What is the freaking deal with OB?

ComeTogether, LPN · May 7, 2015

Why do so many pre-nursing/nursing/new grads want to work in OB/L&D?
My question isn't "What's it like to work in those units?" But what makes so many not-yet-nurses THINK they want to work those units.

I'd like to know, too. Especialy after just being with my sister for her ENTIRE delivery, there is no way in HEII I would EVER want to work OB, haha.

Seriously, if she wasn't my sister I would have smacked her with a pillow!

AND when she wanted pain meds she goes "can I have some drugs"!? I was like "DON"T ask like that, jeez!"

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · May 7, 2015

And don't forget the anger. Meaning that you will be dealing with a mother with entitlement issues who has just delivered a drug-addicted baby. A baby that YOU will now be dealing with, because SHE is too busy taking selfies and drinking ginger ale. Anger about the "father" who insists on seeing his girlfriend/wife and is causing holy hell at the nurse's station because he is not allowed to go near them (and this is not a freak occurrence, it DOES happen).
Empathizing with a woman who has lost her child to a stillbirth is one thing....maintaining a professional image when you are thinking "I have to hand over a baby to that piece of crud mother?!" is quite another.
You might very well be prepared for all that; you might be great at it. I do think, though, that even those who feel they are going in with their eyes wide open don't always "get" what they are going to see in reality.
Hope for you, it's better :)

Agree.

At least with anyone that has entitlement issues, I can give them an enema, or a shot, and just treat them and street 'em, even in a Pedi ER.

I shadowed in a NICU during OB and spent time with a baby who was going through a heroin withdrawal...let's just say I wasn't too much of a fan to think about enduring this as a everyday occurrence.

I did enjoy teaching new mom's; delivering babies, and identifying decelerations, but all in all, still not my cup of tea; it can get super busy, and having couplets along with assessing, teaching and treating on a crazy night and the drama surrounding the birth and any Maury-type who's the father issues... :no: ...guess my type of crazy is in an ER.

But then again, that's the beauty of nursing! :)

Jolie, BSN · May 7, 2015

I think students tend to be attracted to an area of nursing that is relevant to their stage in life. When I graduated 30 years ago, our class was virtually 100% women in their early 20's, many either newly married, or expecting to be soon. Childbearing was a part of life that many of us eagerly anticipated and so it was attractive as a career.

I never had any interest in caring for ill adults and even less desire to practice any type of mental health nursing. When I graduated, I vowed that I would not take care of a sick adult as long as I lived. Knock on wood, I've never had to :)

Thank you to all the brave souls who cheerfully and skillfully practice those areas of nursing so I never had to!

FLCrackerPN · May 7, 2015

I have always had a passion for all things related to women's health, especially those things that surround the birth process and lactation. I don't know if it is because of the familiarity of it all (since I too have a lady parts and have managed to push 4 kids of it), but it is the ONLY area of nursing that stirs emotion and excites me and is the SOLE reason that I am returning to get my RN degree this fall. We did a brief OB rotation when I was in PN school and it only served to strengthen my desire to focus on that area of nursing in particular. The funny thing is that I literally was the ONLY student in my class who loved that clinical rotation and wanted to eventually work in that field.

amoLucia · May 7, 2015

On a tangent - I said this once before somewhere here. I remember some time back when OB was NOT a desirable unit to work. It was where all the senior, older nurses went just before they retired from nursing.

nor902 · May 7, 2015

I feel like many new nursing students or nursing students to be don't realize the severity of the bad days one will have in OB. They think about how exciting it'll be to teach a new parent about their first baby, but they don't think about what it'll be like being at the bedside with a mother who has failed fertility treatments time and time again only to get a sliver of hope that she'll finally be a mother when she's told she's pregnant, just to find that the fetus is not viable at 20 weeks. They don't think about what it'll be like when a baby's positioning can lead to a situation where it has to be literally cut out of the mother in order for her to live. They don't think about how depressing it is to see a baby born to a heroin-addicted mother and having to refrain from interacting or holding it as much as possible because it is already overstimulated.
Basically, many of them don't consider the downsides of working in OB.

I agree totally! When I did my OB rotation it was so bad I knew I did not want to go home every day with the sadness that occurs there! Only one out of 6 births I assisted at ended happily.

missdomini · May 7, 2015

I knew before getting into nursing school that L&D was were I wanted to be. I have always had a passion for everything women's health related. As I finish up my OB course this semester, I must say that my experience has only strengthened my desire to work in L&D/postpartum. This was the first clinical where I actually saw myself as a future nurse. I think it's a beautiful thing getting to watch life come into this world. In the near future I would love to either pursue an NP degree in Women's Health or a Midwifery degree.

I think this discussion just shows one of the many beauties of nursing. . . . there is something for everyone!

cayenne06, MSN, CNM · May 7, 2015

I always knew I wanted to be in healthcare. When obstetrics was suggested to me, I remember buying spiritual midwifery and seeing a photo of a crowning vertex and my eyes about popped out of my head. I did NOT think I wanted to deal with that lol! But, that planted a seed in my head and i've been in women's health ever since.

LDRP/repro/gyn is the only nursing specialty i am interested in, and I was lucky to get a job in women's health very quickly after nursing school, thanks to my training as a CPM. I've never worked any other specialty. I think I would go back to working at my mom's health food store before I took a nursing position in another field! Luckily, I am graduating from CNM school today and have a great job lined up. So no med/surg for me!!!!

Jolie, BSN · May 7, 2015

Congratulations, cayenne! Best wishes for a long and satisfying career as a CNM.

Parakeet · May 7, 2015

I am one of those nursing students who wants to go into L&D. Unfortunately right now as I am in LPN school, that may not be a possibility yet, but maybe later.

My reason? For one, there is an increase in home births due to healthcare expenses and other reasons. I would like to be able to provide care for mothers who would rather have their babies at home. Do I think it will be easy, joyous, and perfect all of the time? By no means! In laboring over this decision (no pun intended), I desire to take the good with the bad, the difficult times as well as the easy. My goal is overseas medical missions, and my hope is to gain experience in L&D to be useful.

True, the OP is right, nurses cannot get into such a field on starry dreams alone. But even those who have been successful in that field, surely they have had their ideal which spurred them on to accomplish their goals. Thank you for all of you L&D nurses who work out there, no matter what the situation turns out to be!

direw0lf, BSN · May 7, 2015

Although I haven't had any clinical experience yet, the 2 nursing students at my school ahead of me were talking about their OB/L&D clinical. They described it as low stress (one actually said she found herself pacing the room because there was not enough to do) and that their patients for the most part didn't want to be bothered either pre or post labor. One student got to witness a birth and the other said she probably will too.

I actually don't know what area I want to go into though. I don't like not being sure, because that question gets asked a lot by my teachers and my classmates seem sure about knowing exactly what areas they want. And the most I hear is pediatrics. I hear trauma a lot also.

I do know I want to teach CNA one day to underprivileged populations. And I think I'd like working in a children's cancer hospital. When I volunteered and had PCT training I got experience in the ER (it was only 1 morning though, and not much happened but I did get to learn a lot about procedures), ICU, oncology, respiratory, and orthopedic floors. I think I gravitate to being more interested in peds or fast paced units. I have thought about working in a VA hospital also though.

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · May 7, 2015

I have worked as an OB tech, and the only thing about liked about OB/Labor and Delivery was the babies. Surprisingly, nurses don't spend that much time with the babies in L/D, and PP is always so crazy busy with the high patient turnover. The nursery and the NICU are really the only two places for 1:1 baby time.