Wow

[RN19802008]

My first day on L&D-I was so excited, I have wanted to be in this field for so long. I was so disappointed with how unprofessional my new coworkers are though. My preceptor talked about "some women's ******* smell" and "before a csection you have to shave the women who have big ******* bushes" and that was just a snippet of all the cursing I heard. And the eye rolling when women were experiencing pain or anxiety. One woman was having a hard time breastfeeding so the nurse just gave her a bottle of formula. I hope I do not become so jaded and crude. I am sad and now a little disheartened about this journey. Any thoughts?

[klone, MSN, RN]

Let them know it's not evidence-based practice to do a shave prep before C/S. :) Just kidding.

Seriously, I bet that is a small number of the nurses, and you just happened to run into them. Most nurses have respect for women, which is why they are in this line of work. But I admit I've had 2am conversations with other OB nurses about bad hoo smells.

[Kayla.J.RN]

I'm sorry that you ran into nurses like this. I can admit that sometimes you can find humor in some of the things that we come across and not everything is sunshine and rainbows in L&D.... but it is unfortunate that you came across a few nurses who are lack respect for the patients they care for and are quite rude. But I assure you that not all L&D nurses are like this and at least you learned what NOT to turn into. Hopefully you still have some coworkers who do not act like this. Maybe after you get some experience in L&D you can transfer to a different facility if you still don't like the general atmosphere where you are currently working.

[applewhitern, BSN, RN]

I am not a L&D nurse, but I would think if a new mother has a hard time breast-feeding, it would be appropriate to give the baby a bottle. The baby must be fed some way. When I have worked with newborns, we usually supplemented the breast-fed babies with formula if needed.

[BuckRN]

Unfortunately, there is just not enough breastfeeding education out there. Even nurses are so misinformed and it's disheartening. There is no reason a baby needs a bottle for breastfeeding difficulty in the first few hours of life. It's not even necessary in the 1st 24 hours of life! Giving baby a bottle just makes breastfeeding more difficult. However, you can only really influence your own practice. Just make up your mind to be as educated as possible and give your patients the absolute best care. They will appreciate it!

[58jeli]

running to get popcorn

[DalekRN]

Opinions or not about bottles, it is our hospital's policy to wait 18 hours before intervening if a normal newborn is not breastfeeding well, and then its usually pumping, not formula.

Ugh, I have been there with the grouchy jaded nurses, and you'll find some nicer ones. Also you'll find yourself griping in the med room too, sometimes it helps to vent behind closed doors a little to be able to be professional out there.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Opinions or not about bottles, it is our hospital's policy to wait 18 hours before intervening if a normal newborn is not breastfeeding well, and then its usually pumping, not formula..

We have a similar policy, but it's 24 hours.

[Katie71275]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience. This is my first week too and I'm on hosp wide orientation and haven't even gotten to work with L&D yet, but will soon, but so far the LD nurses I have met are fairly nice. Don't let it screw you up. Just know how you want to treat your patients. I'm sure everyone could get jaded, but I don't intend to ever let that affect my patient care. I have a respect for people, and women, and what our bodies can do. As for the breastfeeding, are there any lactation consultants?

[PinkNBlue, BSN, RN]

Unfortunately there is just not enough breastfeeding education out there. Even nurses are so misinformed and it's disheartening. There is no reason a baby needs a bottle for breastfeeding difficulty in the first few hours of life. It's not even necessary in the 1st 24 hours of life! Giving baby a bottle just makes breastfeeding more difficult. However, you can only really influence your own practice. Just make up your mind to be as educated as possible and give your patients the absolute best care. They will appreciate it![/quote']

This. Absolutely!!

[apples024]

I have heard so many inappropriate things in the nurses station!! From nurses talking loudly about their personal sex lives and how to use vibrators--to their obese patients fat rolls (when the patient is in the room across the hall within earshot). It upsets me- as this is unprofessional. I have only been a nurse for a year but I think I have the professionalism to never discuss such things at work. My job as a nurse is to be an advocate for my patient, to respect her and provide the best care possible to her during this scary/exciting part of her life! I just leave when I hear people talking about that stuff. I will NOT take part.

[dariah]

It's always challenging coming into a new group of people and having to figure out the culture. I always try to be aware of who is in earshot when I am talking; having patients overhear something they shouldn't is definitely unprofessional. It drives me crazy when staff acts like a curtain is a sound proof wall. A pediatrician once told a new father that is baby had unexpected deformities in the middle of a full recovery room and I cringed the whole time.

That being said.....I feel lucky to have a great rapport with my colleagues and sometimes at 2am things slip out. L&D can be a very stressful environment and people deal with this in different ways. I'm not saying that behavior is justified, but I do understand how it can happen with no bad intentions.