nurseynightnight

Howsoon that is where i learned sooooo much about my body/cycles! I LOVE that book!

Hey dianemiller You don't have to be flexible or thin to do this. Just reach in with 1 finger and you will feel something that should feel firm and about as long as half your finger. It may sound gross but it is almost like the head of a member (but not as big). If you have had children lady partslly it will feel like a slit or just a dimple if you havent. I was able to check my cervix during my cycles to check for ovulation/fertility and during labor. With my last baby my co-workers just asked what i was dilated to and never checked me upon admission! good luck finding your cervix!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel it is important to know about your body and this is just one of the many amazing things you have as a woman!!:redbeathe

Working L+D has made me want to have more babies. I have 4 and am trying to convince hubby we need another. I miss being pregnant, going through labor (I know I am crazy!) and miss breastfeeding and just that yummy newborn stage. I think my "babyitis" would be worse if i didn't work L+D. I get to see newborns every day and help moms with breastfeeding, etc... so it fulfills some of my needs. I just want my own again!!!!!!!

its ok if you don't like the idea of it passionflower. It is a good example of a cervix not in labor though. I got a lot of practice while i was trying to have a baby and was charting my cycles and monitoring my cervical position/mucous etc... So to me it isn't a big deal but i can understand how it would be awkward for some.

We use cytotec for most of our inductions. 30 minute strip then they can be up and monitored 20 minutes out of every hour. we give 25 mcg lady partslly every 4 hours up to 4 doses.

it is sad to me that you "passionflower" feel it is "yuck" to check your own cervix but you will have to check complete strangers daily at your job. There is nothing wrong with knowing your own body and it will give you a great example of what a thick, closed, firm cervix feels like. That way effacement will be easier for you to judge along with position of the cervix. Your own cervix changes shape and become more posterior during your cycle and softer at other times. And not to mention if you have any of your own children you can check your own cervix when you are in labor and know when to head to the hospital. good luck to all of the new L+D nurses!! It is a wonderful career!

My advice has always been to check your own cervix.

We have had a standard of NO social inductions before 39 weeks for at least 1 year at my hospital. I was so happy to see that implemented b/c i have never been a fan of social inductions. On rare ocassions (husband being deployed) have i understood why a mom would want to be induced. But just b/c you are tired or you like that birthday or you mom is going to be in town??!!! Please!!!

our lactation consultant makes less then the floor staff. she is not a nurse so i don't know if that will make a difference or not.

2 pens, report sheet, few alcohol wipes and that's it! now i usually end up with 3 or 4 pens, and an empty vial of tdap or terb and sometimes another piece of paper if more patient's came in for me.

I think a lot of lay people don't realize that we (nurses) aren't supposed to walk around talking about other patients. I had a father of a new baby ask me while walking down the hallway "hey what is the ladies name in that room?" I simply said "I'm sorry I can't tell you that." He went on to tell me how he thought it was someone he knew. So I said "if you see her in the hallway then you will know." BTW I have no idea if it was who he thought it was. But yes that is a violation of HIPPA. IF the nurse gets the ok ahead of time from the patient then it is fine but you shouldn't tell someone THEN get the ok from the patient. And when it comes to phone calls. We can say yes so and so is patient I will transfer you to her room. But that is it. We don't give out any info unless the person calling has a special code given to them by the patient.

We have a phone log for labor/delivery/pregnancy questions. We always welcome the mom's to come in for evaluation but do have some guidelines to follow. Like come in when in active labor (then give them signs of that) any question of ROM come in no matter what, etc... So that way we do not have mom's coming in b/c they haven't felt the baby move for 20 minutes. And haven't even tried to lay down and do fetal kick counts. I will say we do get questions about infants since our small hospital does not have a pediatric unit. We do not keep track of these calls though. I personally tell parents to call their provider or the provider on call if I am totally clueless about their question/situation. Our hospital operator will do that for them or come to the ER if it sounds more serious.

We also use peri pads cut up then rinsed in water and frozen. We call them "Fish sticks." We also have the fancy twist and break the seal cool peri pads but usually only use those right after delivery and then go the less expensive "fish sticks" later. For heat we use Thermacare menstrual cramp pads. They really do work for about 8 hours and I have personally had to take them off b/c I felt it was getting too warm on my tummy. Most patients love them!!! Especially multips.

At my hospital being on call means you are losing one of your normal scheduled days b/c of low census. We do not have to sign up for extra time and lately have been losing it. We get 1 1/2 hours of pay if on call for 12 hours. If called in we get time and a half.

We use 14-16 ml/hr as a basal rate. Our PCEA doses are 4-5 ml boluses every 20-30 minutes depending on the doc. So 8 ml/hr seems pretty low to me!!! How do the patients do with that??? I have never had to call a doc back with the dosages we use.