Post Partum

For clinical two weeks ago I was placed in the Post Partum unit. I really didn't know what to expect but I figured I probably would not be doing much. I was wrong. It was a wonderful day and I wished I could have stayed even longer. 

Vanessa and I were both assigned great nurses to work with. L & D was busy that day and as we were arriving two babies were just about to be born. Meaning......new admins in post partum! My first patient was in the antepartum unit, considered a high risk pregnancy. She was only 28 weeks prego but her amniotic sac, "her water", broke at 22 weeks. Because of this she will have to stay in the hospital until the baby is born. She is bedridden and has non-stress tests performed daily to make sure the baby will be able to handle labor. Because her membranes ruptured prematurely she is at a high risk for infection and will be treated with antibiotics. She was an absolute doll. She was young, probably my age or a year or so older, and had an 18 month old who came to visit. I can't imagine what it is like for her to be cooped up in a hospital room with a toddler and husband at home.

Another patient I worked with was s/p c-section and ready to have her staples taken out. You can only bet Vanessa and I jumped to take them out. Neither of us had ever removed staples before but it was incredible to say the least! We each did half of the removing and half of applying steri strips. Our instructor made fun of us for treating it as artwork since we were making sure each steri strip was the same width apart, same height, and perfectly smooth. What can I say, sometimes these anal tendencies come out! The new mom let me snuggle her baby boy and he was just too cute for words. Did I ever snuggle him! She wanted to shower so I sat in her room and rocked her baby so she could freshen up. Yes, I was in heaven.

 Throughout the day I performed multiple newborn assessments....checking reflexes, fontanels, heart sounds, suture lines, hip placement, and more. It was such a blessing working with these sweet lil lives and the excited new parents. I snuggled, rocked, and soothed newborns. I talked with new moms and comforted their concerns. It was an absolute joy to work in this unit and I love love love being around babies! 




To others, that day was just another day of class, but to me it was a treasured gift. I can't wait to be in the labor and delivery ward this Saturday!