What Your Labor & Delivery Nurses Want You to Know with Nurse Sydney
Show Notes:
[1:21] Our Reviewer of the Week, Chellexoxo9, said: "As a mom whose endured 6 previous back to back miscarriages, listening and being informed on pregnancy and labor is preparing me for our THRIVING baby we are about to welcome to the world in September. I’m so blessed to listen to these stories and information I need."
[2:07] Our guest is Nurse Sydney! A Canadian Labor & Delivery Nurse from Toronto. She shares educational and entertaining content about pregnancy, delivery, postpartum, and newborn care. She loves supporting women and giving them tools to advocate for themselves and their newborns. Sydney talks about how getting to see babies being brought into this world and seeing women being so powerful and strong throughout is so special. She's seen thousands of births at this point and every single time it is still special.
[6:25] What do you pack in a hospital bag from a L&D nurse perspective? Sydney says to check with your hospital or birthing center (wherever you're delivering) and see see what they actually provide. For mom, bring whatever makes you feel more at home (blanket, pillow, fuzz socks, etc.). For baby, you don't actually need a whole lot for the baby. The hospital provides almost everything. A couple of going home outfits is pretty much all you need. You don't need to bring a whole lot of onesies because majority of the time that you're in the hospital, baby will be skin to skin or the nurses will be coming in and doing assessments on the baby and undressing them all the time anyways.
[8:41] What are your recommendations on what moms should ask for during labor? Sydney is a strong advocate for having a birth plan in place or a birth preference list. It's good to be prepared for the expected and the unexpected, but it's also important to research things ahead of time so that you know what to advocate for yourself while you're in the hospital setting. She also says it's important to involve either your partner or support person so that they're also able to advocate for you while you're in the hospital. When you're in pain, nervous, scared, and in an unfamiliar environment, it's hard to advocate for yourself. Make sure you have people around you. She's a huge supporter of having a doula. Even if you're delivering in a hospital or in a birthing center and the doctors and the nurses are giving you so much information, at the end of the day, you're still in charge of your own body, your baby, and you're in charge of everything. They're just there to make sure that you make an informed decision and stay educated on what they usually recommend and what best practice is. But at the end of the day, if you don't want to do something, it's completely up to you.
[10:49] How can mamas find a supportive provider? Do a little bit of research and then have those conversations with your provider at your prenatal appointments. Ask them who their colleagues are and what their expectations are for when you go into the hospital. If they're not going to be the ones on call, what advice do they have for you. It's hard because you can get matched with some absolutely amazing providers and nurses. Every once in a while, you can get matched with someone who just doesn't fit with you and what you want. You do have the right to ask for a different nurse. Just ask to speak with the charge nurse, and they can swap out your nurse.
[14:45] Sydney talks about birth plans and how nurses use them.
- Prepare ahead of time and have things that are extremely important to you that no matter what you want at the end of the day and include that on your birth plan.
- Include your support person's name and if you know the gender of the baby to make it a little bit more personalized.
- Include what makes you feel more comfortable.
- If you're planning on having an unmedicated birth, what tools do you have in place, or what things would you like the availability of a shower or a bath?
- Do you have a doula with you and what's their name?
- Add when you want to have an epidural.
- How are you going to manage your pain throughout the labor and delivery process?
- What do you want in the case of an emergency C section? Do you want someone with you in the room?
- Do you want to do skin to skin in the operating room?
- Are you planning on exclusively breastfeeding?
- Have you hand expressed some colostrum ahead of time and you have that stored?
- Who do you want in the room with you postpartum?
- Do you not want your baby bathed at all in hospital?
[20:55] When is it the right time to give your birth plan at the hospital? When you first arrive, give your nurse your birth plan. Have an extra copy just in case.
[22:14] Sydney loves when her patients give her a thank you card. She keeps every one she gets and puts them in a book that she'll pull out if she's having a bad day.
[24:08] What are your favorite positions for moms to birth in? Motion is the best thing you can do while in labor. It helps to engage the baby in the proper position to come lower into the pelvis. She's a huge advocate for the peanut ball. That's one of those positions that you can easily do with an epidural or if you need a more restful position. Her favorite thing to do if you are in early labor and you don't have an epidural yet, is to use a birthing ball. Sit on it, move your hips, go in circles, side to side, or just to do some really low deep squats. Moms can also hold onto the bed and squat down really low. Be on your feet, walk around as much as you can, as much as you feel comfortable. It's important for baby to be in that right position. And if you can do everything you can to kind of facilitate that, then why not?
[28:15] How can women utilize their nurses to help them along with labor? Nurses can grab the peanut ball or birthing ball for you, bring you hospital guides on positions you can change to, they can physically help you change positions, etc. They are on your team!
[30:21] A question mamas always ask, "What if I poop during labor?" Sydney says, "At this point, I've seen so many deliveries and like 90% of women poop, and it makes me happy. If I see my patient pushing really well, and there's a little bit of poop, I'm like, 'Yes, this girl's doing it right. She's pushing in the right spot.' I make sure no one else sees the poop. I have a way to like clean it up really discreetly. It's really not something you need to stress about. I know if I was the patient on the other end, I probably would be worrying about it too. You don't want your partner to see that. You don't want people to just see that. But at the end of the day, what's most important is that you're safe, your baby's safe, and if a little bit of poop is involved in that, it really doesn't matter. Birth is just a little bit messy. It involves lots of fluids. It's just a part of the process.
[33:55] How soon after birth does a mom need to pee/bowel movements before it becomes concerning? Sometimes after birth, people do have trouble going to the bathroom. It's pretty common, especially if you've had a catheter put in. Usually you have about six hours to actually pee on your own. This varies a little bit from hospital to hospital. An empty bladder helps with your bleeding postpartum as well. So if you have a really full bladder, it's hard for your uterus to contract down and prevent any of that bleeding. Nurses want to make sure your bladder is nice and empty. Even during labor sometimes, nurses want your bladder to be quite empty as well.
For poop, it doesn't really become concerning until it's been like, three weeks and mom hasn't pooped. Typically, you'l be given a stool softener or something to help your bowels to soften before you actually go. It's also important to keep your fluids up when you're postpartum. Drinking lots and lots of water and eating healthy foods like fruits, veggies, and anything that's high in fiber to help your bowels to start moving.
[38:35] Where to find Sydney:
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