Mom Calls Out Nurses Who Put Her Baby In 'Plastic Bin' While Other Babies Got Cots — But Other Parents Say She's Lucky
Some parents are never lucky enough to see their babies in these "plastic bins."
wong yu liang | Shutterstock A mother expressed her frustration when she entered the NICU to visit her son to find him sleeping in a “plastic bin” while the other babies were all placed in cots.
While she believed that it was because her baby was the only Black baby in the NICU and she was being discriminated against by receiving lesser treatment, other NICU parents pointed out that this could not be further from the truth and that her baby being put in a plastic bin was actually a good thing.
The mother complained that her NICU baby was put in a ‘plastic bin’ rather than a cot, like all of the other babies.
The mother, whose daughter was born 7 weeks early and admitted to the NICU, was dissatisfied when she went to visit her baby to find her sleeping in a plastic bin while all of the other babies were asleep in cots.
The “plastic bin” she was referring to is a bassinet, which is usually found in a baby nursery in the maternity ward. Healthy newborns usually sleep in these bassinets until they are discharged from the hospital.
However, the mother believed that her baby was being treated unfairly by hospital staff since she was in the plastic bassinet while all of the other NICU babies were sleeping in cots or cribs. The mother could not help but wonder if it was because her baby was the only Black patient in the NICU.
“I just realized all of these babies got beds … we the only Black here,” the mother captioned her TikTok video showing her baby versus the other babies in the NICU.
While the mother clearly felt as if she and her baby were being discriminated against, other NICU parents argued that they may actually be the luckiest ones in the NICU.
NICU parents claimed that babies who are about to be discharged are placed in plastic bassinets instead of cots.
“As a former NICU mommy, the clear bed is what you want! it means your baby is closer to going home, the crib beds are for sick babies that are staying for an extended period of time,” one TikTok user explained.
“Girl as a NICU mom I cried tears of joy when my baby made it to the clear bed it meant we were close to leaving,” another user wrote.
“Some of us NICU parents are never fortunate enough to even see our babies make it out of those cots into a plastic bassinet,” another user shared.
Viewers could also not help but notice that the woman’s baby was not attached to any monitors and did not have a cannula in her nostrils to give her additional oxygen. Meanwhile, the babies in the cots and cribs needed some assistance from machines just to keep them healthy and alive.
Loren_Zecena / Shutterstock
When it comes to maternity care, less monitoring by nurses and doctors is a good sign for parents.
While it might have appeared to the woman that her baby was not getting the same treatment as the other babies in the NICU, a hospital is the only setting where less attention is a good thing.
It meant that her baby was healthy enough that she did not require constant monitoring and medications.
The only reason that the babies in cribs had a larger and more comfortable sleeping space was to allow more room for all of their medical equipment and to compensate for the fact that they were likely much more physically uncomfortable than healthy babies.
So, if you are a NICU parent and notice that your baby is not getting as much attention or treatment from nurses as the others, this does not mean your baby is getting the short end of the stick.
It is better to be the parent preparing for your baby to go home in a plastic bassinet than the ones who might have a much longer stay.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.