

Around 6:00 PM, her Dr finished up with the emergency, and my daughter was allowed to go back to the business of birthing her first baby, with the aid of her doctor, 5 nurses and myself. However, the Epidural made the pushing difficult, and this stage of the process took a while. Keegan was born at 6:55 pm.

My daughter finally convinced the doctor and nurses two days later to check her blood pressure with the old checker with the pump, as she was still hooked up to an electronic one and it showed the pressure was too high to go home. After checking it with several blood pressure checkers, it was determined electronic ones just don’t work on her and her blood pressure was normal.  

The care she received in the hospital was awesome, the nurses and doctor were very caring, supportive and among the tops of their profession.  

However, it left me with the nagging question, would my daughter had to go through this as long and with as much drugs if all was double checked with the manual blood pressure machine, and  Epidural used only before pushing as it had been in the past?