Doctor’s Appointments: More Traumatic For Baby Or Mom?

My husband and I were advised by a G.I. Specialist to have our daughter’s blood drawn due to some issues she was having with blood in her stool. They wanted to test it to make sure she didn’t have any blood clotting disorders.

After giving it some thought for a couple weeks, not wanting to inflict pain on our baby if it wasn’t necessary, we decided we’d take his advice and take her to the “local” Children’s Hospital (a 30-minute drive, but definitely worth the extra time on the road).

The morning of the blood draw, I woke up feeling nervous and queasy. We are delaying vaccinating our daughter, so, except for her newborn screening, she’s never been poked with a needle. I had no idea how she would handle it. I’d heard that some babies do very well, and others scream and thrash the entire time.

I had considered having her pediatrician write up a prescription for EMLA, giving her Tylenol an hour before, or seeking other pain management techniques. However, as I am in favor of doing things as naturally as possible, I decided the only pain management we’d use would be a Sweet Ease. I packed a sippy cup of water and a ziplock bag of sugar in case the hospital didn’t carry them, but I was pretty confident they would.

My sister was in town, visiting from another state, and came along for moral support. We took advantage of the hospital’s free valet service and headed up to the outpatient lab. I breastfed her in the waiting room to keep her veins nice and plump. We watched as preschool-aged children were called and headed to their appointments with their parents. One by one, they all returned, smiling and holding a sparkly sticker - a reward for their good behavior.

It seemed like we waited forever, and when they called our name, I was eager to get it over with. The second we entered the room, I requested a Sweet Ease, and the nurses gladly brought one out. They asked me to lay my daughter down on the table, and quickly and efficiently prepped her for the poke, including dipping her binky into the Sweet Ease. They told me that they would hold her down, and I could stand nearby.

I felt close to tears as I envisioned my sweet little baby being restrained, thrashing around in pain, and wondering why her mother wouldn’t save her from the strangers that were inflicting pain on her body.

A few seconds after sucking on her sugary binky, my usually squirmy baby became unusually calm and placid. She lay completely still, hardly moving a muscle. “Just wait until you try to hold her arm still,” I thought, remembering how strongly she resists the few seconds when her arms are trapped as I get her dressed each morning.

One nurse applied the tourniquet, and I held my breath, waiting for the outburst. It never came.

Next came the needle, and I was shocked as they slid it into her vein (got it on the first try – go Children’s Hospital!)… and she didn’t even flinch!

I continued to watch in amazement as they filled three small vials with her blood, never once needing to restrain her.

They removed the needle, put pressure on the poke site, then applied a Band-Aid. Still no movement.

I was in shock. After a few seconds of silence, I exclaimed, “Wow, that really couldn’t have gone any better!” I was grinning from ear to ear with relief. “It really couldn’t have,” agreed one of the nurses.

I thanked them for the job well done, and walked out of the room, feeling triumphant. I chose a sparkly sticker on my way out the door.

FYI: Questions You Should Ask Before Getting Your Infant's Blood Drawn

From the time my daughter was about three months old, she’s had blood in her stool. It’s not every diaper and not even every week, but it consistently reappears. Her pediatrician and a G.I. specialist have almost entirely ruled out the possibility that it is anything to worry about. Even so, they recommended we get her blood drawn to test for and rule out any blood clotting disorders.

I’m not the type of parent who immediately goes along with what a doctor tells me. I like to do my research, weigh the pros and cons, and then make a decision. If I decide to go ahead with what the doctor recommended, I try to make the experience be as pleasant and worthwhile as possible.

I decided I was alright with my daughter having her blood drawn, but I called different outpatient clinics at hospitals to decide where I wanted it to happen. I came up with a list of questions that I asked each location.

If your infant needs to get his blood drawn, you might find the following list of questions helpful:

• Do you have a pediatric phlebotomist at your lab?

A pediatric phlebotomist is someone who has been trained in drawing blood from infants. They are skilled at finding their veins (this can be very tricky sometimes), and also are great at keeping them calm.

• What size of needles do you use?

Only a butterfly needle should be use on an infant, and the nurse should preferably use the smallest size of butterfly needle.

• What are your pain management options?

Whether you use the topical EMLA cream or dip your baby’s pacifier in Sweet Ease, there are ways to make the experience non-traumatic for her.

• From which part of the body do you draw the blood?

Depending on the size of the baby and the tests that are being done, the blood may be taken from the arm, finger, heel, or even ankle.

• How many attempts do you make before giving up?

I didn’t like the idea of my baby being repeatedly stuck with a needle, no matter how small it is or what type of pain relief was used. The place we ended up going said they would make two attempts to get in the vein. If both attempts failed, they would bring in another nurse, who would also make two attempts. That makes four attempts total. When you want zero attempts, four might seem like a lot, but it sounded very reasonable to me.

• Who holds the baby while the blood is being drawn?

Some labs have the parents hold the baby, others have nurses hold the baby with the parent standing very nearby. You should go with what you are comfortable with.

• How much blood do you draw?

It’s nice to prepare yourself for how many little vials the nurses will need to fill before the blood draw is over.

If you are like me, having information and being prepared makes unpleasant experiences like this much less nerve-racking and much easier to handle.