Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Working with Nurses

At my office - and particularly in my department - I work with a lot of nurses. Many of them were labor and delivery nurses prior to coming to work here at NFP. And when we have education sessions (as we did last week) we have many more nurses from all over the country come to town for training.

In the last several months, I've discovered a few things about working with labor and delivery nurses while pregnant. They like to check up on you. Which is nice because it's a sign that they care! But sometimes it's a little much...

For example, for the last month or more, my feet have been enormously swollen. This is actually just normal for me during pregnancy. It's happened every time. I don't LIKE it, but I'm fairly used to it.

But I can't tell you how many times each week I am talking with one of the nurses or just passing in the hall and I see her eyes stray down to check out my feet. Before long, the conversation shifts to... So how are you feeling? Any headaches? Been seeing any spots? I'm constantly being evaluated for pre-eclampsia. :) For now, they're taking my assurances that I have feel fine and my blood pressure is nice and low. But I expect any day now that someone is going to haul out the blood pressure cuff and start checking that, too!

Of course, the flip side of this is that if I have a question or a problem, I'm surrounded by nurses. I can always track down someone to get an opinion. In previous pregnancies, I've hated the thought that I might go into labor at work. I dreaded that more than anything and was terribly relieved when it never happened. This time around, maybe going into labor at work wouldn't be so bad. At least I'd have plenty of people around who would know what to do. :D

4 comments:

Amy said...

That is a great bonus! (I missed going into labor at work with Addy by a half hour, and worse-going into labor on the city bus by 10 minutes.)

Heidi said...

My goodness... what is NFP? well at least you know exactly where to go if you start to have any signs of labor. Good for you for looking at it with a positive attitude.

taradon said...

Amy - Going into labor or having my water break is my new fear for this pregnancy! (Since this is the 1st time I've been taking the bus during pregnancy.)

Heidi - NFP is the Nurse-Family Partnership. It's a visiting nurse service where the nurses visit low-income 1st time moms during pregnancy and the 1st 2 years of baby's life.

Melissa said...

Well, you're certainly in good company if he does arrive at work! L&D nurses rock, such caring people. I say relish being watched over so closely - it's just extra love!