Medical Malpractice

How often do hospitals turn away a laboring mother?

My doctor tells me to wait until my contractions are 5 minutes apart for at least 2 hours straight. 2 of my girlfriends were recently sent home from the hospital that I am supposed to give birth in because they supposedly were in "false labor". The first one ended up having her baby put in ICU because there was meconium and they did not know when her water broke-they sent her home 3 days in a row and told her to relax in the bath or shower! My second friend was sent home and went back 3 hours later just to find it was too late for medicine and the baby was beginning to crown. She was in agonizing pain. It makes me very apprehensive about the hospital. I am going to get turned away if I am truly in labor too? Why do hospitals do this?

Public Comments

1. if you are in labor and scared or worried, don't worry abotu what the hospital is going to think, just go in. I went for 4 cms to 10 in 10 minutes with my first and about 2 minutes with my second. If I would have been sent home, i wouldn't have made it back... when you are there, make sure they check your cervix, hook you up to a fetal monitor to make sure baby is ok, and tell them to check to see if your water has broken with a strip. They send people home if they are in very early labor which can last up to days! or if their out of beds... So if this is the case, go to another hospital or make a big stink in front of everyone about how much "pain" your in and you need to lie down. If you are truley in labor, you will know!!! and they should too!!! IF they don't, TELL THEM and don't take no for an answer...
2. That's a good question. My water broke and I went in and was admitted right away.
3. Here in Canada any pregnant mother who is having any kind of pain gets taken in and checked right away (if its for the baby).
4. I've heard of this happening too. Maybe the hospital has a full house, lol! I didn't have to worry about that because I had to have a c-section. I'm sure everything will be fine. Relax. Good luck to you and congratulations in advance mommy!
5. If you feel that you are in true labor and they try and send you home, demand that someone check you! If you demand to be seen, they can't send you away. Everyone has the right to be seen by a doctor. Don't let them walk over you, you are your baby's advicate, and only you know your body.
6. They won't send you away if your waters have broken or if you are over 3cms dilated. That's when it's considered 'true' labour.
7. they turned away my GF she has 2 previous labour scares and when she went in the 3rd time they told her no labour room were available and they still had to find room and staff for 2 more mother's to be - so she went home luckly her great aunt is a midwife (retired) but she gave birth 2 hrs later.
8. I don't know if it is still the reason... but 10 yrs ago the reason the hospitals did this was sadly because of insurances. If you had regular insurance, they would admit you and check you out fully before telling you to go home, or.. if you were close enough to your water breaking/dilating... they would admit you. Whereas if you were on state medical insurance (medicaid) they would turn you away because Medicaid will only pay a certain amount, period. So unless you were trying to hold the baby in, lol, they would turn you away. My best friend was on medicaid and was turned away several times in one day, finally she just sat in the ER waiting area until her water broke and then they took her in. Then she wanted an epidural and they kept waiting to give it to her, when her mom and hubby finally insisted the nurse told them that medicaid would only pay for it once, so she wanted to make it count. She said 'I can give it to her, but if it wears off before she has the baby she will only be allowed to have an oral pain killer like demorall or ibuprofen.' So, she waited as long as she could and then got it, it wore off about 15 min before she had her baby, so she pretty much had natural childbirth, no drugs. She was screaming and they would not refill her iv, in fact they took it out once it was empty and she about freaked out. We all could not believe it! But, when I went into labor, same hospital... my water hadn't broke yet, I was having contractions so they got me a room and said to give it a few hours. My water broke and we were all good. Then I was in labor for 36 hours, ended up having a c-section. But, I got that epidural a few hours in and they kept refilling it over and over until it was decided that I have a c-section. No questions asked. But, I had regular insurance through my hubbys work. So, ya, I think that hospitals are really driven by insurance. I have known people with terminal illness's to be turned away from treatment because their insurance would not cover it. And that one was within the past few months. Not that they didn't have insurance... just that it would not be covered, and the treatment was over 10K so they could not afford it out of pocket and the hospital would not treat without 80% of the cost up front! And this was for Cancer... she is terminally ill.... she ended up going out of state and having the proceedure done. So, find out what kind of insurance your friend had... that might be why she was turned away until the last dying second. And if that is the case, I guess it depends on what you carry. If you are really worried, simply go to a different hospital... research the different options and pick the one that best suites you. Good Luck, I hope this helped some!!! :)
9. When i was pregnant i went in 3 days before my son was born and the just checked me and sent me home and said that i was not in labor. It was a full moon that night so the L&D was full. I continued to have contractions for the next 3 days. And when I went into labor i was having contractions and bloody show and the doctor on duty wanted to send me home because my water didn't break but when they ran test it showed that i had a leak so they had to keep me. so i had experienced the hospital say your not in labor go home rest and drink plenty of water. i would get so made when they would tell me that,
10. hospitals actualy do it a lot. i don't know what reasons other then if they dont feel you have to be there then they send you home. It doesn't make a lot of sense i dont know if it is a money issue for the hospital or what but it happens a lot. they also it is easier on mother and baby to do as mcuh of the labor process at home because it is less stressful. So there are no good answers to that question sadly. i would ask your ob that very question at your next apointment and see what they say and go from ther.
11. Mine never turned me away. l called them because l thought l was in labor and they wanted me to come in so they could check me. l had been dilated 1 cm for 3 weeks and when l got to the hospital l was dilated to 4. That was at 7:00 in the morning. My contractions were 10 to 12 minutes apart when l got there. They my request that you go home and wait til you are further along in labor, but they can't turn you away if you go in through the er. l think it should be the woman's choice when she wants to be admitted to the hospital, and not wait til the last minute because they sent her home.
12. I was terrified of getting sent home by the hospital. I waited around at home for 12 hours while I was in labor until I absolutely couldn't take the pain anymore. My contractions were still 8 min apart. Luckily when I got there I was already 5 cm dilated.I didn't get my epidural until 8 cm and gave birth 4 hours later, completely numb, I never felt a single thing. I read someone's answer about being on state insurance, I think that's absolutely horrible! I don't think hospitals should ever turn away a laboring woman without at least checking her... Good luck to you. Just listen to your body!