Words From a Nurse That Saved My Delivery #ThankYouNurses

This review was made possible by iConnect and Pampers.  I was provided compensation to facilitate this post, but all opinions stated are 100% mine.

The room was cold and bright with fluorescent lights. So bright I could barely keep my eyes open.

Everything felt so sterile. And indeed it was as I laid my eyes on all the medical tools and equipment surrounding me in the operating room.

She took my hand and gave me a pillow to hold over my stomach, as the anesthesiologist instructed me to arch my back in cat pose.

I was terrified of this moment, as years of chronic back pain filled my mind while he pricked several points on my spine looking for the right spot to inject the needle.

And when the burning sensation came, I moaned in anguish.

Words From a Nurse That Got Me Through It

But there she was offering her arms and chest for me to cling to. So I did. I wrapped my arms around her body and pressed my face onto her chest, hugging her tightly, as she reiterated the simplest but impactful words.

“Relax and just go with it. You’re doing great.”

I needed her in that moment. Her encouraging words, her physical support, her presence.

I didn’t plan on having a c-section, but it was medically necessary so I had to face the music and get the spinal tap I so desperately feared.

Alone. Because it’s a procedure where they make your significant other wait outside the room. No one is there to be your moral support and encouragement during this terrifying moment. No one except your nurse, who in that moment almost becomes family, as you learn to rely on her for every physical and emotional support called for.

And then as your body becomes numb and you’re strapped down, arms open with blanket separating you and baby, there she remains by your side, during that dreaded surgery.

So despite the fear and anxiety that encompassed me, her words, “Relax and just go with it,” remained with me to give me strength, until I met my baby boy!

Thank You Nurses

Nurses play such an essential role throughout every moment of a mom’s labor and delivery. Even though the perception may be that nurses are just there as backup to assist doctors, they are actually front and center in most cases. Their dedication to providing the best care is seen from the onset, as they do whatever it takes to get you through the experience.

In fact, nurses do their job so well that you start tossing out any insecurities or shame you may have brought with you and simply learn to trust them.

From guiding you through whatever type of delivery you had to showing you how to swaddle and feed baby, nurses leave a deep, long-lasting impression that remains with you, long after the hospital stay.

That’s why in honor of National Nurse’s Appreciation Week, Pampers is celebrating the essential role nurses play during those early moments between newborns and parents.

The first annual Thank You Nurses campaign, in partnership with the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), honors nurses across three award categories: Labor & delivery, NICU and Postpartum.

And Pampers Swaddlers is announcing a grand prize nurse honoree to acknowledge her dedication and commitment to making life better for babies and new parents.

Labor & Delivery nurse, Anne Gallagher, was selected as the Pampers Swaddlers #ThankYouNurses Award Grand Prize honoree! Anne has been a nurse for 38 years and is currently a nurse at University of Illinois Hospital. She focuses on empowering moms to form special bonds with their newborns.

You can learn more about the Grand Prize #ThankYouNurses Award winner and check out her incredible story HERE.

#ThankYouNurses Twitter Party

To celebrate, iConnect will host a #ThankYouNurses Twitter Party on Wednesday May 11th from 8-9pm. Prizes include:

The post Words From a Nurse That Saved My Delivery #ThankYouNurses appeared first on Mommy's Bundle.