Make sure you like your labor nurse. Advice I had gotten from many people before I had my first baby. I was induced at 37 weeks and had little time to mentally prepare before we went in. Halfway through the day my labor had stalled a little, I was clearly in a lot of pain and terrified to get an epidural. Emma looked at me and said today is not a day to be a hero if you are in pain let's get the epidural. She and my husband held my hands and talked me through the whole procedure making the process so easy and calm; we even managed a few laughs. After my daughter was born a few hours later, she made the whole experience so special and calming for us.
Fast forward 2 years later, we are preparing to welcome our son into the world and I am asked during registration what went right during my last delivery. I immediately tell them about how amazing my nurse was and request I have her again if she is working. We go in for my delivery and are lucky enough to have Emma as our nurse again! This delivery was different from my first. There were a couple of complications after I got my epidural and my husband and I were nervous. Emma stood in the room talking me through the whole thing, explaining every step until everything was fixed and my baby and I were back on track.
Make sure you like your labor nurse. We were so lucky to not only like our labor nurse but have her feel like part of the family. We could not have asked for anyone better to be there for us during the birth of both of our babies. I only hope that I can bring the same calmness and joy to my patients and families as she brought to ours. When her shift was over she gave me the biggest hug to say congrats. I told her I would see her in another couple of years for the next one!