Blizzard

Cherry, Congrats on the new job. I read your description of your job at the hospital and thought how perfectly it describes my own. Guess it's pretty much the same all over. Well, it's been a week, how is the new job?

My unit is being overwhelmed by inductions. I work on a LDRP unit and as labor nurses we triage, circulate in the OR, L&D, recovery, early newborn care and occasionally go to the main OR's to monitor pregnant pts undergoing other surgical procedures. Most days there just are not enough of us to go around. We find ourselves spread dangerously thin and inductions really push us over the edge. We have tried putting policies in place to cancel and reschedule inductions that are not medically necessary but now the doctors give diagnosis to make all of them medically necessary by claiming oligo, macrosomia, and early PIH. Are other units finding this to be a problem?

Cesarean Sections are major surgery and patients should make careful, informed decisions. Yes, lady partsl births do have risks and possible long term disadvantages such as uterine prolapse, urine incontenence, etc. But how about C/S? Risks such as bladder nicks, bowel perforations, paralytic ileus, dehiscence, infection, adhesions, and the list goes on. C/S also carry a high risk of uterine rupture during subsequent pregnancies. As for labor, well, they don't call it LABOR for nothing. The child bearing generation today enter into pregnancy with blinders on. Most women expect to feel little to no pain with labor. Many don't even except to feel any discomforts with pregnancy. This is a very much "it's all about me" generation. I don't believe C/S's should be a choice, but I feel it is definitely the wave of the future.