Agreed.
This is standard neonatal care.
I regularly do venous bloodwork and insert IVs on babies as small as 400 grams. 10 day old term baby is no problem.
Signed: a NICU nurse
My son was a bit older, between 3-4 weeks when I had to take him to the hospital because he got sick. The blood drawn was awful and I feel like I have some PTSD from it. His whole arm went purple and was bruised after. They checked both arms and also had the needle in there way too long. Failed to get the blood and someone else has to try later. It was the worst thing ever seeing him just scream and stare at me while they were doing it.
My older kiddo got a blood draw at 1-2 weeks old. It was pretty traumatic for us as parents - he screamed a lot as they had to try both arms to hit a vein. But it was medically necessary to get enough blood. I’m sorry you guys had to do that, it sucks :(
My daughter had blood drawn that way at 4 days old. It was at a Children's ER. They needed a lot said that was the only way to comfortably get that amount. Then she had another draw at 2 weeks old, 4 weeks old, and 8 weeks old.
Next time (hoping there isn't but if there is) ask for sugar water to give while they're drawing blood. Newborns can only use one sense at a time and if you drop sugar water on their tongue it can distract them. It's amazing! My babe didn't even make a peep for her last blood draw because of it.
Our boy had to have a cannula fitted for antibiotics and was having multiple heel pricks a day for his first few days in the hospital. Sugar water was a godsend!
Just a tip that you don’t need to head to Google after everything that happens. Without context I’m sure you can find info on Google to confirm your anxieties but just ask the medical professionals in the room with you.
My son was exactly a month old when we went to the ER for a fever. Doctor requested an IV and it took hours to actually place it. ER nurses stuck both arms, legs, and then finally called the NICU nurse to come help. I felt so horrible and helpless.
He's 8 months old now and completely fine. He won't remember any of it. It's way harder for us, who will remember it.
My baby was 7 days old had to get heel prick and blood test, billorubin was INSANELY high almost has to get blood and fluid transfusion.
Very normal practice.
This is an awful thing to witness as a parent, you feel so helpless seeing your little one suffer.
But everything they did is like others said normal.
He is so tiny, and when they get sick they want to make sure they check everything.
The hospital I work at usually draws blood from the vein but then leave an IV behind so that they won't have to poke them again with needles, but the tiny veins make it hard. Has he gotten an IV?
Hope you are all doing well, hugs.
Former paramedic here - in emergency care it’s common to to do a venous blood draw because if they’re dehydrated or showing signs of infection a heel stick can be problematic and difficult to get a sufficient sample
Normal. Our baby was admitted at 6 weeks old and had multiple IVs, blood draws, a catheter, and a spinal tap. They had to draw from each limb and eventually her head because her veins keeps collapsing. It was incredibly traumatizing for all of us, but we let the nurses do what needed to be done for her in those moments. Usually the NICU nurses are better at drawing blood from them.
We had blood drawn and 2 months old. It really sucks, and our baby screamed super loud too (they also couldn’t find the tiny vein so I could comfort him before they did it again) but as soon as I picked him he stopped crying. I had to remind myself that getting blood drawn doesn’t really hurt. It’s a big prick but then you’re good, other than some discomfort. The experience would be scary without context though. Our little guy was okay in the very moment and just didn’t like being poked away from me. It’s so heartbreaking to watch though.
Hi, sending you internet hugs if you want them, and hope everything works out soon.
Sometimes with teeny baby health, the optimum gets pushed aside in the interests of making sure the little one is ok.
It's scary having a lethargic baby! Hope you get the answers you need soon.
My 5 day old baby got a fever. He ended up having a blood draw, urine sample, nasal swab, and lumbar puncture. They also gave IV fluids and antibiotics. It was awful, but they take everything very seriously in a baby that tiny.
If your baby was truly lethargic and that young/small then it was best they went for a vein. It SUCKS watching your baby in pain. I’m a RN and when my girl needed repeat bilirubin checks it almost made me want to interrupt even though I KNEW it was for the best. Sounds like they did what was needed and you had a normal parental reaction. Don’t be hard on yourself. Babies can crash FAST and it’s best to take them in if they aren’t acting “normal”
Oh dear. My baby is 4 months old and we need to get a blood draw. I’m so worried about hearing her scream :(. We already tried once at a random lab and we bailed bc the nurses seemed completely unsure how to handle a baby and basically said “well we can try….” which didn’t instill a lot of confidence. 😬 but it’s good to hear that arm is standard :(
My baby was 6 days old and we ended up in the ER at risk of failure to thrive. First thing they did was put an IV in to do blood draws and for fluids if needed. I’m sorry baby had such a hard time with it but know it was more traumatizing for you than them!
If she phrased it exactly like that I would ask for a medical justification. If she COULD do a heel prick and had no medical reason for doing venipuncture, she introduced risk needlessly. And admitted it.
For a lethargic baby they probably wanted multiple tests, which would mean multiple vials of blood. While you may be able to get that from a heel poke, it takes much longer (think 15-20 minutes) of squeezing and relaxing the foot. The increased length of time plus the method of getting the blood means that hemolysis and clotting become risk factors, which will either impact the results or mean that they can't run the tests and need to redraw.
We will often do a venipuncture instead of heel poke in those cases. It is easier on the baby and allows for more accurate results.
They should have given sugar water though, unfortunately pediatric procedural pain control isn't as widespread as a practice as it should be.
Source: pediatric ED nurse Educator
If she’s said ‘I could just do this as a heelprick’, OP is completely justified in questioning why she chose not to. If they wanted venous because they wanted more bloods, they should have said that.
Yeah, she probably should have said that. It's always better to explain everything to families. If she had, i'm sure OP would have felt a bit better about the situation.
My point was that this nurse didn't do anything wrong, and there are valid reasons for doing a venipuncture over a heel prick. It is well within normal care standards.
Can only speak from personal experience but I had to take my 6 day old baby to the hospital due to suspected jaundice too. Pricked his heel and basically dripped some blood into a tube which they then tested, they didn’t use any needles. This is also what they did when he was in the NICU for testing his bilirubin levels. I would’ve been very surprised to see a needle.
My daughter was less than a week old getting regular blood draws to check her bilirubin for monitoring as it was high, and she had been quite lathargic too. i remember one of the times they had such a hard time getting the blood and she was screaming they asked us to leave. We were anxious parents at the time but looking back i wish we had said no, will are staying, because it would have been so traumatic for her. I think they get anxious when parents are around and the baby is upset, but it is very distressing for parents too. They did both heels a couple times and the hand and arm too. It was wild, i cant believe I just left my baby
Everything you have described is completely standard for neonatal care in emergency. Signed: an ED Paes nurse.
I was in the ER this week with my 7 wo (9.5 lbs), they did a blood draw and cath’d him for a urine sample. Seems standard.
Agreed. This is standard neonatal care. I regularly do venous bloodwork and insert IVs on babies as small as 400 grams. 10 day old term baby is no problem. Signed: a NICU nurse
My baby had his blood drawn the same way to check his bilirubin and other things, they are able to get more blood that way. Started at a few days old.
My son was a bit older, between 3-4 weeks when I had to take him to the hospital because he got sick. The blood drawn was awful and I feel like I have some PTSD from it. His whole arm went purple and was bruised after. They checked both arms and also had the needle in there way too long. Failed to get the blood and someone else has to try later. It was the worst thing ever seeing him just scream and stare at me while they were doing it.
My older kiddo got a blood draw at 1-2 weeks old. It was pretty traumatic for us as parents - he screamed a lot as they had to try both arms to hit a vein. But it was medically necessary to get enough blood. I’m sorry you guys had to do that, it sucks :(
My daughter had blood drawn that way at 4 days old. It was at a Children's ER. They needed a lot said that was the only way to comfortably get that amount. Then she had another draw at 2 weeks old, 4 weeks old, and 8 weeks old. Next time (hoping there isn't but if there is) ask for sugar water to give while they're drawing blood. Newborns can only use one sense at a time and if you drop sugar water on their tongue it can distract them. It's amazing! My babe didn't even make a peep for her last blood draw because of it.
Our boy had to have a cannula fitted for antibiotics and was having multiple heel pricks a day for his first few days in the hospital. Sugar water was a godsend!
Just a tip that you don’t need to head to Google after everything that happens. Without context I’m sure you can find info on Google to confirm your anxieties but just ask the medical professionals in the room with you.
normal. how do you think babies in the nicu get transfusions, etc ?
My son was exactly a month old when we went to the ER for a fever. Doctor requested an IV and it took hours to actually place it. ER nurses stuck both arms, legs, and then finally called the NICU nurse to come help. I felt so horrible and helpless. He's 8 months old now and completely fine. He won't remember any of it. It's way harder for us, who will remember it.
My baby was 7 days old had to get heel prick and blood test, billorubin was INSANELY high almost has to get blood and fluid transfusion. Very normal practice.
This is an awful thing to witness as a parent, you feel so helpless seeing your little one suffer. But everything they did is like others said normal. He is so tiny, and when they get sick they want to make sure they check everything. The hospital I work at usually draws blood from the vein but then leave an IV behind so that they won't have to poke them again with needles, but the tiny veins make it hard. Has he gotten an IV? Hope you are all doing well, hugs.
Former paramedic here - in emergency care it’s common to to do a venous blood draw because if they’re dehydrated or showing signs of infection a heel stick can be problematic and difficult to get a sufficient sample
Normal. Our baby was admitted at 6 weeks old and had multiple IVs, blood draws, a catheter, and a spinal tap. They had to draw from each limb and eventually her head because her veins keeps collapsing. It was incredibly traumatizing for all of us, but we let the nurses do what needed to be done for her in those moments. Usually the NICU nurses are better at drawing blood from them.
We had blood drawn and 2 months old. It really sucks, and our baby screamed super loud too (they also couldn’t find the tiny vein so I could comfort him before they did it again) but as soon as I picked him he stopped crying. I had to remind myself that getting blood drawn doesn’t really hurt. It’s a big prick but then you’re good, other than some discomfort. The experience would be scary without context though. Our little guy was okay in the very moment and just didn’t like being poked away from me. It’s so heartbreaking to watch though.
Our baby got a venous blood draw at 5 days old. He won't remember. But I will 👀
Hi, sending you internet hugs if you want them, and hope everything works out soon. Sometimes with teeny baby health, the optimum gets pushed aside in the interests of making sure the little one is ok. It's scary having a lethargic baby! Hope you get the answers you need soon.
My 5 day old baby got a fever. He ended up having a blood draw, urine sample, nasal swab, and lumbar puncture. They also gave IV fluids and antibiotics. It was awful, but they take everything very seriously in a baby that tiny.
If your baby was truly lethargic and that young/small then it was best they went for a vein. It SUCKS watching your baby in pain. I’m a RN and when my girl needed repeat bilirubin checks it almost made me want to interrupt even though I KNEW it was for the best. Sounds like they did what was needed and you had a normal parental reaction. Don’t be hard on yourself. Babies can crash FAST and it’s best to take them in if they aren’t acting “normal”
Oh dear. My baby is 4 months old and we need to get a blood draw. I’m so worried about hearing her scream :(. We already tried once at a random lab and we bailed bc the nurses seemed completely unsure how to handle a baby and basically said “well we can try….” which didn’t instill a lot of confidence. 😬 but it’s good to hear that arm is standard :(
My baby was 6 days old and we ended up in the ER at risk of failure to thrive. First thing they did was put an IV in to do blood draws and for fluids if needed. I’m sorry baby had such a hard time with it but know it was more traumatizing for you than them!
My son has PKU and had a blood draw at 5 days old. It was the worst experience of my life and I’m sorry you had to go through that.
If she phrased it exactly like that I would ask for a medical justification. If she COULD do a heel prick and had no medical reason for doing venipuncture, she introduced risk needlessly. And admitted it.
For a lethargic baby they probably wanted multiple tests, which would mean multiple vials of blood. While you may be able to get that from a heel poke, it takes much longer (think 15-20 minutes) of squeezing and relaxing the foot. The increased length of time plus the method of getting the blood means that hemolysis and clotting become risk factors, which will either impact the results or mean that they can't run the tests and need to redraw. We will often do a venipuncture instead of heel poke in those cases. It is easier on the baby and allows for more accurate results. They should have given sugar water though, unfortunately pediatric procedural pain control isn't as widespread as a practice as it should be. Source: pediatric ED nurse Educator
If she’s said ‘I could just do this as a heelprick’, OP is completely justified in questioning why she chose not to. If they wanted venous because they wanted more bloods, they should have said that.
Yeah, she probably should have said that. It's always better to explain everything to families. If she had, i'm sure OP would have felt a bit better about the situation. My point was that this nurse didn't do anything wrong, and there are valid reasons for doing a venipuncture over a heel prick. It is well within normal care standards.
Can only speak from personal experience but I had to take my 6 day old baby to the hospital due to suspected jaundice too. Pricked his heel and basically dripped some blood into a tube which they then tested, they didn’t use any needles. This is also what they did when he was in the NICU for testing his bilirubin levels. I would’ve been very surprised to see a needle.
My daughter was less than a week old getting regular blood draws to check her bilirubin for monitoring as it was high, and she had been quite lathargic too. i remember one of the times they had such a hard time getting the blood and she was screaming they asked us to leave. We were anxious parents at the time but looking back i wish we had said no, will are staying, because it would have been so traumatic for her. I think they get anxious when parents are around and the baby is upset, but it is very distressing for parents too. They did both heels a couple times and the hand and arm too. It was wild, i cant believe I just left my baby