The day I went into labor with my baby was one of the toughest days of my life both physically and mentally. I was progressing very slowly despite strong and consistent contractions. My family had a history of not being able to dilate and I feared this is what was happening to me- what was even worse is I went into labor a week early. After 8 hours of contractions and with them 5 minutes apart- I checked into labor and delivery where my contractions were confirmed to be strong and consistent however I had only dilated to a one. To my dismay, I was sent home without answers.

My OB was very sympathetic and scheduled a c-section for me for the next morning upon my request for fear that my contractions were not being effective enough to put me into “true labor”. However after 13 more hours of contractions now 3 minutes apart at 6 pm I could no longer tolerate the excruciating pain from my contractions- my husband took me into labor and delivery again to hopefully get a bit of relief. To my dismay I was only 2cm- in 13 hours I only progressed ONE cm- I was beside myself. My nurse Baylee was my savior. She got down at eye level with me- held me through a contraction and then sympathetically told me I needed to breathe through each contraction to get oxygen to my baby- she also helped me into a position that has been shown to help mothers dilate more quickly. It was clear she knew what she was doing and helped me get through something very difficult in a caring way. She did everything in her power to ease my pain- it was obvious she was empathetic to what I was experiencing. At the hour assessment mark, she checked me to find I had not progressed and by the protocol I should have been sent home (again). However, because of her incredible assessment skills and intuition, she found my baby’s heart rate was dropping ever so slightly with each contraction and she advocated for me to stay and be monitored until my c-section the next morning and it is a good thing she did because 45 minutes later my water broke and I was at a 4.5- along with this progression my baby’s heart rate dropped even further with each contraction.

I truly believe the only reason I was able to deliver vaginally is because of her attention to detail, her expertise and her passion. She was in my room repositioning me every 15 minutes to help keep the baby’s heart rate up and help me dilate. It was obvious she truly cared about the work she does. Everything she did was done with purpose. She educated me about each intervention and medication and ensured I was comfortable with each intervention. She truly turned the experience around for me and I can never say thank you enough.

It is clear Baylee is passionate about the work she does. She is proactive, caring, intelligent ambitious, kind, and empathetic. She was my advocate from the moment I stepped onto the unit until the moment I left. Words really can’t describe how thankful I am that she was my nurse. As a working Mom myself I know how hard it is to balance the two roles but I want her to know the work she does is important and I for one am incredibly thankful she chose nursing as her career. She exemplifies what a nurse should be and is truly worthy of this Award.