I really want to share my experience and my feedback with the wonderful teams in the birthing center that took terrific care of my husband, our newest little one, and me during our 6-day stay this month. We were admitted for induction and every single person we interacted with was extremely helpful and caring on the birthing center. L & D: I want to recognize specifically a couple of nurses: L and Sirinat (orientee), who cared for me on my second day and went above and beyond. We had some scary moments for the baby and for me, and these two nurses were amazing in explaining every detail and keeping me updated. They explained why I needed to change position and why the baby's heart was dropping. They explained the mechanism of action on each medication and why they were giving it to me. When I started crying because I was scared, they comforted me and held my hand. 

These two nurses handed off to a nightshift nurse and traveler. Although you would never know she was a traveler because she did everything like a Duke nurse, and she was phenomenal. She explained why I needed to move into certain positions and why they were changing rates on my medications etc.  Again- I had some scary moments overnight as my blood pressure was low and the baby didn't tolerate contractions well. She asked me questions like," What do you want?" " Is this in alignment with your birth plan?" and "I will advocate for anything for you as long as we are keeping the baby safe?" She was the role model of a nurse advocate and nurse educator. As scared as I was, I trusted these nurses and the team, and I truly felt SAFE.

Natalie came in the next morning as my nurse, and she helped to bring T into this world. She was truly wonderful as well. I know she could sense my anxiety and my fears after being in labor now for 48 hrs., and she was so calm, and she knew everything about all the team members, and she gave confidence about what was going to happen. When T was born, it was so peaceful, and it was perfect. She was an expert at what she was doing, and again, to know you are being taken care of by someone who knows what they are doing makes you feel secure.

We were taken to the post-partum unit a couple of hours after T was born, and we were cared for by wonderful nurses on this unit. Again, nurses who were experts in their field. Danielle cared for us the first night, and she was amazing. She picked up on the fact that T wasn't breathing well and that he needed to be evaluated. Even though this started his path to the NICU, Danielle was amazing to my husband and me. She explained everything, and she kept me updated. She advocated for us to go visit him, and she helped make a plan so I could either pump or feed him because she knew how important this was to me. She again was such an advocate and also a clinician in caring for me because she knew I still had to take it easy as well.

Devyn, another nurse, was also tremendous in helping us transition to having T back from NICU and be evaluated back on mother/baby. She was so thorough in her assessments and making sure that both T and I were well taken care of and watched carefully. She herself was pregnant, and she was so kind and considerate of everything we needed- even my husband.

NICU: Our baby wasn't the sickest in this unit, but our nurse made us feel like he was her priority. She explained every line, every medication, every step of care, and what the plan was. She made it not so scary, and she helped me to feed him and hold him, even with all his lines, oxygen, etc. She let me come over every 2 1/2 hours to feed him. When I started to get emotional, she was there to comfort us because this was overwhelming, and you don't expect your newborn to ever have to go to the NICU. She was a nurse in this unit for over 10 years and could see her experience in her practice. She was amazing, and again, it just gave me peace, confidence, and made me feel blessed that we were there at Duke with her caring for our son.

I just truly want to express my sincerest gratitude for the care I, my son, and my family received at Duke. When you have to be the patient, it is hard, and as a nurse, we notice everything. These teams and nursing professionals were truly exceptional and a gift to our profession. Thank you for all you do as their leader, and thank you to the leadership teams that set standards and practices, as every interaction was consistent, safe, and trustworthy. I'm always so proud to be a Duke Nurse because it's something truly special that we are all a part of, no matter what our role is.