Audrianna Funkhouser
April 2021
Audrianna
Funkhouser
,
RN
Labor & Delivery
FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital
Pinehurst
,
NC
United States
Audrianna routinely attends these deliveries regardless of the gestational age of the baby. She makes every attempt to get footprints, handprints, and locks of hair for the families.
We work in labor and delivery, which has been incredibly busy over the last few months. When people think about labor and delivery, they tend to only recognize the labor and postpartum nurses but there is a third nurse that often goes unrecognized. This is the stork nurse. In case you are unaware of what a stork nurse does, allow me to explain. She is the nurse for the baby. That may sound easy and fun, but I assure you it is very stressful, and our unit could not function without them.
The stork nurse attends every delivery on the unit and in the OR. She is responsible for assigning APGAR scores, assessing babies at delivery, helping with breastfeeding, administering baby medications, assessing blood sugars on newborns if needed, and most importantly she provides interventions when babies are in distress at the time of delivery. Should help be needed, she quickly calls the NICU to provide assistance.
When a patient has a C-Section, either planned or emergent, the stork goes with the family to the OR. When a C-section is urgent or emergent, the family is often scared and anxious. We do not perform the surgery on our unit, so the patient and family members are passed on to a whole new staff in the operating room. In this scenario, the stork nurse is the only familiar face during a potentially chaotic situation. That stork nurse remains with the family through the delivery and recovery. While recovering in the PACU, the stork nurse is able to initiate skin-to-skin time with the parents as well as help with breast or bottle feeding. Without the stork, the baby is sent to 2A or NICU to be recovered. Our families do not want to be separated from their babies after delivery and studies have shown that the uninterrupted skin-to-skin time following delivery is beneficial to the baby and mother.
During the day shift, there are often 2 stork nurses, while on nights there is only 1 each shift. When the stork is in the OR, the labor nurses have to assess and care for the baby as they did years ago. Even though the common misperception is that labor nurses get to cuddle babies all night, I can assure you that most of us are uncomfortable with stroking a new baby. We are comfortable with adults in the same way that the stork nurse is comfortable with new babies. Over the last few weeks, there have been multiple deliveries during every shift.
Additionally, we have lost a stork nurse and often have shifts without a scheduled stork. This has given all of us an even greater appreciation for the stork nurses. While all of our stork nurses are great, Audrianna consistently provides exceptional care. On any given night she cares for 6 or 7 newborn babies. She never complains or gets frustrated with having to run from room to room every 30 minutes. And it never fails that there will be at least 2 babies born together, which only makes her job tougher. Again, she does not complain. We have had several deliveries recently and over the years where the baby struggled at delivery. She remains calm as she resuscitates the baby and calls for help. This makes such a difference for the family that is watching and waiting for their newborn to cry.
If Audrianna is panicked at all, no one in the room would know because she remains calm and reassuring. There are times when a family has to be admitted to Labor & Delivery under terrible circumstances, such as an IUFD (when a baby passes away during a pregnancy). A fetal demise can happen anytime during pregnancy. When this occurs, the mother is admitted for induction of labor. This is difficult for everyone on the unit. For these deliveries, the stork is not required to attend as the baby will not need to be assessed. Audrianna routinely attends these deliveries regardless of the gestational age of the baby. She makes every attempt to get footprints, handprints, and locks of hair for the families. She holds the baby, refers to the baby by name, and honors the life that ended far too soon.
We recently had a fetal demise of a term baby. In my opinion, these are the hardest. Without realizing it, we are all holding our breath and trying to will the baby to breathe at delivery when we know it won't. I am certain the family feels this moment as well. In a split second, everyone grieves the loss again. During this particular delivery, Audrianna went above and beyond to care for the baby and the family. Her presence during the delivery allowed her to provide end-of-life care to the baby. This act of acknowledging life and a loss was felt by the family. There are no words to ease the pain and suffering for these families, that will only come with time.
However, Audrianna's actions no doubt made a huge difference to the parents. Their baby was treated with dignity, respect, and compassion during the worst of times. Again, Audrianna was not required to be present during or after the delivery. She did so because she knows it is important, and she knows that it makes a difference. It takes a very strong person to be mindful of their own emotions while providing care to grieving families. Once again, she remains calm and reassuring when she herself wants to cry. In this way, Audrianna demonstrates that she is able to be present for families during the easy deliveries and the difficult ones. I will say once again that our stork nurses are an integral and often overlooked part of the L&D unit. Audrianna is one of the best.
The stork nurse attends every delivery on the unit and in the OR. She is responsible for assigning APGAR scores, assessing babies at delivery, helping with breastfeeding, administering baby medications, assessing blood sugars on newborns if needed, and most importantly she provides interventions when babies are in distress at the time of delivery. Should help be needed, she quickly calls the NICU to provide assistance.
When a patient has a C-Section, either planned or emergent, the stork goes with the family to the OR. When a C-section is urgent or emergent, the family is often scared and anxious. We do not perform the surgery on our unit, so the patient and family members are passed on to a whole new staff in the operating room. In this scenario, the stork nurse is the only familiar face during a potentially chaotic situation. That stork nurse remains with the family through the delivery and recovery. While recovering in the PACU, the stork nurse is able to initiate skin-to-skin time with the parents as well as help with breast or bottle feeding. Without the stork, the baby is sent to 2A or NICU to be recovered. Our families do not want to be separated from their babies after delivery and studies have shown that the uninterrupted skin-to-skin time following delivery is beneficial to the baby and mother.
During the day shift, there are often 2 stork nurses, while on nights there is only 1 each shift. When the stork is in the OR, the labor nurses have to assess and care for the baby as they did years ago. Even though the common misperception is that labor nurses get to cuddle babies all night, I can assure you that most of us are uncomfortable with stroking a new baby. We are comfortable with adults in the same way that the stork nurse is comfortable with new babies. Over the last few weeks, there have been multiple deliveries during every shift.
Additionally, we have lost a stork nurse and often have shifts without a scheduled stork. This has given all of us an even greater appreciation for the stork nurses. While all of our stork nurses are great, Audrianna consistently provides exceptional care. On any given night she cares for 6 or 7 newborn babies. She never complains or gets frustrated with having to run from room to room every 30 minutes. And it never fails that there will be at least 2 babies born together, which only makes her job tougher. Again, she does not complain. We have had several deliveries recently and over the years where the baby struggled at delivery. She remains calm as she resuscitates the baby and calls for help. This makes such a difference for the family that is watching and waiting for their newborn to cry.
If Audrianna is panicked at all, no one in the room would know because she remains calm and reassuring. There are times when a family has to be admitted to Labor & Delivery under terrible circumstances, such as an IUFD (when a baby passes away during a pregnancy). A fetal demise can happen anytime during pregnancy. When this occurs, the mother is admitted for induction of labor. This is difficult for everyone on the unit. For these deliveries, the stork is not required to attend as the baby will not need to be assessed. Audrianna routinely attends these deliveries regardless of the gestational age of the baby. She makes every attempt to get footprints, handprints, and locks of hair for the families. She holds the baby, refers to the baby by name, and honors the life that ended far too soon.
We recently had a fetal demise of a term baby. In my opinion, these are the hardest. Without realizing it, we are all holding our breath and trying to will the baby to breathe at delivery when we know it won't. I am certain the family feels this moment as well. In a split second, everyone grieves the loss again. During this particular delivery, Audrianna went above and beyond to care for the baby and the family. Her presence during the delivery allowed her to provide end-of-life care to the baby. This act of acknowledging life and a loss was felt by the family. There are no words to ease the pain and suffering for these families, that will only come with time.
However, Audrianna's actions no doubt made a huge difference to the parents. Their baby was treated with dignity, respect, and compassion during the worst of times. Again, Audrianna was not required to be present during or after the delivery. She did so because she knows it is important, and she knows that it makes a difference. It takes a very strong person to be mindful of their own emotions while providing care to grieving families. Once again, she remains calm and reassuring when she herself wants to cry. In this way, Audrianna demonstrates that she is able to be present for families during the easy deliveries and the difficult ones. I will say once again that our stork nurses are an integral and often overlooked part of the L&D unit. Audrianna is one of the best.