What Happens in OB Triage & Will They Send You Home? | Episode 44
Lo & Behold | Pregnancy, Birth, Motherhood · Lo Mansfield RN, CLC
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Show Notes
In this episode, I walk you through what OB triage is, and what actually happens when you show up to OB triage near term for a labor check, leaking fluid concerns, or just that gut feeling something's shifting. Basically, triage is like the hospital's holding space before they decide whether to officially admit you or send you home to keep laboring. You might change into a gown (or not - totally your call), pee in a cup, get your vitals taken, and answer a bunch of questions about contractions, baby's movements, any bleeding, headaches, or vision changes. Then comes at least 20 minutes (sometimes more) of fetal monitoring - an NST - to check how baby's heart rate looks with your contractions and make sure everything's reassuring.
The big question they're answering is, “Is it okay for this baby to be born today, and is this real labor that's moving things along?” Trust your intuition - there's zero shame in going in, even if they send you home. It's just a checkpoint in the process, not an emergency, and it's there for exactly these moments. If you're prepping for that third-trimester uncertainty, definitely loop back to the episodes on emotional signposts of labor, the types of contractions, and when to actually go to the hospital (linked below_ - they all build on each other to help you feel more confident about what's happening in your body. You've got this!
More from this episode:
Listen to Episode 10: The Emotional Signposts of Labor (an Episode for Every Birth Partner to Hear)
Listen to Episode 37: Is it Real Labor: Braxton Hicks Contractions, False Labor & Prodromal Labor
Listen to Episode 38: You're Contracting! When Do You Go to the Hospital?
Helpful Timestamps:
- 00:00 What to Expect in OB Triage
- 05:23 What Is OB Triage?
- 06:49 Common Reasons to Go
- 09:20 Full Term Focus
- 11:00 First Steps in Triage
- 14:04 Monitoring and NST
- 17:41 Emotional Signposts
- 20:34 Cervical Exams Explained
- 27:19 Will They Send Me Home?
- 30:42 Wrap Up and Resources
About your host:
🩺🤰🏻Lo Mansfield, MSN, RNC-OB, CLC is a registered nurse, mama of 4, and a birth, baby, and motherhood enthusiast. She is both the host of the Lo & Behold podcast and the founder of The Labor Mama.
For more education, support and “me too” from Lo, please visit her website and check out her online courses and digital guides for birth, breastfeeding, and postpartum/newborns. You can also follow @thelabormama and @loandbehold_thepodcast on Instagram and join her email list here.
For more pregnancy, birth, postpartum and motherhood conversation each week, be sure to subscribe to The Lo & Behold podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you prefer to listen!
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Disclaimer
Opinions shared by guests of this show are their own, and do not always reflect those of The Labor Mama platform. Additionally, the information you hear on this podcast or that you receive via any linked resources should not be considered medical advice. Please see our full disclaimer here.
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Produced and Edited by Vaden Podcast Services
Mentioned in this episode: