Nurse-midwives, L&D nurses, doulas, etc etc

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  1. This is a discussion on Nurse-midwives, L&D nurses, doulas, etc etc in General Nursing Student, part of Nursing Student ... Ever since I was about 16 (I'm 20 now) I knew that I wanted to do birth work. Now I've got my eyes...

    by Jul 23, '12
    Ever since I was about 16 (I'm 20 now) I knew that I wanted to do birth work. Now I've got my eyes set on labor and delivery, and eventually being a CNM. I accept the fact that I may change my mind once I start clinicals this semester, but so far I really feel like this is the path for me. I've been happily following tons of midwife and L&D nurse blogs and reading books about midwifery and attending talks by birth workers and I'm planning on doing the process for doula certification next year and I hope this run-on sentence conveys how excited I am about all of this!
    So if any birth workers among us want to share: what inspired you to do this work, what you love about your work, what gets you down about your work, anything! I'd love to read about your experiences, as a student one of my favorite things ever is to listen to more experienced nurses talk about what they do
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    by macalania54 Jul 23, '12 8:50 pm
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  3. 7 Comments so far...

  4. Jul 24, '12 by
    Well I'm not an experienced OB personel, but I just finished my OB rotation last Spring, and I share the same passion as you! At first, when I had not any clinical experience, I had my mind set on Peds (which I start this semester), but after my OB clinical, I fell in love. From the support you give to the EFM monitors you read, I loved it all.

    It was the things I experienced that I will never forget, and that is why I know, if I ever landed a job in OB nursing, I would never leave. I'll never forget that first head I saw to my first emergency cesarean. The feelings were wonderful! Although I could only help so much, I was hungry for more experience so I could be the nurse to support that women in that terrifying moment in getting a cesarean. I never experienced a bad turnout in my rotation, but I feel I could be the person to help those patients through that difficult time. Sorry for such the gushy purge of feelings, I hope you feel the same though!

    Best of luck!
  5. Jul 24, '12 by
    haha I love gushy feeling purges. I meant it when I said I love hearing other nurses talk about their jobs!

    I guess I should've said since this is the student section, but anyone who isn't necessarily a nurse but has done an OB rotation or any other kind of pre-RN experience, I'd love to hear from you as well!!
  6. Jul 24, '12 by
    I am a scrub tech in L&D. We only have approx. 1 c-section per day so when I'm not in the OR I work the labor floor. I've been there 5 years and I love it. I start my nursing program in August and I am hoping that when I graduate I will get a labor position.

    It seems very feast or famine. Everyone is sitting around twiddling their thumbs for the last 11 hours and suddenly you have 3 walk-ins rushing through the door at the same time. I love watching my nurses spring into action. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by just how much knowledge and instinct they possess. Knowing just what to do and when. I wonder if I'll ever get to that point.

    Since I am a tech my job is more about getting the OR ready, being a supply runner, setting up delivery tables, assisting patients to the bathroom, and writing down information/times/procedures and such.

    The other departments at my hospital joke about L&D being the princess department but I have never met such hard working women who pull together when needed. But I'm sure everyone who loves their department feels the same.
    macalania54 and tntrn like this.
  7. Jul 24, '12 by
    One of the main reasons why I am going back to nursing school to be midwife - to give women back the control they desire and should have. Yes, there are emergencies that show up - but i am a firm believer that most women are not included in their care and do not understand the what's and why's and how situations arise - most of the care is happening to them and they don;t understand how they got to that point which leads to dissatisfaction for many involved as well as Mom's that are not as properly empowered as they should be.
    macalania54 likes this.
  8. Jul 24, '12 by
    Right on! I feel the same way. I really, really want to see more of an empowerment model brought into hospital births
  9. Jul 25, '12 by
    YES! I agree with alovelymother, about nurses and "how much knowledge and instinct they possess. Knowing just what to do and when." That is also why I loved L&D. The nurses are like ER nurses, in that they have to act ASAP when something has changed, and act fast. When you are in those situations, you get to do a lot more with the patient based on your knowledge because the doctor may have 4 other patients delivering at that moment, so they cannot always be there. This gives the nurse more responsibility in reacting to changing variables.
  10. Jul 25, '12 by
    I haven't had my OB rotation yet(that's this Fall), but I would also like to work in L&D and eventually be a CNM. I LOVE labor..I love babies too, but I am really all about the women. I don't even know if I could describe what or why, but it's just something I know I want to do.