Do you have techs?

ICK!! NO!! At our facility, our LnD nurses are seperate from Post Partum nurses, so after recovery from delivery and close monitoring, the LnD nurse passes the pt and the baby off to the post partum nurse. (Unless the baby goes to NICU of course). We also do have float techs that simply go around and help either group of nurses that are in need of help, but essentially the nurses do the cleaning/pt care. Also, we have a house secretary that will come up and do all the orders and admitting on new babies/patients. LnD nurses rarely do the baths for babies here either, it is usually the post partum nurse that does the baths.

When I worked L&D back in 2003 that hospital had two separate units as well--L&D and Mother/Baby and special care nursery as we sent out babies needing NICU but did have the special care nursery for those babies needing care. All three areas were staffed separately. We had like 2 nurses that were cross trained to work both L&D and M/B and they alternated by the week usually. As far as the baby we all would be the baby nurse for each other and occasionally if all the nurses were unavailable the charge would be the baby nurse. Once the doc came and delivery was close the labor nurse would generally just announce needing a baby nurse and any available nurse who didn't have a pt or who's pt was not in active labor would jump in and take care of the baby until the labor nurse was ready to take over. We did have a tech or two on each shift. They would help with baths and clean up and set up- but they were not always available so the nurses often had to do their own babies baths. However as we always only had one pt in L&D it was do-able. Sometimes we might have two especially on nights when they were more apt to have pts that came in and had cervadil put in and were waiting to soften up over night and start pitocin in the AM. A nurse from the SCN and a baby doc would only come to deliveries and take care of the baby if high risk, vac assist, foreceps (yes we had one or two old timers who still used them) etc.

When I was doing OB, up until June 2010 in a rural hospital, we had no techs or secretary on nights. So it was the RNs responsibility to do everything for their patients. We didn't have a NICU or charge RN to transition babies either, so that was always our responsibility.

We only staffed with a maximum of 3 RNs as well. Usually, this wasn't a problem, but at times it was. I will say, when I first started there things weren't easy. As you say, it can be difficult to get all the pieces done, but eventually I found a rhythm. I'm not sure how long you've been on the unit, but the more experience I got, the easier it was.

Our unit worked well as a team, so we helped each other out when we could. I'd help clean up the other labor RNs room/equipment and she'd do mine. You just did it in spurts. Check on patient, chart, wash down some equipment, let it dry, check on patient, restock equipment, patient, then put equipment away. By the time recovery was done for her new delivery, I'd have things cleaned up. Then she'd help me when my patient delivered.

Hopefully, things get better for you!

When I was in Nsg. school, I had clinicals in L&D. Each nurse had 2 laboring pts. When the woman was getting ready to deliver, one of the other nurses on the unit would act as 'baby nurse' to take care of the baby while the primary nurse took care of the mother--vitals, meds, etc. They did have one tech. Her job was to stock the rooms and get the room set up for a delivery and help clean up afterward (of course, housekeeping did most of the real cleaning/sanitizing). The woman was then transferred to a postpartum unit if she was stable after 2 or so hours.

Hey everyone. I've worke at a high risk l&d for 2+ years (straight from nursing school). although we have 1 tech for the night shift, the RN does the laboring, assist in delivery. resus baby and tke care of mom. charge nurse is never present for dlelivery. we recover most pts for 2-3 hrs pp, unless theyre severe pec. then they stay with us 6 hrs pp and need to be re evaluated and pih labs sent and stable before tranferring.

In our facility L&D is separate from PP/Nursery. However, we staff 2 CSTs at all times (ESPICIALLY night shift) in the case of a C/S. They are our first assist and scrub. When we do not have a C/S they are responsible for "tech type" duties including cord gas transportation, cleaning rooms, VS (on PP as well), "babysitting" etc. We do NOT have a secretary on the night shift, so they also function in that capacity as needed. They are a blesing and a God send! I am fortunate to work with an awesome bunch of ladies!

In the rural hospital where I work, we have a tech and a secretary in L&D unless the census is low, when they will send the secretary home and the tech does her work as well as her own. In the PP unit, there is a combination tech/secretary who does both jobs.

In L&D the techs scrub for sections, so there is always at least one at all times. They also do most of the writing during delivery (times, weight, filling out cord blood labels,etc) and they usually set up the instrument table before the delivery. Afterward they get the instruments ready to send back to Central Supply. After the room is cleaned by housekeeping, they restock it. If they're scrubbing a section, or helping with another delivery, I set up my own table and fill out my own paperwork.

We always have (or plan to have) a second nurse in each delivery because NRP says there should be 2 NRP capable people in each delivery. If baby is good, I usually send the second nurse out and leave the baby skin to skin with the mother. I hold the eyes and thighs and the weight until after the first hour. It's easy to check VS and do blood sugars while the baby is on Mom's chest. And they breast feed so much better if they've been left there. If asked, the tech will help get a shaky patient up to the BR, but I don't expect a tech to clean her up for me, or to bathe the baby.

Our techs:

Get vitals and empty foleys on the postpartum mothers

Stock rooms

Scrub for C/S and other surgeries (postpartum BTL, for example)

I'm sure there are other duties they do, but those are the main ones I can think of.

We have special people that come in in the AM to do hearing screens on the babies. We don't bathe babies at all except for the initial first bath after delivery.

When delivery is imminent, the labor nurse always calls the charge nurse to let her know, and most of the time the charge nurse will show up to help out with the immediate baby stuff.

After delivery, we have a separate admit nurse who takes care of the baby - eyes/thighs, assessment, bath, recovery vitals.

As far as cleaning up the delivery room - our housekeepers do that, but I always do everything I can - strip down and put all dirty linens in the linen bin, throw away all trash, clean off the EFM cords and put them away, wipe down the delivery table and put it away, put instruments in the dirty utility room. Sometimes the condition of a dirty labor room is awful, and it takes me about 3 minutes to clean it up as best as I can, and I know that helps out our housekeepers a lot and they're appreciative of that.