GrammaKay

Ohhh my, I don't know what I would have done in that situation. Thanks for the heads up, makes doing lady partsl exams a little scary (good thing that little one didn't have teeth). Kay

Beckinben, In the smaller community hospitals the only way to see a strip is to come in to the hospital itself. When I worked in one such hospital the family doc's would take our word on the reactivity of a strip and lady partsl exam and give a v/o for discharge without seeing the patient. I am in a new hospital now and appreciate the fact the our doc's come in to review strips and see patients before they leave. Just my personal preference. I wish we had CNM who still did delivery's here but ours work in the office and have opted to no longer do actual deliveries. Kay

If the doctor was more experienced and or had training in the delivery of a breech newborn the situation would have been different for us. Although we do have family doc's who have delivered breech newborns this particular physician on call did not. With an experienced doctor it can be done safely, although I have heard of experienced doctors having poor outcomes. I would love to hear from others who have assisted with breech delivery's and their personal experiences. This is an interesting topic, thank you for the informative read. Do you work with OB/Gyn's or Family doctors? A lot of small community hospitals in our area are staffed entirely with Family doc's and not all of them are capable of doing c-sections. Kay

Hey Happy Nurse, Isn't it amazing , your story reminded me of my first too. All I could think of is "what the H---", it was either one soft head or OMG. I called the doc on duty and she was not happy. My patient was an unknown to us, came in at 9cm and was hoping to go ahead with a lady partsl delivery (her own doc would not). I felt used! We did get her off to the OR STAT and had a healthy baby. I wasn't very happy with this Mom trying to pull a fast one on us and let her know the risk she placed her baby in by not being forth coming with us. It's one of those lady partsl exams that will remain fresh in my memory for a very long time. Kay

There are still assignments out there for L&D, my phone hasn't stopped ringing. I've taken a job close to home and have put traveling on the back burner for now but if I were you I would check with out company's. I just left Martha's Vineyard in MA. I did not take a car, used my bike, bus and feet and did just fine. It was a great assignment and the staff made me feel right at home. Check out other options I know they are still out there.

"I think God makes our assignments those days." A very good friend of mine reminds me of this when I ask "why me". Usually further down the road I can look back and say yes, I was meant to be there. Sometimes it is for my patient and sometimes I believe it is because there is something I need to learn. As painful as it is I think I am stronger for it. Thank you for your response to this note, your words bring comfort to those of us who deal with such difficult situations and help us to move forward, stronger for it. Gramma

I can't thank you all enough for your kind words, for your sharing of your own experiences. I reached out to all of you because I felt alone in my own grief. It's been three days, we did have a debriefing and the support of the other nurses and staff was wonderful. We will all carry this event with us forever. As difficult as this was for our mother and father I was glad to see the support of family and friends they had. After the delivery and when our mom and dad were ready they allowed family and friends in to see and hold their son. He was baptised and everyone had time to be with him and his parents. I was honored when I came in to work that evening and my patient asked me if I would like to hold her son. It was the beginning of the healing process for me. My patient and I talked alot that night, she shared her delivery experience with me, her story and we cried together. I know the importance of sharing one's birthing experience, most mother's do and it doesn't matter how many years have past those stories are still close to our hearts. Her story although sad was a wonderful story, a story of support and encouragement through labor, the pains of delivery, the joy of meeting and holding her son, and the sadness of letting him go. I feel honored to be a part of that story, I will never forget this wonderful couple and their son and the lessons they have taught me. Thank you again for your support, kind words and sharing. Gramma

Enjoy your night shifts, I hope it falls into place and you enjoy it as much as us other die hard night nurses do. I would suggest you learn where and who your resources are as soon as you can. Working nights means less staff available and it's good to know who is there. I love working nights and my co-workers are the best, I always feel like I have the support I need even if it is a phone call away. When working any shift, you get back what you give. Be the kind of nurse you want to work with. Ask yourself, how can I help my co-worker get her job done as easily as possible and still do my own. You will find others will treat you the same way. Enjoy your new adventure and have fun. Kay

I know that I am not alone here, I know that there are nurses out there who can relate to the title I gave this and the heart wrenching feelings that come with it. Sometimes we have that gut feeling that tells us that something is wrong, sometimes not. I didn't want to work this final weekend at my job. Only two nights left to my contract and for some reason I dreaded it. But I went, I felt an obligation to the staff I have been working with and my patients. I had an easy assignment, one s/p c-section and one cervical ripening. At 6:30 am I woke my patient once more and said, up to the BR and then I can remove that cervidil. We both laughed and off she went to the BR, telling me she had actually woken at 4 am and it fell in the toilet, I was busy with my other patient and she hadn't wanted to bother me. Playfully I chastised her for not calling me. When I did Leopold's I felt something was wrong, when I placed the us on her abdomen there was silence, I adjusted the volume, no placental sounds, no fetal heart tones, I checked the monitor again, as I reached for the phone it rang and the CNM was on the line, I said "come in now", I called the Resource nurse to get me the ultra sound machine at bedside, things were happening at the desk as I sat with my patient and listened to the silence. The silence, I felt a tear slowly moving down my cheek and my patient chatted about how stubborn this baby boy was. She didn't understand, how do you tell someone? The silence... the ultrasound showed us a vertex position fetus, we viewed the ribs and looking inside at the heart that sat motionless I felt the weight of my own in my chest. The story continues, but for now I am dealing with the silence, and the sadness. I am reaching out to others that have heard it and can relate. Please share with me..