georgiaRN20

if it's during the magic hour they will call stork squad (nicu) to come assess the baby.

We don't go to deliveries. I think most of the time it's usually just one L&D nurse who is responsible for both mom and baby, even though NRP says there should be a designated baby nurse. When we do the assessments in L&D, they are under the warmer. NICU also goes to all c-setions, meconium, pre-term, etc. I think one of the problems we have is that we don't have written policies or protocols (to my knowledge) for a lot of the things we do. We are still trying to work through this baby friendly stuff, and we are usually notified of new changes via email or word of mouth. Definitely not ideal.

We have a designated nursery nurse (we all take turns) who does the initial assessment and meds. Baby's first vitals are taken at 1 hour old by the nursery nurse if she can get there in time. If the nursery nurse can't get there right at one hour, then the L&D nurse is supposed to take them, but I don't think they ever do. We often get there and the baby's temp is low. I had one the other day at 95 degrees, but I've heard they've been as low as 91. After the admission assessment and meds, it's the L&D nurse's responsibility to get vitals on the baby every 30 minutes (not sure if that actually happens either). When it's time for the baby's bath, either the nursery nurse or the nurse caring for the couplet (whoever has more time) will do it in the mom's PP room. This really isn't a great system. I think it's a little dangerous because for the first hour, the baby really isn't getting any attention from anyone other than the mother and visitors.

I am a mother-baby nurse. For normal lady partsl deliveries, we assess the babies at the mother's bedside in L&D 1 hour after they are born, so they can do skin-to-skin during the "magic hour." (We are in the process of seeking the Baby Friendly designation). C-section babies come over the newborn nursery shortly after delivery and they are assessed there. Baths are delayed until babies are 6 hours old (baby friendly) unless mom requests that it be done sooner.

I have to disagree with that. In the Atlanta area, I think the school you go to does matter. I'm not sure about Emory's reputation, but I know that Georgia Baptist students are highly sought after.

Thanks so much for sharing this. I plan to print it out and keep it in my binder for reference! :)