Delivery During Covid-19

Registered Nurse, Labor & Delivery

MIAMI

I am proud to say that I have found my passion in life. I have been a labor and delivery nurse for six years. If it wasn’t for obstetrical nursing I couldn’t be a nurse.  The path the labor room has taken me over years has been wild.

I can remember my first day as a nurse. My nerves got the best of me and I became unsure of myself. That was all put aside the first time I heard the cry of a newborn that I helped deliver. To see the look of the mother and father holding their newborn child made me realize that I was exactly where I needed to be. 

While labor and delivery brings mostly joy and happiness, I cannot say that every one of my shifts have looked the same. Sadly in this type of nursing, there is also tragedy. Losing a pre term or a full term newborn is a sad part of life and the worst part of my job. Helping mothers push their way to a lifeless child are the days that never escape my memory. I can still hear the cries of  families that have lost a baby. It is something no one should ever have to go through. The sudden loss of a child that was loved deeply and never had an opportunity to grow. It’s difficult not to feel everything the family does.

The nurses I work with have become more than coworkers. They are family. Family has its good times and its struggles. We’ve stood by each other’s sides through thick and thin, and at the end of the day we have each other. I had the opportunity to see my coworkers from a different angle when I delivered my youngest child in my unit. It has made me grow to love them even more. I knew they were wonderful as I worked aside them, but being a patient with them by my side during the entire birthing process was different. They cheered me on, crying tears of joy as my youngest son came into the world. I have been lucky enough to deliver family, friends and numerous other laboring patients who I was able to become close with. One thing I can say is I give one hundred percent of myself every shift. Even if I leave late (which my co-workers always make fun of me for), each shift is a reminder of how important you are as a nurse. Especially now, in times of COVID-19.

The fear of the unknown in the beginning made it terrifying to go into work. A mother laboring alone is the heart breaking truth we are seeing right now. A father who flew across the country to see the birth of his child only to be denied entry into the unit. The potential of the newborn testing positive for COVID-19. Wearing full PPE just to take vitals. Our nurses have stuck together through this trying time and we have grown. Healthcare is changing rapidly every day. Our lives are changing every day. Sometimes what we think will be a text book delivery changes abruptly & other times a horrific event turns out okay. No matter the story, we as healthcare workers can give compassionate care. That is my mission.