February 2025
Jordan
Shepard
,
BSN, RN
Labor & Delivery
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center
Landstuhl
Germany
Because she took the time to sit down with me and walk through everything, I remembered what she had told me to do.
On October 10TH, I was admitted to Labor and Delivery to start the induction process. After 36 hours, I hadn’t made any progress and was stuck at 4cm dilated with Pitocin running. Jordan was my day shift nurse on October 12th, and as soon as she came on, she noticed that my baby’s heart rate was decreasing with contractions and immediately notified the doctor. At this point, I was convinced I was going to need a c-section, and Jordan, seeing how stressed I was, notified the doctor to allow me to have a proactive conversation if I did need to have one.
During the remainder of the day, Jordan came into the room every hour to check on me and helped me reposition myself frequently with the peanut ball. By noon I was 7cm dilated and the plan of care shifted away from a potential c-section to a vaginal birth. Jordan took the time to sit down with me and my husband and explain what a vaginal delivery would look like, she talked me through how she would be coaching me, what the pain/pressure of delivery would feel like, how to push through a contraction, what each staff member would be doing during this process.
Two hours later, I was 10cm dilated, the doctor came to assess me, told Jordan she was going to chart, and the room would need to be set up so I could start to push. Within a few minutes of the doctor leaving, I looked at Jordan and told her, “I feel like I need to push”. Jordan told me to go ahead and that pushing would be fine. I pushed twice before I heard my husband say, “That’s a lot of hair,” and Jordan called for help because my baby was coming imminently.
Jordan dropped the bed and coached my husband on how to hold my legs. I was panicking and worried because I had been told additional people would need to be at the delivery due to the presence of meconium when my water was broken, and I had forgotten what I was supposed to do. The only people in the room were my husband, Jordan, and the high schooler who was shadowing her. I’m not sure if Jordan remembers this, but she saw that I was scared, she looked at me and said, “Remember, we talked about this, push all the way through it, you can do this”. Because she took the time to sit down with me and walk through everything, I remembered what she had told me to do.
I pushed a few more times before the charge nurse ran in, removed my Foley catheter, and delivered my baby. I know that helping deliver babies is the job of a Labor and Delivery nurse, but Jordan consistently went above and beyond to make sure I was aware of everything that was going on. She talked openly to me, answered every question I had, and made sure I was involved with the plan of care.
Every time she repositioned me, she explained the position she was putting me into and why it would help progress my labor. She called for help when she realized how quickly my labor was progressing, which allowed her coworker to safely remove the Foley and catch my son. I will never be able to thank her enough for the patience and compassion she demonstrated while taking care of me.
During the remainder of the day, Jordan came into the room every hour to check on me and helped me reposition myself frequently with the peanut ball. By noon I was 7cm dilated and the plan of care shifted away from a potential c-section to a vaginal birth. Jordan took the time to sit down with me and my husband and explain what a vaginal delivery would look like, she talked me through how she would be coaching me, what the pain/pressure of delivery would feel like, how to push through a contraction, what each staff member would be doing during this process.
Two hours later, I was 10cm dilated, the doctor came to assess me, told Jordan she was going to chart, and the room would need to be set up so I could start to push. Within a few minutes of the doctor leaving, I looked at Jordan and told her, “I feel like I need to push”. Jordan told me to go ahead and that pushing would be fine. I pushed twice before I heard my husband say, “That’s a lot of hair,” and Jordan called for help because my baby was coming imminently.
Jordan dropped the bed and coached my husband on how to hold my legs. I was panicking and worried because I had been told additional people would need to be at the delivery due to the presence of meconium when my water was broken, and I had forgotten what I was supposed to do. The only people in the room were my husband, Jordan, and the high schooler who was shadowing her. I’m not sure if Jordan remembers this, but she saw that I was scared, she looked at me and said, “Remember, we talked about this, push all the way through it, you can do this”. Because she took the time to sit down with me and walk through everything, I remembered what she had told me to do.
I pushed a few more times before the charge nurse ran in, removed my Foley catheter, and delivered my baby. I know that helping deliver babies is the job of a Labor and Delivery nurse, but Jordan consistently went above and beyond to make sure I was aware of everything that was going on. She talked openly to me, answered every question I had, and made sure I was involved with the plan of care.
Every time she repositioned me, she explained the position she was putting me into and why it would help progress my labor. She called for help when she realized how quickly my labor was progressing, which allowed her coworker to safely remove the Foley and catch my son. I will never be able to thank her enough for the patience and compassion she demonstrated while taking care of me.