These nurses went above and beyond to help me achieve my dream delivery. It was a long delivery and they supported me every step of the way! From helping to encourage me to keep going during 3 hours of pushing, to taking pictures to help me remember this special moment, to advocating for my safety! Each nurse on my care team helped to make this special moment everything I needed it to be. Katie C helped to get me settled and motivated me upon my admittance to L&D with compassion and support. Courtney P., a new nurse, was exceptional in caring and making sure everything went smoothly! Tiffany S advocated for my care to ensure no further interventions were needed for my safety. Jen H stayed by my side and encouraged me through 3 hours of hard pushing. Jen and Tiffany helped to get me into various positions to help my baby rotate during pushing to increase my chances of a successful vaginal delivery. Judy R helped to ensure my wishes of immediate skin-to-skin with my newborn was possible and that she was healthy and able to transition into life without incident. And Tracy N took the time to capture special moments for myself and family of my newborn entering the world. Without this dream team of nurses, I would not have been able to successfully accomplish the VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) I was hoping and dreaming of. They went above and beyond in their care to take care of myself, my newborn, and even my husband during a special moment in our lives. 

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I am a new graduate in Labor and Delivery and have seen how hard the team works together to go above and beyond in helping new staff. I was able to see this from both a student nurse and a new nurse's perspective. If they see a baby's heart rate decreasing on the central fetal monitor, every nurse will respond to see what they can do to help, including coming into the patient’s room to support me during that stressful time. Throughout the shift, regardless of how busy the nurses may be, they ask how or if they can help you. During shifts when I have felt overwhelmed, the nurses will help to get me anything I need, and sometimes even set up my delivery table if I do not have time to do it myself. I always go to work knowing there are people to help me if anything goes wrong!

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There was a great save recently in Labor and Delivery. I had a patient who initially was trying to have a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC). The patient came in early morning and was sent home when she was still 1cm dilated. I talked to her around noon, and she came back for a labor check again and was still 1 cm, so she decided to stay to have a repeat c-section. While she was waiting in the prep room for her turn in the OR, her husband called out and said she was having severe abdominal pain and that the fetal heart had plummeted to a rate between 60 and 100. I just finished a case at Women’s Surgical Center when the Advanced Practitioner called me. An OB Stat was called and when I arrived at the OR, the Anesthesia team was ready to intubate the patient. When I opened the abdomen, I discovered her uterus had ruptured and I noticed the baby was floating in her abdomen. The baby was delivered lifeless and pale, but thanks to our neonatal resuscitation efforts the baby girl was soon crying. Everyone in the OR gave a cheer and the father was able to see his daughter from the window outside of the OR as the mother was stabilized. It may be divine intervention that the patient was here, but it was the GBMC Labor and Delivery team who saved her and her baby. One of the OR charge nurses said she could feel good going home knowing she had helped to save a baby and a mom. I am incredibly grateful for this great save!