Cara L Barbieri
August 2022
Cara L
Barbieri
,
RN
Family Birth Center
UVA Health Culpeper Medical Center
Culpeper
,
VA
United States
She stayed by me every step of the way, encouraged me, and told me how strong and brave I was. She was comforting and reassuring.
I gave birth to my daughter at UVA Culpeper Medical Center in Culpeper, VA in November 2021. My nurse’s name was Cara, and she was WONDERFUL. I have never had a nurse make me her top priority before. It became very clear very early on that my comfort was of utmost importance to her. I was not made to feel like I was stuck to my hospital bed to stay hooked up and monitored. She made sure I could get up and walk around as needed, and as I gradually became more and more uncomfortable she helped me in many ways, as I was as holding off on getting the epidural as long as possible. She adjusted the bed so I could hang onto the bar, and as my labor progressed, she helped me in bed and adjusted the bed so I could sit up comfortably and brace against the bar as needed.
As labor progressed even further she turned the lights down low to help keep me from being overstimulated. She knew my labor was getting further along and gave us the warning signs that delivery was most likely near. Less than an hour later, I’m in excruciating pain and sobbing uncontrollably and they ordered my epidural. She stayed by me every step of the way, encouraged me, and told me how strong and brave I was. She was comforting and reassuring. When I wanted to stop pushing and take a break, (labor escalated quickly and my epidural didn’t have time to kick in) she told me it was okay to take a breath for a minute. And when I wanted to give up because the pain was unbearable and it felt like I couldn’t keep going, she said, “it’s okay mama you can do it. You got this.” She reminded me to try to relax my body and face and focus on pushing and reminded me to try to keep my voice low and deep versus screaming (I ended up screaming anyway).
The memory of that whole experience, of having a midwife and huge supporter still brings strong emotions and tears to my eyes. You can definitely tell this career is a passion of hers, it definitely shows in how she treats her patients. After 4 babies, this labor and delivery experience was truly the best one I’ve had and honestly, it’s all thanks to her.
As labor progressed even further she turned the lights down low to help keep me from being overstimulated. She knew my labor was getting further along and gave us the warning signs that delivery was most likely near. Less than an hour later, I’m in excruciating pain and sobbing uncontrollably and they ordered my epidural. She stayed by me every step of the way, encouraged me, and told me how strong and brave I was. She was comforting and reassuring. When I wanted to stop pushing and take a break, (labor escalated quickly and my epidural didn’t have time to kick in) she told me it was okay to take a breath for a minute. And when I wanted to give up because the pain was unbearable and it felt like I couldn’t keep going, she said, “it’s okay mama you can do it. You got this.” She reminded me to try to relax my body and face and focus on pushing and reminded me to try to keep my voice low and deep versus screaming (I ended up screaming anyway).
The memory of that whole experience, of having a midwife and huge supporter still brings strong emotions and tears to my eyes. You can definitely tell this career is a passion of hers, it definitely shows in how she treats her patients. After 4 babies, this labor and delivery experience was truly the best one I’ve had and honestly, it’s all thanks to her.