Elizabeth Motte
August 2022
Elizabeth
Motte
,
BSN, RN
Labor & Delivery
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill
Seattle
,
WA
United States
Liz never dismissed the pain, acknowledged that it was unusual, and constantly assured my wife that things were under control.
My wife gave birth in the birthing center at Swedish First Hill. While the delivery itself was straightforward, the labor was fairly intensive - my wife had complications and internal tearing that required post-partum surgery. The complications caused significant pain throughout the labor, which was exacerbated by an epidural that failed to take effect during the first injection. My wife suffers from anxiety, and the combination of pain and confusion about what was causing that pain caused a significant amount of distress.
The RN who partnered with us for the birth, Liz M., was absolutely incredible from the word “go”. She identified quickly that we were first-time parents and spent time during our first hours together making sure that we knew what to expect. As her pain escalated, my wife had question after question for Liz. She not only answered my wife's questions but did so while clearly and carefully helping to manage my wife's growing anxiety about the unusual pain she was experiencing during each contraction. Liz never dismissed the pain, acknowledged that it was unusual, and constantly assured my wife that things were under control while offering her thoughts on what might be causing the pain.
My wife had to go through two epidural insertions, both of which were described as 10/10 on the pain scale. Liz coached my wife through each one, worked with me to comfort her, and did an absolutely incredible job making sure that my wife's anxiety didn't spike out of control. It was amazing to watch - Liz appears to have had training helping manage patient anxiety, but also has innate compassion and empathy that helped keep my wife from reaching a full-blown panic attack. We could not have managed this without Liz's help. During the delivery, she coached my wife through everything from breathing to pushing and continued to keep my wife's anxiety in check through careful milestone check-ins, all the way until our son joined us. We will forever be grateful Liz was assigned as our RN and wanted to make sure her efforts were recognized.
The RN who partnered with us for the birth, Liz M., was absolutely incredible from the word “go”. She identified quickly that we were first-time parents and spent time during our first hours together making sure that we knew what to expect. As her pain escalated, my wife had question after question for Liz. She not only answered my wife's questions but did so while clearly and carefully helping to manage my wife's growing anxiety about the unusual pain she was experiencing during each contraction. Liz never dismissed the pain, acknowledged that it was unusual, and constantly assured my wife that things were under control while offering her thoughts on what might be causing the pain.
My wife had to go through two epidural insertions, both of which were described as 10/10 on the pain scale. Liz coached my wife through each one, worked with me to comfort her, and did an absolutely incredible job making sure that my wife's anxiety didn't spike out of control. It was amazing to watch - Liz appears to have had training helping manage patient anxiety, but also has innate compassion and empathy that helped keep my wife from reaching a full-blown panic attack. We could not have managed this without Liz's help. During the delivery, she coached my wife through everything from breathing to pushing and continued to keep my wife's anxiety in check through careful milestone check-ins, all the way until our son joined us. We will forever be grateful Liz was assigned as our RN and wanted to make sure her efforts were recognized.