Labor and Delivery

Mother Baby. This class was the one I dreaded most. I have absolutely zero experience with babies as well as pregnant women. I felt completely out of my element going into my clinical at the hospital and I was sure that I would hate being a Labor and Delivery Nurse.

Boy, was I surprised when I really enjoyed myself.

For the first time in nursing school I felt like I was understanding everything. I could read the fetal monitors and tell when something was going wrong with mom or baby. I understood the medications and the parameters for using them. Finally, I felt like something clicked.

I got to see one vaginal delivery in my rotation. It was absolutely nothing like I had expected--but it was also not a normal delivery. This poor girl pushed maybe twice before that baby was out and the med students were scrambling to catch the poor little baby before it hit the bed. It was such a crazy scene to watch and be a part of. Of course, I was so nervous I am pretty sure that I was standing with my knees locked, and had to leave the room before I passed out. Oy! I didn't want the med students to have to pick me up off the floor while they were taking care of mom! Plus, I didn't want to be that girl who passed out during a delivery. The other students in my group never would have let me live that one down.

By no means was that delivery my only experience. We had mothers who snorted cocaine before coming in, a mother with a stillborn, and even an abusive husband who hit his wife after she had the baby. This rotation challenged me in many ways and made me push my beliefs or bias aside to understand the patients I was taking care of.

I really admired the nurses that I worked with in the hospital. They have so much courage, heart, and passion. It amazed me how they could go from one room with a still born baby to another room and not let their emotions get the best of them. They have an emotional rollercoaster everyday they go into work. But they also get the best job in the world--welcoming babies into the world and watching family's bond and grow.

Maybe I could be a Labor and Delivery nurse after all...