# any labor and delivery nurses?



## sugarmoon (Feb 18, 2003)

I have wanted to do birth work for a long time, since before having my kids. I would love to be a doula or a homebirth midwife. Right now, though, I need a job. I need predictable hours, and I need good pay and benefits to support our family, while my dh builds up our farm.

So. I'm thinking about going back to school to become and L&D nurse. My question is, would I totally hate it???

There are some hospital based birthing centers near me with really great reputations for natural birth (my homebirth cnm just closed her practice and is working at one of them), and some with okay reputations, and one big bad medical center. I'd likely be stuck at the big one at first, since openings don't come up that often at the good ones, and with out exp. I doubt I'd have a chance.

Tell me about being an L&D nurse, while being a homebirthing crunchy, ap, natural mama! Would I have to help at circ's







?

baby crying.

Elsa


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## pure (Feb 11, 2004)

I am a labour and delivery nurse, and yes, most of the time I hate it. Then, once in awhile someone comes in and has a fantastice birth and it is all worthwhile. Mostly it is frustrating.
I went to nursing school to become a labour and delivery nurse and, honestly, almost didn't make it through the program. It was a LONG road through med/surg patients to get to where I am today. If I could have a do-over, this would not be my chosen path. Also, the shift work SUCKS!!!!!!

I love birth, but I wish I were a doula instead.


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## vicky72 (Jan 6, 2005)

Hi! I have been a L&D nurse for 8 years. It is difficult at times knowing that some of the stuff that you do conflicts with what you believe in. I work in a big perinatal center, we do a lot of high risk stuff. Most of our patients get epidurals (87%). We do have 3 midwives. We try to work with patients that want to do things the normal noninterventional way. I get a lot of "comments" from other nurses when I do things differently. The fact of the matter is MOST of the ladies that come in to the hosp to have their babes just want to get their epi and lay back and get pitted. Many request to have the baby PULLED out and we have started doing primary C-Sections because that is what some women want.

So why do I do what I do? The way I look at it is I can offer education to the few who will open their ears to it. When patients want help with breastfeeding, I can help, when they ask about circs, I get right up on my soap box. When they comment "how could anyone do this without drugs?" I can say I DID and i'm here to tell ya it was GREAT.

I do not need to help with circs and I wouldn't. They do it on the postpartum floor.

I guess what gets me thu taking care of a pt that wants the works (39 wk induction with an epidural and the baby to spend the night in the nursery so they can sleep off the effects of the meds the took) is that I TRY not to judge and realize that this is THEIR birth, NOT mine! Thank goodness!

I dont know if that helps at all! I hope to go back to school soon to be a CNM, that long term goal helps too!


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## sugarmoon (Feb 18, 2003)

thanks for the replies--

vicky that sounds about like how (i think) i'd feel. I have given it a lot of thought and do think that I can support women in their choices, even when I really don't agree -- i also think that, with all the hosp. birth horror stories, it would be great to be a "good nurse", even in a not so good setting, for the sake of hte mama's.

I'm glad to hear you don't have to do circ's. I'm not sure if the big hosp. around has a separate pp unit though. I know the little ones don't.

pure, why don't you like the shift work? I'm thinking working nights would be a great way to work full time and not be away from my kids too much, esp since my dh is a farmer, they can be home with him when I'm sleeping after a shift.

Elsa


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## vicky72 (Jan 6, 2005)

OH YEA I work friday, sat and sunday night shift. one 8 and 2 12 hour shifts. So that is full time. I caryy the health insurance and I make a lot more than my husband at his 9-5 job. I am so happy that I can work but still be a stay at home mom during the week. The only other person that watches Ethan is my sis for a few hours on Monday morns!!


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## pure (Feb 11, 2004)

I work permanent nights, 12 hour shifts. It wears you down, your body is constantly in sleep deprivation mode. My hormones are out of wack. I am always tired regardless of how much sleep I get.
I am a very good nurse who was trained with other very good nurses that birth is normal and natural. Then I moved to a new city where birth is "managed". I cried for 6 months straight for these moms and babies. I am now at a new hospital where they pretty much think I'm weird, but other nurses there are weird too, so it's okay. They take down my printouts on No Circ and epidurals and formula, but I just keep putting them back up.


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## orangebird (Jun 30, 2002)

I hated it when I did it, mostly because alot, no, most, of the stuff we did was in conflict with my beliefs. You can't exactly tell people they shouldn't consent to something after the doctor has just gotten their consent, etc. But I think if you have the right attitude you could be an asset! L&D's need better nurses. I am just way too opinionated and the women who shared my philosophy who I thought I could be there to protect were too few and far between for me to feel good about my job. But lord knows we need more good nurses in there. If you are up to it go for it!! It might be better at some hospitals than others too.

You don't have to assist with circs. Some hospitals the L&D is in a separate unit than the postpartum where the well baby area is and where they do the cirs so might not even be an issue at the hospital you work at. Otherwise just refuse (that is what I do) and have a different nurse help. Ugh! Yeah, different hospitals are different. ou might love working at one and hate it at another, YK? If you feel drawn to it try it, good thing about being a nurse is you can always change your mind!


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## sugarmoon (Feb 18, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mara*
If you feel drawn to it try it, good thing about being a nurse is you can always change your mind!









yeah, thats the good thing isn't it?

Okay, I know there are more LandD nurses out there....

elsa


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## Patti Ann (Dec 2, 2001)

When I started out working I worked in a city teaching hospital. Lots of intervention because you need to teach those residents how to use all those gadgets







I worked there full time days for 2 years until I had my first. I didn't deliver there becasue it's not my style. We did have a few midwives for the last year I was there. Most of the nurses didn't like taking those patients because how could you do a delivery without an IV in place?

The hospital I work at now is the hospital I have delivered my kids at. A local community hospital. They have midwife staff of 4. When I started there it was a much more natural place. The reputation used to be don't deliver there if you want an epidural because they won't give you one. Needless to say in 7 1/2 years the epidural rate has gotten very high. The c/s rate was around 16% when I started there and is over 25% now. I'm sure it will increase too becasue of the malpractice climate in NJ. They'd much rather do a c/s then wait around and risk getting sued. Many ob's are moving or are only doing gyn because of the threat of being sued.

We still have lots of women who go natural and it is nice to get one of those patients. You actually feel like you are helping someone. Not just watching a monitor strip and then telling the woman it is time to push. The number of inductions is increasing. It seems most of the babies we have around here are either LGA/SGA. Go figure. I've seen the primary sections at 36 plus weeks because the doc they want was going away. Baby ended up in Scn for at least 10 days with immature lungs. Stuff like this really gets you angry. I only work per diem so I work 1 day a week. I do 4p-12a shift so my mom watches my kids until dh is done working. I can pick up extra if I want. The pay is great. Where else can I work 1 day a week and make over $250 dollars.

AS far as circs, they are done in our nursery so I don't need to be involved.

This is what I always wanted to do. Thought of becoming a midwife, but no desire to ever go back to school. You just have to realize most women are fine with medical births. Sad, but true. Cherish the ones you can really help. It is very hard to start out doing l&d out of school. Most places want you to have some med/surg experience. I was lucky not to have to do that, but I started out in a teaching/medical hospital. Good luck.

Patti


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## lorijds (Jun 6, 2002)

I am a nurse at an independent birth center--I love it!

At many birth centers, it is easy to get a job if you are truly a devotee of natural childbirth--the pay is not nearly as good as hospitals, typically, so only the true lovers of the work do it.

I actually LOVED medical nursing. I worked on a medical floor for years (where we dealt with respiratory illnesses, diabetes complications, heart and circulatory disorders, etc). I worked nights, and I LOVED it. I am a night owl. I also liked working nights because honestly, I had so much more time for my patients. I could sit and talk and still get all my work done; on day shift, you are just running around like mad.

Alot of my skills that I use in L&D at the birth center I used on the medical floor--listening, massage, positional changes, hydrotherapy, etc.

I love being a nurse. I am going back to school to get my BSN. Will I work on a mainstream L%D floor? I don't know. Somedays I feel like I should--people deserve to be able to have a respectful, intimate, beautiful experience, regardless of environment. A couple of times that I have accompanied women in a transfer to the hospital, I have seen how the little things that I would automatically do, that I don't even think about, aren't often done in the hospital, but could be, with no problem. I could bring that to the hospital. But I also would have a hard time with unnecessary interventions, etc.

I am conflicted. I have the feeling that I will work part time in the hospital, part time at the birth center; that way I can refresh my soul at the birth center, and bring that love and respect to the hospital, without draining myself too much.

eta--I never even learned how to assist in circs. During my clinicals in nursing school, I just said I would no more participate in male genital mutilation than I would in female genital mutilation. My instructor just sat there open mouthed for a bit, and then said okay, no problem. I went to a pretty conservative school in a really small town. We couldn't have visible tattoos, no jewelery except a plain wedding band, and hair could only be dyed a "natural" color.

Now I have pink hair, several tats, and it's never been a problem.


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