Phaedra Stevens
May 2021
Phaedra
Stevens
,
RN
Labor and Delivery
Carilion Clinic Roanoke Campus
Roanoke
,
VA
United States
Phaedra made all the difference in the works for my comfort during the scariest delivery I’ve ever faced.
I was scheduled for an induction due to having chronic hypertension. My husband and I came and checked in to patient access and then were directed to our room. Phaedra was my nurse that day. She was amazing at explaining everything that would be going on during my induction. I was nervous even though this was my fourth child. It had been multiple years since my last child was born. Phaedra was extremely attentive to all my needs and her personality was just wonderful. We joked and laughed together, and she made the process enjoyable. She supported my birth plan and also gave input for suggestions of pain relief when I asked.
The induction was super slow going for me and I wasn’t making a whole lot of progress, so the decision was made to break my water and get things moving. At that point, I also decided I wanted to go ahead and get an epidural to help with the last stages of labor. There were several points after I got the epidural that for some reason, I started feeling pain again. Phaedra was right by my side figuring out ways to help me. She called the anesthesiologist back to give me a bolus of medicine which worked for quite a while. I did have to have additional doses later on as well and she made sure I was staying comfortable.
Everything got very scary around 8 cm dilated. Every contraction I had the baby’s heart rate was decelerating. I knew that was not a good sign. I became very panicked and Phaedra remained extremely calm and comforting. She was an amazing help to my husband and I as we feared if we would hold our little girl, we had been waiting nine months to see. Phaedra made all the difference in the works for my comfort during the scariest delivery I’ve ever faced. Unfortunately, she missed our birth by 40 minutes after her shift was over. She actually stayed OVER four hours because the unit was short. Our baby was born healthy. Her cord had been around her neck which explained the decelerations and my husband and I were just so grateful for the staff who knew exactly what to do and how to help. Phaedra was amazing and she came down to mother baby to see us on Saturday before we left. All I could do was give her a giant hug. I was so grateful to her!
The induction was super slow going for me and I wasn’t making a whole lot of progress, so the decision was made to break my water and get things moving. At that point, I also decided I wanted to go ahead and get an epidural to help with the last stages of labor. There were several points after I got the epidural that for some reason, I started feeling pain again. Phaedra was right by my side figuring out ways to help me. She called the anesthesiologist back to give me a bolus of medicine which worked for quite a while. I did have to have additional doses later on as well and she made sure I was staying comfortable.
Everything got very scary around 8 cm dilated. Every contraction I had the baby’s heart rate was decelerating. I knew that was not a good sign. I became very panicked and Phaedra remained extremely calm and comforting. She was an amazing help to my husband and I as we feared if we would hold our little girl, we had been waiting nine months to see. Phaedra made all the difference in the works for my comfort during the scariest delivery I’ve ever faced. Unfortunately, she missed our birth by 40 minutes after her shift was over. She actually stayed OVER four hours because the unit was short. Our baby was born healthy. Her cord had been around her neck which explained the decelerations and my husband and I were just so grateful for the staff who knew exactly what to do and how to help. Phaedra was amazing and she came down to mother baby to see us on Saturday before we left. All I could do was give her a giant hug. I was so grateful to her!