I am so excited! This is where I have always dreamed I would work, where I hope to find what I love most. I start clinicals on Wednesday this week. I start out in Labor/Delivery, so last Wednesday we had a "birth simulation lab." It was so cool! Pregnancy and delivery are such miracles! It blows my mind every time I learn something new about how well the body prepares for and functions during labor. In lab we practiced how to measure how dilated and effaced a woman is. It doesn't seem very accurate, basically you're just guessing. Good thing they don't have student nurses do that in clinical!
We learned about what we need to assess when we care for a pregnant woman:
- Fetal Heart Rate
- Vital Signs
- Dilation and effacement
- Spotting
- Position (never flat on her back!)
Questions:
- Has your water broken?
- How hard are your contractions?
- How far apart/close together are they?
- How is your pain?
Interventions to relieve pain:
- Re-position
- Dim lights
- Relaxing music
- Massage (I am so excited for this one--I LOVE giving massages!)
- Walking
- Baths
I'm sure I'll learn a LOT more when I start studying for reals and when I actually get to see a real live birth.
Questions for any of you who have given birth:
~Would you let a nursing student (a complete stranger) watch your delivery?
~What makes a good labor/delivery nurse?
~What interventions were the best in helping you relax/relieve pain?
~Were there any super annoying things that nurses did that I should know to never do? :)
I'm also in a conducting class, a New Testament class, and History of Creativity 2 (with Jason, my new Bro in law). I think it's going to be a good semester :)
5 comments:
Yes, I would let a nursing student watch my delivery. As for your other questions, I think a good labor/delivery nurse is one that checks on you as often as you'd like -- ask the mom. I personally like someone checking in regularly but not frequently while I labor. That gives me the time to labor with Quincy's help alone but also doesn't make me feel like I have to push the nurses' button whenever I have a question or request. Also I like the nurses that treat repeat moms and dads like they actually know how to handle their brand-new baby once its born. One nurse lectured to Quincy how to bathe Mary and wouldn't let him bathe her after she was born. Frustrating. As for what helps me relax -- differed with each birth: Joseph (Morphin and epidural :)); Mary (walking and jacuzzi tub); Samuel (constant back rubs and music). And one thing you should never do is whisper to another nurse that the mom has a LONG way to go while she is pushing because even though the mom is in INCREDIBLE pain and may be screaming, she still has ears. Excited to hear about your experience, especially from the nurse's perspective.
The nurses will all be strangers anyway, so it doesn't make a difference having one more seeing you :).
Oh yes. Epidural epidural epidural!
I like when nurses don't question my decisions to not get the newborn shots at birth or the erythromycin in the eyes. I probably spelled that wrong.
Thanks for the advice! I'm glad both of you would let a nursing student watch. Jen, I noticed some whispering nurses today--and I thought of your comment :) And Lise, did it still hurt a ton with the epidural or was it just a lot of pressure? And, how do you both feel about foot massages? I realized that you probably can't feel your feet with the epidural, right? Or are they still good?
The epidural never left me unable to feel my legs or feet or anything; most of the pain was gone, it was mainly just pressure. I never felt like I couldn't walk. Still felt in control of my body.
Before the epidural, things like putting pressure right below the knees or on the hips during contractions, and back massages helped. I don't think I would be thinking at all about my feet in that situation :).
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