Stacey wrote:
Are any of you in-hospital experiencing this?  Our director of OBS anesthesia
has been inserting epidural catheters into early laboring women, but not
injecting medication through it until the patient requests.  I really get
steamed when I see this.  This is not done on all patients, just some.  But
enough to make a difference.

Stacey,
Yes, I have seen that happen in the hospital I used to work in. The OB
thought the epidural is the best for laboring mothers. Why should they
suffer with an epidural available.  So in goes the epidural catheter before
the woman is in active labor. Once she hits 4 cm dilated in goes the
medication. Maybe she would do quite well with the labor contractions by
using her breathing/relaxation techniques. Heavens, these women don't need
to go to childbirth classes. Why should they have to learn these techniques,
forgetting that it may take awhile to get to that magical number 4 and what
if she progresses rapidly. Oh, well. Why do women now not trust their bodies
and themselves to be able to deliver a baby without excessive pain meds or
to have the ability to breastfeed and supply her baby with an adequate
amount of breast milk to exclusively breastfeed her baby for 6 months and
have the baby gain weight.  How mant times have you heard a say "I'm going
to try to breastfeed."  Have we ever heard a mother say I am going to try to
bottlefeed.

Helen