Haiying Guerra, CTVNews.ca
Nurses are urging parents to be alert when they get tired after being involved in the delivery of a sick child.
“If they are exhausted, maybe they don’t know what to do,” said nurse Karan Mehta. “And to be frank, they don’t know what to do either.”
It’s a sad but understandable circumstance that many parents are dealing with after a few hours of sleep. This can be the case for nurses who take part in maternity care.
Nurses at the hospital where she was working tell CTV News they’ve noticed a rise in calls for help, particularly from mother-to-be parents.
“They may end up saying, ‘Oh you gave me no sleep and I had to wake you up,'” said Mehta. “They might say something.”
On Friday, Mehta and a colleague went to a suburban community near their office in Mississauga, hoping to help out the mother of a newborn baby.
“They were so exhausted that they couldn’t handle the babies, they could barely walk, and they were having difficulties in raising the babies,” Mehta explained. “I was able to provide some help but the mothers just wanted us to just walk away.”
Mehta says she hopes to work a shift next week at another hospital so she can meet other families and help them as many as she can.
“We’re just always prepared to help out. If you need any help we’re here for you,” she said.
“It’s sad when there are babies who can’t take care of themselves and they do get sick, it’s sad.”
Parents should be careful about what they choose to put in their children’s mouths, particularly if they are in labor, especially if they are young and not yet familiar with their babies. Mehta says nurses also want parents to be aware of the dangers of drinking water from the toilet, and to ensure their hands aren’t covered.
“We advise mothers to wash their hands afterwards before they eat their food because some of them may be too exposed,” Mehta explained. “Also, to protect the babies, we ask parents to stay away from water where there have been any leaks.”
Although many hospitals have well water, Mehta says this isn’t good enough when it comes to giving babies water