BrokeBackNurse :
Hi Jen Hamilton! I came looking for you a few days ago to say "thank you." You weren't ready for me then. Now, I'm back and hope you're in a better place. Thank you. I have been a RN for almost 30 years. I started in a L&D unit that averaged 400+ deliveries each month. We were the only hospital that accepted Medicaid. In the late 90s, Moms didn't come in with birth plans or expectations. Births were textbook for the most part. Most were a happy occasion. Some were not. Almost all were a predictable dance choreographed by the OBGYN - whether vaginal or Cesarean. Fast forward through my career of L&D, MICU, Triage phone nurse, med Surg/oncology, home health, and now postpartum/newborn case management for an insurance company. I've come full circle in my career, and I love it. What I love the most is educated and informed mamas that have their own ideas and birth plans - including their carefully chosen OBGYNs with enough confidence in the nursing staff and their own abilities to allow Mom's plan as long as safety isn't compromised. These Mamas know that they can trade pitocin for breast pump stimulation. There are bright colored "peanuts" in every closet. The room lighting can be subtle or a party - Mom's remote. Mom's choice. Babies are born to Mom's favorite songs. Natural or epidural. Mirrors to watch. Curtains to not. Walking and dancing with spot monitoring in early labor - No longer strapped to the bed from admission to delivery. All the things that were once unheard of in hospital births are now becoming more accepted every day keeping safety as everyone's top priority. And you did this!! You, nurses like you, and OBGYNs that see value in Mom's participation have removed the rigidity with little explanation and increased trust exponentially among "the delivery party" - Mom, Dad, OB, and RN. These Moms are pumped after a delivery instead of drugged and sleepy. They're satisfied. Bonding and breastfeeding instead of sleeping while their baby spends hours in the nursery waiting to be touched. You have done some amazing things for L&D units in South Alabama Jen Hamilton. I wish you could see your book with notes in the margins, tab markers, dog-eared pages,
2026-06-15 22:39:56