Eye Drops at Birth

JLyn821

Did you opt in or opt out of the eye drops?

I always figured we'd just do it because "it's what is done".  But the more I've been reading, the more I realize I don't know if there's reason to give them to LO.  I don't have any STDs and if they're going to interfere with his eyes and our bonding for those first couple hours, it makes me not want to.

Thoughts?

lindsayandjamie

It was a gel for us I think. It isn't optional for hospital births in our province, but our midwives said we could wipe it off immediately if we didn't want it. We did. I knew he was not at risk.

wiggyslilsis

We had them done. It only made her a little blurry for a little bit but she still looked right into my eyes the moment I held her after they put them in. I really trust my OB and she was very for them. For me I was willing to sacrifice a little bit of vision for her to avoid the risks.

I don't feel like it interfered with her bonding or really even her vision very much at all.

amccul20

I don't know anything about this, but i'm interested in what everyone has to say.

I did talk to my aunt who is a doula and she recommended that I hold off on the hep b shot until the baby is older. she said, what is the real risk of the baby contracting this, and its apparently a very painful shot for baby. so i'm going to follow her suggestion on that

lindsayandjamie

@amccul20 interestingly enough, in Ontario kids get the hep B series in 7th grade when they are entering a more high risk period of life. I totally agree with your aunt. Considering it is a blood borne pathogen, children are very low risk.

saralynn7

It's state law where I'm at to give them the drops. I asked to not do it because we weren't at risk but was informed that not having them wasn't an option.

cinderin

It is required in our state also. I don't even remember it, so it must have been quick. 

crystaldbl

I knew nothing about this until I read this post. With that being said I work for the #1 pediatric ophthalmologist & surgeon in the state of Maryland. After reading this post I went & asked him. He said the drops are not just for STDs. The birth canal has lots of different bacteria that the baby is exposed to during birth. He said that if the hospital allows you to opt out of the drops (which most don't) it is almost guaranteed that the baby will get an eye infection. Newborns are extremely nearsighted. Any thing that is further than 12 inches is blurry to baby anyway.

alexisanna44

We did them both times. Baby can't see you anyway immediately after birth. Doesn't matter if you think they're looking straight into your eyes or not, they can't see crap. I'd rather do them than risk an infection of any kind. They aren't just for STDs.

sgautschi

We got them. I asked my OB her opinion and she told me there were more benefits than risks. Even though I don't have any STDs there was no guarantee that I wouldn't have some sort of infection down there while giving birth. It wasn't worth the risk and the eye drops don't hurt them. They gave them to her after we did skin to skin, or maybe during. I don't remember. Lol That's how little of a deal it was.

botanicalbliss

We skipped the eye gel, but we had to sign something.  We were planning to delay Hep B until he was 2 weeks?  But he ended up having it before we left the hospital.  I wish we would have just done it immediately since he got so many pokes in the NICU, but whatever.  

DangerMuffin23

crystaldbl said:

I knew nothing about this until I read this post. With that being said I work for the #1 pediatric ophthalmologist & surgeon in the state of Maryland. After reading this post I went & asked him. He said the drops are not just for STDs. The birth canal has lots of different bacteria that the baby is exposed to during birth. He said that if the hospital allows you to opt out of the drops (which most don't) it is almost guaranteed that the baby will get an eye infection. Newborns are extremely nearsighted. Any thing that is further than 12 inches is blurry to baby anyway.

I agree. I've been an ophthalmic tech for 12 years and there is really no con to the drops. It isn't just about stds, but bacteria and all other manner of goop. I will definitely be giving my child the drops. Definitely.

wiggyslilsis

I tested positive for GBS which then caused an infection down there for weeks after delivery even though I had 4 rounds of penicillin during labor. I was pretty sure the eye drops were encouraged because of the GBS but I can't remember clearly.

amccul20

This is all such good information!

bobcee

alexisanna44 said:

We did them both times. Baby can't see you anyway immediately after birth. Doesn't matter if you think they're looking straight into your eyes or not, they can't see crap. I'd rather do them than risk an infection of any kind. They aren't just for STDs.

Exactly this. I asked my OB her opinion and she said basically this. Baby doesn't have good vision when they're first born anyways so it's really not interfering. Plus I also tested Group B strep positive with Zack and barely got my first dose of antibiotics before he was born, so it was probably a good choice to just do them.

IMO the benefits were greater than the concerns most have with them. Plus if states are mandating them, I'd hope they had at least some good reason.

LittleLady77

They are not just for STDs and there is no real benefit to skipping them so yes, we will be doing them.

bridget0117

We also did them.

After I finished pulling DD out she laid on my chest while they finished sowing me up. We had a good hour to bond with her and feed her. When they finally finished with me they took DD (across the room) to give her a bath, shots and the eye gel. After I got her back it was done and it was NBD.

JLyn821

Wow!  Lots of responses!  Thanks, ladies.  I've read different things about the drops.  Some saying that it's no big deal and that some of the bacteria the baby is exposed to is good for them.  Others saying that the drops burn their eyes and can delay bonding.

Our hospital is pretty up on everything and since they promote immediate skin-to-skin, the drops/gel would definitely be delayed.  I'll still talk with my OB, but you've definitely got me leaning towards it.  Thanks!

lb1117

We were told that Baby E was only at risk if we had STDs. We know that's not an issue so we opted out. 

sweetc129

:-h  Morning

Since you are delivering at the hospital I did I’ll let you know the little I know, but since I had a c/s my experience is a bit different anyway. I honestly don’t even remember DD having the drops, but I’m sure she did because nobody asked and it is usually standard even w/ c/s. If you remember the picture I sent you from the hospital it was in the recovery room about an hour after she was born and she didn’t have anything on her eyes. I don’t know if she didn’t get them or if they had already been wiped off by her or nurses. I was not able to do immediate skin-skin because of the c/s, but in recovery she nursed and had an awesome bonding experience and was never an issue. She also slept for 23 of her first 24hrs of life, so there wasn’t much staring at mama. I’m posting this here in case anybody else who had a c/s can let me know what their experience w/ the eye drops were, I’m curious.

  

caseyandlizzie

SweetC80 said:

:-h  Morning

Since you are delivering at the hospital I did I’ll let you know the little I know, but since I had a c/s my experience is a bit different anyway. I honestly don’t even remember DD having the drops, but I’m sure she did because nobody asked and it is usually standard even w/ c/s. If you remember the picture I sent you from the hospital it was in the recovery room about an hour after she was born and she didn’t have anything on her eyes. I don’t know if she didn’t get them or if they had already been wiped off by her or nurses. I was not able to do immediate skin-skin because of the c/s, but in recovery she nursed and had an awesome bonding experience and was never an issue. She also slept for 23 of her first 24hrs of life, so there wasn’t much staring at mama. I’m posting this here in case anybody else who had a c/s can let me know what their experience w/ the eye drops were, I’m curious. <?xml:namespace prefix = o />

  

This was my experience also. We would have gotten them anyway, but it wasn't obvious that they'd given him the drops, and it's standard practice here to give them to all babies. I had him in my arms maybe 20 minutes after he was delivered, and he came to recovery with me. We were able to have bonding time and he nursed like a champ. Like PP's said, his field of vision was extremely limited anyway, so that shouldn't be a concern.