A modern woman who is expecting a baby has the opportunity to choose the hospital in which she will give birth. Usually, pregnant women, long before this moment, consider many options and study the features of various medical institutions. Most often, they do not have questions about the functioning of the hospital. All names of departments and wards of the hospital are familiar and understandable. Everyone knows what a prenatal ward, a birth hall and a ward for newborns are. But many women are baffled by the word observa- tion. This name of the department scares women, and not everyone knows what it is. Many myths are associated with it, and some are terribly afraid to get there. Is this really such a bad place, and who is sent there?
What it is
Observation is a medical observation of people who have been in contact with patients or who suspect an infectious disease. They are isolated in a special room and monitored for health around the clock, provide the necessary medical care. If necessary, vaccinate, process and disinfect things. Both observation and quarantine are necessary so as not to expose healthy people to the risk of contracting infection. They are usually carried out by sanitary and epidemiological services during outbreaks of infectious diseases or when people leave the epidemic zone. And only in maternity hospitals there is constant observation, because it is very important that newborn babies are not infected due to the fact that there are infected people nearby. Very often, before a childbirth, it is not possible to fully examine a woman, and you can not take risks by putting her together with other pregnant women. Observation is intended for everyone who suspects an infectious disease, who has already contracted, for example, the flu, or for carriers of antibodies to hepatitis viruses.
Observation Department
It is in every maternity hospital, and in large cities there is even a separate observational medical facility. Why are they being created? Observation is the isolation of infected or healthy people who have been in contact with patients. In the maternity hospital, this department is very important because pregnant women and women who have already given birth, as well as newborn babies, are highly susceptible to infections. Therefore, everyone who is suspected of a disease is put on an observation. No one is safe from getting there. But contrary to the fears of women, it is impossible to catch something there: observation in the hospital is the cleanest department. It is provided with all necessary equipment to help with complicated and pathological births. Some pregnant women even try to get there, since the attention from the staff there is more to the woman and the child.
Branch Features
There are a number of prerequisites for this department:
- it is located on the first floor of the hospital, has a separate reception room and exit for discharge. This is necessary so that the patients do not contact with other women in childbirth;
- chambers in the observation are designed for 2-3 people, there are some;
- cleaning in the department is carried out more carefully than in the entire maternity hospital: all rooms are washed and treated with disinfectants several times a day, women often change their bed;
- special requirements are also imposed on medical personnel: they change work clothes and process shoes every day;
- The doctors in this department are usually more qualified, because they have to deal with severe cases of childbirth. Many specialists, for example, a pediatrician, come from the hospital itself;
- the joint stay of the mother and the child is not allowed in the observation, and the issue of breastfeeding is decided strictly individually.
What diseases are observed
These, as already mentioned, are all kinds of infections:
- SARS, flu, tonsillitis;
- the threat of abortion and its pathological course;
- colpitis, thrush;
- pyelonephritis;
- pustular or fungal diseases of the skin, nails and hair;
- diarrhea and other intestinal infections.
In addition, a woman may be transferred there after giving birth in a regular ward if she has:
- mastitis;
- purulent discharge from the uterus or sutures;
- endometritis;
- skin irritation in a newborn baby.
Who else can get into this department
Not only a woman with any infectious diseases can be sent to give birth in an observation , but also completely healthy. In what cases this can happen:
- if she does not have an exchange card upon admission to the hospital;
- the card does not contain any necessary analyzes;
- if a woman in labor more than 12 hours ago has withdrawn water;
- women after home birth and prematurely giving birth outside the walls of a medical facility;
- A slight increase in temperature upon admission to the hospital.
Do I need to be afraid of this place
Many pregnant women are afraid to give birth in observational. They believe that there is a great risk of becoming infected with something. In addition, there are myths about this department that there are "bums", alcoholics, patients with AIDS or tuberculosis. But this is not so, because for pregnant women with such diseases there are special departments in infectious diseases hospitals. And the observation in the maternity hospital is a place where ordinary women in labor lie, sometimes simply transferred from their main ward. At the slightest suspicion of inflammation or infection, they are sent only there.
And do not be afraid of this place - the doctors there are usually more qualified, and the staff pays more attention to both the woman and the child. Equipment and drugs are not worse there, and often even better than in the home itself. Therefore, a pregnant woman upon admission to the hospital should not be scared when she hears the word "observation". In many cases, this is even better for both her and the child.
Reviews about this department
Some women, when they choose a maternity hospital, tend to get it on observation. After all, this is the cleanest department in the hospital, and in the wards are no more than three people. Round-the-clock monitoring before and after childbirth avoids complications. And some people like that this office is on the ground floor, so you can easily chat with relatives through a window. In some hospitals, visitors are even allowed there. Therefore, do not be afraid of observation - there the woman in labor will be provided with the most qualified help, and the child will not catch any infection. Most of the women who were in this department speak of him with enthusiasm - most of all, of course, they like the cleanliness and attentive attitude of the staff.