Starting FIRST ROTATION EVER IN L&D...HELP!!!!

[BrandiBooh]

All you L&D nurses/students that love it, I WANT TO LOVE IT TOO! This is an area that I am considering working within in my future and we start our clinical rotation tmr, and I am NERVOUS to say the least! Our first semester was pretty heavy MED-SURGE, and after checking out the TOTALLY DIFFERENT careplan for OB, am pretty much dazed and confused...

If you guys have any tips for doing well in L&D, and what maybe the nurses like the students to do (I know we can't do MUCH--but still), and any websites that give good information on L&D..I would be GREATLY APPRECIATIVE! This is something I want to really enjoy and benefit from, but right now my anxiety level is to the MAX because it is soooo foreign to me and my scope of learning as of yet....thanks in advance guys! You never let me down..hahaha

[RN BSN 2009]

Well I don't have much to add except for the fact that you need to brace yourself to be VERY flexible... things change at the drop of a dime and you need to be ready!

I am on a busy L&D/OB/GYN split unit and one moment I'm upstairs giving a postpartum patient a depo shot and then I hear there's a birth downstairs hurry up finish what I'm doing and go downstairs to vag birth and when I'm down there too there is another going off to c-section ETC

Good luck

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

the thing about ob is that you first need to know the normal anatomy of the female. next, you need to know what a normal pregnancy and delivery is so you can understand how things go wrong. plenty goes wrong in ob. part of the problem is that all the female organs are internal so you can't necessarily "see" the problems, but have to depend on good assessment skills and what you know happens during labor and delivery that could cause potential problems. here are some very good ob links you should bookmark and use to help you:

• http://www.childbirths.com/euniversity/mainpage.htm
  
• http://www.brooksidepress.org/products/military_obgyn/home.htm - lots of information at this website
  
• http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/obstetrics_and_gynecology.htm - listing of emedicines emergency topics - scroll down to obstetrics to find the emergency ob conditions that go wrong and click on the individual problems
  
• http://www.cayuga-cc.edu/people/facultypages/greer/biol204/heart4/heart4.html - fetal circulation. explanation and includes illustrations
  
• http://www.aafp.org/afp/990501ap/2487.html - interpretation of the electronic fetal heart rate during labor
  
• http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/impac/images_c/normal2.gif and http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/wha/labor.gif - good pictures of cervical effacements and dilatation during labor
  
• http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_london_maternal_1 - online student companion website for maternal-newborn & child nursing by marcia l. london, patricia a. ladewig, jane w. ball, and ruth l. bindler
  
• http://www.medem.com/medlb/articleslb.cfm?sub_cat=2001 - links to medem consumer teaching articles on labor, delivery and postpartum care
  
• http://www.medem.com/medlb/articleslb.cfm?sub_cat=2005 - links to medem consumer teaching articles on pregnancy and fertility
  
• http://www.medem.com/medlb/articleslb.cfm?sub_cat=2006 - links to medem consumer teaching articles on ob/gyn procedures (c-section, colposcopy, d&c, endometrial ablation)

i have an obstetrical history and physical exam form and a postpartum assessment form that i downloaded and copied off the internet. they can no longer be accessed from the internet. the only way i can share them with anyone is to send them as file attachments to e-mail. if anyone wants them you need to send me a pm (private message) with your e-mail address that i can send them to you. you should also check the sticky: https://allnurses.com/forums/f205/health-assessment-resources-techniques-forms-145091.html - health assessment resources, techniques, and forms - for the various assessments you might need in ob because i'm sure you'll find links to them there.

[luvmyguys]

You know-I started my L&D quarter in Jan, I wasn't going into it with any real opinions on it-but MAN I LOVE IT! It was like putting on the PERFECT pair of shoes-I just fit-I never even considered it-I get it! I had an excellent evaluation with my clinical instructor-I have practically aced all my tests-not to brag...it just makes me feel good inside....I feel like God is telling me something..."like here's your road girl!!"

BUT!!!!!! I have a weird reflex (thats what I call it) EVERYTIME I witness a birth-I get all choked up and want to cry-I can't help it-I don't actually start crying but I get that sensation-weird, huh? Oh, well, good luck to you!!!!!!

[suzy253, RN]

Daytonite...you never cease to amaze me with your wealth of information and sharing. You're great.

[LaceyRN]

You know-I started my L&D quarter in Jan, I wasn't going into it with any real opinions on it-but MAN I LOVE IT! It was like putting on the PERFECT pair of shoes-I just fit-I never even considered it-I get it! I had an excellent evaluation with my clinical instructor-I have practically aced all my tests-not to brag...it just makes me feel good inside....I feel like God is telling me something..."like here's your road girl!!"

BUT!!!!!! I have a weird reflex (thats what I call it) EVERYTIME I witness a birth-I get all choked up and want to cry-I can't help it-I don't actually start crying but I get that sensation-weird, huh? Oh, well, good luck to you!!!!!!

Oh sweetie! I feel the same way! I LOVED this rotation and sadly I just finished this specialty so no more clinicals for me.

I also get choked up... I was able to assist with neonate post-birth care, swaddled her up and handed her to papa (mom was c/s) and I thought I was gonna cry tears of joy!