Before, During, and After Pregnancy For Nurses... For Parents... Labor & Delivery Random Things Every Woman Needs to Know About Their Labor Nurse March 13, 2015April 25, 2016 Adventures of a Labor Nurse 17770 Views 29 Comments core, delivery, labor, nurse, nursing, OB, patient, patients, pregnancy, pregnant When we take care of a patient in labor, they really have nooooo idea how much we try to take care of them. We basically know everything about them, and they know very little about us… We don’t care if you shaved your legs…or any other part of your body 😉 No matter how bad you think your stretch marks are, we will not notice them We are fueled by caffeine …and (sometimes) energy drinks We have a pretty sick sense of humor We can literally think of 100 different words to say “vagina” We can find a way to eat almost anything in less than 5 minutes Many of us have a mouth like a sailor :/ If we think someone is treating you wrong, we will fight for you We will eat anything left at the nurse’s station or in the breakroom We do not take care of men 😞 There’s a good chance you can find alcohol pads, scissors, a marker, lipgloss, and at least two pens in our pockets We know how you got here 😉 Until my next delivery ❤ Be a part of a delivery and share with friends:PrintTumblrFacebookTwitterLinkedInPinterestRedditLike this:Like Loading... Related
HughMarch 13, 2015 at 7:07 pmPermalink I am a pediatric nurse and I love this site, so true I would be in the delivery room for possible problems with the infant. Reply
AnonymousMarch 14, 2015 at 10:45 amPermalink Actually we do care when you haven’t shaved, and so do the doctors. . . . Reply
adventuresofalabornursePost authorMarch 14, 2015 at 1:55 pmPermalink Well I don’t shave so I don’t care! Reply
tlcat625March 14, 2015 at 2:51 pmPermalink As a student nurse, when I first saw a woman who had shaved her pubic hair it totally grossed me out. I’d rather not see bare areas that seem designed to have hair! Reply
Jacob MearseMarch 13, 2015 at 7:30 pmPermalink So true except for the lipgloss. But then, not all labor nurses are women. :) Reply
LisaMarch 14, 2015 at 3:27 amPermalink Substituted “Blistex” for this nurse, and you got it!!! LOL Oh, and cord clamp cutter, Sharpie (for labeling IV bags and vials, etc), and Listerine breath strips to disguise the end of shift coffee breath, and Glysomed hand lotion…my hands would shrivel up and fall off without that!! Reply
adventuresofalabornursePost authorMarch 14, 2015 at 3:28 amPermalink Sharpie was the marker I was talking about ? Reply
Gerry AjestaMarch 13, 2015 at 11:14 pmPermalink I may not be a labor nurse but still I totally get this, so true. I am nodding and smile wider and wider for every item in there. :) That was such a fun read. Reply
cindi herbertMarch 13, 2015 at 11:35 pmPermalink I love love love these stories. They are fabulous. .you should write a book…REALLY NOT KIDDING ….BEST SELLER FOR SURE KEEPS ME IN STICHES. WELL NOT THE SAD ONE NOT BRINGING HOME THE BABY. OR THE MOM PASSED I CRIED..YOU HAVE A RARE TALENT .HUMOR COMPASSION EMPATHY.SYMPATHY.AND LOVE OF YOUR JOB..KEEP IT UP… Reply
adventuresofalabornursePost authorMarch 14, 2015 at 12:10 amPermalink I hope one day I do….I love it? Reply
EmilyMarch 16, 2015 at 3:22 pmPermalink Actually, yes, you should absolutely compile these into a book. The sad ones too. The stuff you post has real value. Reply
SharanMarch 14, 2015 at 3:44 pmPermalink To the student nurse who was grossed out by a shaved pubis.. Trust me, you will see much more “gross” things on a patient in a hospital setting than a shaved pubis so maybe you better consider a different profession if a little thing like this grosses you out. Not that long ago EVERY woman who came into have a baby got a complete shave–complete. And guess whose job it was to do that!! And let me reassure moms to be who are reading this I don’t care if you have hair here, there, everywhere or none at all and I have never encountered a fellow nurse in L&D who though any different. Hello to my old friend Robin Roby! Reply
adventuresofalabornursePost authorMarch 14, 2015 at 3:48 pmPermalink My friend Robin too! !! ? OB is such a small world. Reply
tlcat625March 14, 2015 at 4:10 pmPermalink As a student nurse, things are all so new. I can reassure you, Sharan, this is not an impediment to me becoming a labor and delivery nurse. When things like this are so new, it takes awhile to adjust. Are you indicating that “gross” things never took time for you to adjust to? I hardly think so. There have been many things I had to get used to in my firsthand, hands-on exposure to the nursing profession. I am hardly alone. My classmates and still laugh about things like that! BUT, I would never indicate my discomfort or shock at seeing some crazy stuff because that would be unprofessional and insensitive. Reply
trishascoffeebreakMarch 19, 2015 at 3:47 pmPermalink It’s OK tlcat625; as an ‘old’ nurse, I still consider some things ‘gross’; and we still love the owner. Who hasn’t been a little grossed out by a fresh pool of vomit on the bedroom carpet – but you still love the sweet child who spewed it. Right? Own the profession, own the rights to your definition of gross. Shaving or not isn’t one of my quirks. But we all have them of one sort or another. Enjoy your education and soon to be profession, wherever it is. Own it, and continue to be honest. #still making memories. Reply
AnonymousMarch 14, 2015 at 6:28 pmPermalink Loved reading this!!!! As a L&D RN and a mommy about to give birth for the second time in a just a couple of days. If I could shave, I would. But that’s so far from my reality at the moment ha! #longhairdon’tcare :) Reply
barbara edwardsMarch 15, 2015 at 12:14 pmPermalink Does anybody give float nurses any credit? HEY WE CAN GO TO A CODE IN THE Emergency Room get pulled to on help with a delivery,watch the nursery ,cover a call in on medical surgical floor ,etc and do it all in 8 hrs So let’s hear for the Great Float nurses Reply
Susie SmithMarch 27, 2017 at 7:08 pmPermalink In all the 35 years I have worked as a L&D RN, I’ve never seen a FLOAT nurse attend a delivery as her assignment. Just saying. Reply
AnonymousMarch 21, 2015 at 9:20 pmPermalink I was a prn nurse for about 6 months never so happy there was an opening in the IV dept Reply
Jane byrneMarch 22, 2015 at 9:02 amPermalink I am a midwife, I’ve seen vaginas in varying states of hair, wear and… tear and I don’t care. What I would say however is this…top tip: don’t suture bits of hair into the perineum-brush it out of the way….. My Job is glam. Reply
nightingale1221April 26, 2016 at 2:31 amPermalink I am always happy when they shave “down there” so I don’t have to deal with it. With a repeat C-section, I don’t have to shave it. With a vag delivery it is so much easier to wash them up afterward. I am all about making life easier for me at this point in the nursing game. To each their own. My only thought is, “who did it for them?” It has to be hard to shave over that beach ball belly! Reply
Katya1July 1, 2017 at 1:07 amPermalink Your patients will sense your lack of empathy. It is worse for them than for you. You can choose your profession, they cant always choose their delivery nurse, and for their sake I hope their nurse is not fazed by pubic hair because pregnancy and labour are hard enough as it is, without worrying about other peoples feelings about our pubic hair. Reply
nightingale1221March 9, 2018 at 8:54 amPermalink My patients never sense a lack of empathy from me, because I cheerfully clean them up no matter what the state of their “lady bits.” My statement was more of a comment on how many women come in these days cleanly shaven. I have actually had women apologize to me for not getting waxed prior to their arrival (which blows my mind). It would have never crossed my mind back in the day that I had my children (though I made sure I was freshly showered). Yes, it is easier to clean up afterward but it doesn’t really matter to me one way or the other…the job will get done. I think you misunderstood the meaning of my comment. Pubic hair is not the strangest thing I have seen in between women’s legs. It is not something that I would judge someone over. Choice of tattoo…perhaps…piercings…maybe…what nature gave you…nope. Reply
