LOL - What a trooper!! Water Breaks, Woman Heads To Polls Anyway

[CatWoman]

NASHUA, N.H. -- Not even the imminent birth of her child could keep a Nashua woman from voting Tuesday morning.

When Shawna Fitzpatrick's water broke at 3 a.m. Monday, the family packed up their 20-month-old son and went not to a hospital but to the Ledge Street School polling site, Manchester television station WMUR reported. Fitzpatrick's mother, Darlene Towmey, said that Fitzpatrick wasn't in any pain, so she felt comfortable waiting for the polls to open.

A witness said that no one objected when Fitzpatrick explained her situation and was moved to the front of the line. She and her husband, James, voted before heading to Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, where Fitzpatrick remained in labor Tuesday afternoon.

Towmey said that the Fitzpatricks don't know if they're having a boy or a girl.

http://www.wmur.com/health/17889722/detail.html

[DS1]

1. If this was Palin.....

( double standard )

[cherokeeprogressive]

3. No kidding. One a child abuser, the other a heroine. n/t

[Bluebear]

6. She voted, she didn't fly from Tucson to Fairbanks.

Or wherever it was lol!

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

5. True, but it's still a bit better than an hour-long speech and a trans-continental flight.

[FirstLight]

7. Palin had several differences

High risk pregnancy
plane travel
hours of waiting before going to a hospital

let's not compare oranges to apples, please.

[acmavm]

20. My very first thought.

[lunatica]

22. She's in far less danger than you were with your two cats and dog yesterday!

I sent those photos you posted to my friends. They were great! LOL!

So, how are all the scratches on your entire body?

[DS1]

25. That wasn't me

I was trying to say that my attempts like this one didn't work either.

thankfully!

[uppityperson]

40. Not a double standard. She wasn't on a plane for several hours.

She could have easily been driven to local birthing center. Palin was on a plane. Not so easy.

[hedgehog]

2. If it's a boy, do you think they'll name him Barack?

[YOY]

4. That could be dangerous!

Honestly it could be. She should have not trooped it out and gone to the hospital.

We had a neighbor who recently lost a child when she failed to get to the hospital on time after her water broke. Another who nearly lost her baby from the same situation.

They didn't realize their water broke until it was too late. My wife and I have no idea how they couldn't but they did.

I think we need an MD in here to explain why this happened.

[gollygee]

9. You aren't always supposed to go right when your water breaks

you are supposed to time your contractions and go when they're a few minutes apart.

[YOY]

12. I wish I had the details of what happened to our neighbors.

It was something like they didn't know their water broke...very odd. I'm straining my mind to think of what it was called.

[gollygee]

15. If your membranes rupture and you aren't aware of it

you can get an infection, but that generally takes a while. My membranes were ruptured for a couple of days before I figured out that's what was going on, and I didn't get an infection but I could have and it's very dangerous when that happens.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. Err...

I think you're supposed to go if your contractions get close OR if your water breaks.

Oh course, that's just the prevalent medical advice. There are plenty of women out there who don't go to the hospital at all.

[gollygee]

17. I'm pregnant and have had a child and those aren't the instrucitons I've been given

by the OB office I go to. If your contractions don't get going within a few hours, you need to get to the hospital or you could get an infection. But there's time to vote, or pack, or get your older kids dropped off with the grandparents, or whatever.

[CatWoman]

18. when I had my daughter (back in prehistoric times)

I went to the hospital 3 times when I went in labor; they sent me back 2 of those times saying my contractions weren't close enough.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. Yup, that's the standard protocol, at least with a recent birth in the family.

Don't come in too early, because you're just wasting their time. Unless the water breaks, in which case go ahead and come in. They also told her, "if you just feel like there's something wrong, but can't explain it, go ahead and come in." Very progressive of them, I thought.

[Horse with no Name]

37. Why yes

THAT is standard protocol. You are 100% correct.

[Contrary1]

43. My water broke...

Doc said get to the hospital when contractions were three minutes apart. Did as advised, and did not give birth
to my daughter for another nine hours.
Thirty-two years later, she's still a pain. :rofl:

[Horse with no Name]

44. I've found that days of agonizing labor was the easy part

:rofl:

[Horse with no Name]

28. They prefer you go to the hospital when your water breaks

They don't mind you staying home waiting out your contractions as long as the water is intact...but after your water breaks the chance of infection gets much higher and the risk to the baby goes up exponentially.

[gollygee]

30. My OB told me when I was pregnant with my daughter

that I should get to the hospital within a few hours of when my water broke, but if contractions didn't start right away I could go get something to eat, or whatever before hand.

So "they" doesn't include every OB office. Mine wanted me there before too long, but there would have been time to vote.

[Horse with no Name]

32. Well don't mind me

I just work as an RN in maternal-child health. I'm sure I am probably mistaken...

[gollygee]

33. I'm sure my OB was mistaken then

:eyes:

[Horse with no Name]

34. Hey

All I know is standard protocol which varies little from facility to facility.
I really have no idea if what YOU heard your OB say is what he actually said.:shrug:

[gollygee]

36. What motivation would I have to lie?

Jesus.

[Horse with no Name]

39. I never said you lied

I just have no idea if you understood your OB correctly or not.
I do know what standard protocol is. If your OB deviates from it and you trust him--then I have no problem with it. It's your baby and your life. Do whatcha want with it...however, I would not advise OTHER women to do the same as you since it does deviate from standard protocol. Many babies die or are born very sick when the water has been broken for two days. It's NOT alright to give that kind of bad advice...but if YOU want to walk around for two weeks with your water broken...knock yourself out. It's your right.

[gollygee]

41. He said to make sure I got there within a few hours

I had a slow leak so I wasn't aware it had broken. I thought I was leaking pee. I was alarmed when I found out that wasn't the case. I wouldn't have intentionally waited 2 days.

[Horse with no Name]

42. I had low amniotic fluid with my first child

The doc said I had a "thimble full" at most.
I was young and dumb and thought that was cool because my worst fear was that I was going to be in the store and have my water break all over the produce aisle. It actually made me happy to know that all I had would fit in a panty liner.
However...knowing what I know NOW...that wasn't a good thing either...only my OB never told me that.:scared:

Peace and Good luck with your pregnancy.

[Maine-ah]

35. that's funny, cause when my water broke

and I called my midwife, she said get yourself to the hospital.

[gollygee]

38. It must vary from hosptial to hospital then

My OB said if my contractions hadn't started, I'd have time to get something to eat if I was hungry, and that people with older kids (I didn't have any older ones at that point) could drop their kids off with grandparents before they went to the hospital. But he said to get there within a few hours of my water breaking.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Well it wasn't that long for sepsis to develop

ideally she should have gone to the ER... but I have seen it many a times where even women with broken water are sent home for bed rest

Each case is quite individual

Now I must say... deliveries scared me shitless EVERY TIME

99% we are the cheering squad... it is that 1% that gets really, REALLY heary

oh like the six month premie I bagged all the way to the hospital...

[Horse with no Name]

31. After the period of infant viability

they prefer you go straight to L&D--and not the ER in most facilities.

[lunatica]

23. It's possible that she called her doctor and he asked her how far apart

Her contractions were, and that he said it was OK to go vote. It took me 10 hours after my water broke for labor to really start.

[Stargazer09]

26. I'm not a doctor

But I have given birth to nine children and was once a childbirth educator. My water broke before labor with four of my children, and two of them were safely delivered at home by midwives afterwards. The other two were born in hospitals without any complications.

A lot depends on the position of the baby at the time. As long as the baby's head is firmly engaged in the pelvis, there's almost never a problem with waiting a few hours. The danger is mostly for pre-term or breech (buttocks first) babies, since they are at higher risk of the umbilical cord getting pinched between the baby's head/body and the mother's pelvis. Obviously, if the cord gets pinched like that, it cuts off the baby's oxygen and can kill the baby. Another risk is that of infection, but that problem usually doesn't set in for about 24-48 hours after the water breaks. Both complications are very rare.

I'm not sure what happened with your neighbor. I think it's likely that her water broke higher up, above the baby's head, leading to a slow leak that may go undetected for days. She may have gotten an infection without realizing it. I'm sorry for their loss. I know it is devastating, and that they are probably blaming themselves unnecessarily.

[YOY]

29. My wife says she is speechless and mortified 2 weeks on.

She only showed up once at at the playground with her daughter and was really a mess. It really bothered my wife to see another mother is such a state. Mostly the father has been taking the little girl to the playground...he's not taking it too well either. I feel for them...truly.

The "slow leak" sounds like what my wife described.

[Stargazer09]

45. How incredibly sad

People don't realize that babies (and moms) still die during pregnancy and childbirth, no matter how hard you try to take care of yourself.

I know that I'd be a complete wreck if something like that happened to me, particularly if the doctor made me feel like it was all my fault.

[Turbineguy]

8. Fox News is trying

to determine who she voted for so they can call her a patriot or a fuckin' pinko commie.

[CatWoman]

13. rofl!!!

:rofl:

[Sequoia]

10. Keep us informed.

[carlyhippy]

11. if she would have had to stand in line at the place I just voted at.....

her kid would have been walking and talking by the time she got her ballot.

I just stood in a line for nearly an hour with a full bladder, thought my water was gonna bust towards the end



Carly

[Captain Hilts]

16. You go, girl!

ER: Boo-yeah!

[slampoet]

24. If it's a girl they will name it "BARAKINA"

[BoneDaddy]

27. I love it

wtg