A Nurse has a Baby
Submitted by Hanna Leedom
Tags: labor nurse healthcare nurse pregnancy pregnancy
As a nurse one has an intimate knowledge of the medical field, the ins and outs of hospitals, medical jargon, procedures, hands-on care, etc. There are many specialties in nursing, where nurses are skilled in specific areas. Likewise a female has a similar relationship with her own body and how it operates in relationship to cycles. When a female nurse becomes pregnant a whole new world of medical information is opened. Not all nurses have a detailed understanding of obstetric and gynecological nursing. It is a new experience for a nurse to be on the opposite side of the bed receiving care. As a nurse myself, recently given birth, I share a new perspective on the treatment and care received. Nurses have many specialties within the hospital and out: inpatient or bedside nursing, dialysis, surgery, outpatient or doctor’s offices, prison nursing, school nursing, etc. The avenues of nursing are endless; which is only one reason I, myself, was drawn to the profession. The specialty each nurse is employed in, they are going to be especially skilled in that particular area. It is imperative as a nurse to continue to learn as the field is ever advancing in procedures, technique, and research. Although a nurse in one specialty will know detailed information and skills in their particular field, they might feel they are lost in any other department. Just like nurses have areas of expertise, as a human you are like an expert to your own body. You know when you eat certain foods you might get bloated or an upset stomach. Just like you know if you come anywhere near a bumblebee (insert something you are allergic or sensitive to) you blow up like a blowfish. Being a woman brings another level to this equation. As women there are cycles our bodies go through each month: menstruation, follicular phase, ovulation, and luteal phase. Whether you already knew those terms or not, I am sure you are familiar with the symptoms that accompany each phase every month. Regardless, as women we are specialists on our bodies just like a nurse specializes in a particular area of nursing. Once a woman becomes pregnant (for the first time, at least) the floodgates of new information are open.
A woman can never know how her body might change or predict what symptoms might accompany pregnancy. Now, let’s get into my story. I had been a nurse for a little over two years when I found out I was pregnant. And I am sure just like any other mother, once I found out the news, I was overwhelmed with the information available relating to pregnancy, birth, postpartum and newborn life. I began to look for what I wanted my goals of care to be during pregnancy, my ideal birth plan, etc. From my point of view I felt like I had equipped myself with a wide array of knowledge and going into labor, I felt fairly confident and prepared. But let me tell, all of that went out the window when the time came! My appointments grew from monthly to weekly until the end of my pregnancy, new topics were discussed at each visit. My provider was aware that both my husband and I are nurses, so information was kept brief. We learned from both our visits and a bump tracking application I had installed on my phone, all of the new things with the baby each week. We discussed symptoms to watch for in the coming weeks, weight gain, the management of pregnancy symptoms in general, labor, pain relief, interventions and manipulations of labor. But being nurses it was easy for the medical professionals (doctors, nurses, medical assistants, sonographers) to breeze through the information because of us being nurses. Yes, being nurses we have slightly more knowledge about the body and its functions in relation to pregnancy and birth, but we definitely do not know it all! At the time neither my husband or I felt like we were being short changed on information because there really is so much to learn. In the weeks and months to come we quickly learned we didn’t know nearly enough as we thought. My goal for birth was to stay as hands-off and unmanipulated as possible. I wanted to naturally go into labor with contractions at home and make it to the hospital in time to have the baby. However, things of course did not go as planned because babies and our bodies can be unpredictable sometimes. So, as 40 weeks approached, then 41, an induction date was set. At this point I was disappointed I wouldn’t go into labor naturally, but I was ready to meet my baby. Despite being induced, my plan was still to avoid medications and other interventions as much as possible. But once again, my body wasn’t ready to have a baby even with pitocin running through my IV catheter.
The time came for another intervention to speed this labor along. I was again disappointed, but I knew no better. I had minimal cervical dilation, in my mind something needed to be done to jump start my labor. I also felt like this was my only option. My provider came to my room, explained what I was going to experience and ruptured my waters. Immediately, things intensified. I went from walking the room and playing cards to writhing in pain hunched over the bed while sitting on a birthing ball. My nurse was in and out of my room a few times, monitoring my contractions and vital signs. I was in no place to ask for advice or seek information about lessening pain. I knew, however, I still wasn’t ready for an epidural or any other pain relief. Looking back now I wish my nurse would have suggested positions to labor in to relieve pain or engage the baby, encourage me or even help me breathe through it. Alas, the contractions continued. I had gone a couple of hours at this point in 10/10 pain, contractions every minute, I needed to know if my dilation had progressed. I requested for the nurse to check me and I was at the same dilation prior to having my waters ruptured. I was defeated. I cried and felt like I couldn’t do it anymore. My hospital didn’t have the kind of pain relief I had hoped for, I was left to choose from what they had. Finally, I decided it was time for an epidural. Once the epidural kicked in the contractions continued, but my body relaxed. I was able to fully dilate and start pushing! After being instructed on how to push, my baby came after around thirty minutes. It was the biggest relief I had ever experienced in my life. My baby was here laying on my chest! I was immediately in love. My experience was wonderful because I have a healthy, beautiful baby. But it was definitely not what I had hoped for or even what I would have wanted. I felt because the staff knew my husband and I are both nurses and we were treated differently. Never did I feel like I wasn’t being appropriately cared for. But I felt as though because it was known we are nurses, it was almost expected that we already knew the information that accompanied pregnancy, labor and birth.
My purpose in writing is not to belittle or degrade the staff that provided care to my baby and myself; we received excellent care. My goal is to bring perspective to the situation. Neither myself or my husband have ever had a baby before. Although we are both nurses and have a very basic understanding of the process of labor and delivery that is not enough to feel prepared while in the thick of it. I wanted and needed information. I wonder how my experience would have changed if I was just another patient coming to have a baby, if no one knew we were nurses. Again, my purpose is not to bash the nurses or providers, or anyone in this situation. I, myself, know what it is like to care for a patient that you know is a nurse or was one formerly. In this situation you don’t want to make them feel as though you are belittling or treating them like they don’t know anything, but the truth is you do not know their knowledge base in every area of nursing. Obstetrics and gynecology are a specialty of nursing. There are nurses who know all there is to know in this area, but most do not. Just like myself and my husband, who are both nurses, we know very minimal information in this specialty. Women are similar in knowing about their own bodies like nurse’s know about their individual specialties. But just being a woman doesn’t mean you know all there is about pregnancy. My perspective is unique and maybe not every nurse who has had a baby experienced this. It is our job as nurses and medical professionals to educate and explain everything available regarding procedures, medication, treatments, etc. There is a double standard when teaching nurses and I hope to have shed light on this issue.