Topics About 'Ob Gyn Nursing'.

Old Wives Tales, Or Is It More? I write this as a cat lady and RN wanting to get down to the nitty-gritty of toxoplasmosis and find out what it is. We've all heard the adage that changing cat litter while pregnant is dangerous, but is it? I've he...

We take any number of off-service patients. While we are a respiratory and infectious disease ward, we were known to be able to make a bed for anyone. Today is bipap, tomorrow is suicide protocol for a soldier from the local base. We could do it all....

Dear K, I will not lie. When the powers that be told me you, a patient taking methadone for heroin addiction, were being assigned to me postpartum, I wasn't happy. "Oh, great," I thought. "A druggie." I was wrong, and I'm sorry. You shattered every p...

I clutched the phone. "I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies, Kels". "Please, Kylee," she begged. "We want you there". I couldn't say no after that. My sister in law accepted me with no hesitation when she started dating my brother. She wasn'...

Chief Complaint Patient presents to ER with pelvic pain that she says is 10/10. She is crying and hunched over, clutching her stomach. She says, "I can't stand this for much longer. It's been going on for so long. Why is this happening to me? Why...

"All you do is sit around until a baby is born," "your job must be great, all you do is sit and hold babies", "be happy, you're in the happy part of the hospital." I have heard it all. My job as an OB charge nurse is nothing like sitting around, hold...

"So often in nursing school we have to write these papers that often come out sounding like an astute textbook. Confusing facts to the lay person, big words, medical terminology, etc. I wrote this directed to the patient because I think it is good pr...

Sally’s Story Bending over to pick up the spoon she had dropped, Sally felt dizzy, her head spun, and she almost toppled over. Sitting down on the dining room chair, she braced herself between it and the table. The metal of the table felt warm an...

There are numerous tasks to keep track of after a mother gives birth. We must keep track of the baby’s output, newborn screening tests, and how much the mother is bleeding, as well as monitor how breastfeeding is progressing (if the mom chooses to br...

Introduction There is a broken piece in women's health, but that does not mean we can’t take small steps toward gluing the pieces together. My solution is not for everyone, but it is a starting point. Let’s start with the perinatal phas...

She bled one month after a surgery done to keep her baby from coming out too soon. She had been on bed rest ever since the cerclage. Day and night, she holds on to her rosary, whispering a prayer every chance she gets. She talks to her baby while her...

George and MarthaNight time briskness slapped me in the face as I climbed in to my car for the familiar trek to work. It was my third scheduled night shift but only the first I had felt half way healthy enough to attend. I had called ahead to prepare...

Introduction Every few years, a news story brings attention to the devastating condition called postpartum psychosis (PPP). Sadly, this has happened again with the death of three children in Massachusetts at the end of January 2023. Lindsay Clanc...

"Good evening--may I have your name please, and can you tell me what brings you here tonight?'' "I'm Muriel Rabinowitz, a patient of Dr. Myers, and I'm in labor." She was very calm, so I was also as I searched the files for her prenatal rec...

Virtually every nurse has a story about a patient or family encounter that has changed them or their role in nursing forever. I’ve had many memorable encounters over the years, but one changed my career trajectory more than any other. I was work...

You have been pregnant for nine months, hopefully (actually 10 for you OB nurses), and you are impatiently waiting for the big day. This time it won't be Braxton Hicks contractions; fingers crossed, it will be the real thing—labor! Hooray! You h...

Introduction Pregnancy is seen by most as a beautiful and happy time. But, up to 1 in 7 women develops depression related to pregnancy. Perinatal depression is the most common complication during pregnancy and postpartum. Instead of this time bei...