mother-baby nursing and midwives

AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Dec 12, 2006

I am just a student so dont quote me on this.. Mother/baby nurse is an RN that works on maternity taking care of, well, mothers and babies :). A nurse midwife has additional training and delivers the baby when mom is ready to deliver, nurses usually do not do that unless the baby is in a big hurry to come out and see the world.

Tips for nursing school: enjoy your free time now because you will not have it once you start a program. Stay organized. Keep up with your notes and studying. Practice skills in a lab so that you will be more comfortable when you have to do it on a person, and make sure you know your drugs before you give them!

Swtooth

swedishcornrolls · Dec 13, 2006

Do you have any advice on staying organized? Like do I need to start carrying around a PDA?

AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Dec 13, 2006

well PDA make things easier because you can store all sorts of references in them, but it is not a nessesity (sp). I had one, but it broke a few months ago and I am surviving without it. Just study hard and know your stuff and you will be fine. Oh and know that you are probably going to be REALLY nervous during your first clinical rotation and maybe your second, but knowthat that is the norm. Just remember to try and relax cause the moer nervous you are the less able you are to think on your toes, so try and take a deep breath and you will be fine

swtooth

TazziRN, RN · Dec 13, 2006

Maternity nursing is L&D, taking care of mom during labor and delivery and mom and baby after. Midwifery is caring for an uncomplicated pregnancy and delivering the baby, sometimes at home. This is an additional period of schoolong and certification.

futurecnm · Dec 13, 2006

Are you in nursing school now or accepted to one??? I am a first year nursing student and my desire to become a nurse partially stems from the midwife I had when I was pregnant with both my kids. I am leaning towards L&D but am open and interested in other areas of nursing as well. I would someday like to get my masters in midwifery if I do pursue the OB path. A midwife (CNM) has a masters in midwifery, which is beyond bachelors or nursing. So, more schooling than a RN. A L&D nurse is who works with mothers and new babies. A midwife has been trained to deliver the babies and work with expectant mothers thru their pregnancy (uncomplicated). from what I know, they have a backup OB dr who would come if needed in case of complication during delivery. otherwise, they are the ones to do the delivery. HOpe that helps. Nursing school is the hardest thing I've ever done. I have a previous bachelors degree and it in no way compares to this. It is very rewarding also. Clinicals are a ton of work but I feel great afterwards. Lab is challenging and the tests are very challenging. It requires study time daily and you must keep up with the work.

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Dec 13, 2006

1) Remember that nursing school is a finite period of time that WILL end, even though it seems like it won't. 2) Be prepared to have at least one emotional breakdown where you hate nursing school, you hate the idea of becoming a nurse, you just KNOW you won't be a good nurse, you just want to chuck it all and become a travel agent or something. If it doesn't happen, great. But if it does, know that you aren't alone and that it is usually a temporary feeling. At that point, stop doing anything related to nursing school (even if only for 30 minutes) so you don't go more bonkers than you already are. Usually it gives you some perspective. 3) Invest in a good stethoscope and a good pair of shoes. 4) If you can believe it, my roommate and I both made it through NS without a PDA. You just have to have some other way of organizing your time -- a calendar, a datebook, etc. 5) Make sure you have a hobby or sport or something you do outside nursing school (not sleeping) -- even if only for an hour a week. That also helps you have a perspective.

I was absolutely sure I didn't want to be a nurse my first semester of NS. It got better and now I look back and it was worth it. Being a nurse is hard work but I don't know of anything else I'd rather do. Best of luck!

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 13, 2006

Scooting this thread to the OB/GYN nursing forum, for more exposure and hopefully, better participation.

Enjoy!

AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Dec 17, 2006

1) . 2) Be prepared to have at least one emotional breakdown where you hate nursing school, you hate the idea of becoming a nurse, you just KNOW you won't be a good nurse, you just want to chuck it all and become a travel agent or something. If it doesn't happen, great. But if it does, know that you aren't alone and that it is usually a temporary feeling.
LOL soooooooooo true!!!

hyattrnbsn · Dec 30, 2006

A pda?!! you need to relax. take in all you can while you are there and don't stress so much. Pay attention in class and clinical and don't procrastinate on papers. other than that you really need to relax or you are going to do poorly due to the stress. I also suggest when you get far enough along in school you go work 8-12 hrs on saturday or sunday on a regular med surg floor as a nursing assistant. I did and was always way ahead of my classmates on the stuff you don't learn in the books and my hands on skills.