When I think back to the birth of my second child, tears fill my eyes. I think about my labor and delivery nurse and how her actions that day affected the trajectory of my life, my son’s life, and the future of our family.

After 13 hours of laboring in the hospital, it took only 21 minutes of pushing to hear, “only one more push, Jessica, and you will be able to hold your baby,”  followed by a sudden shout to stop pushing.…It was shoulder dystocia.  My mind went straight to worst case scenarios. Was my baby getting oxygen, would he have brain damage? Is his shoulder going to be broken? I don’t care if he has broken bones, bones heal, just make sure he can breathe!

The next few minutes were all a blur... but there was a voice that I will never forget: the firm voice of my labor and delivery nurse who said, “Doctor, would you like me to call for another set of hands?” She wasn’t asking for permission, she was politely informing the doctor of her intent to ask for assistance because she knew it was needed. The doctor nodded as my nurse stepped closer to me, looked in my eyes and smiled as she pushed the call button.  A moment later, the already crowded room began to fill with more people. My nurse and another doctor were doing all they could to change the position of my baby.  And, in this chaotic scene I again heard that firm voice calmly say, “Doctor. Would you like me to call in a NICU team?”  The doctor nodded yes and the NICU team quickly arrived to wait for my son’s birth and take over his care.

I was blessed with a perfectly healthy child; not one bruise on his body, no torn muscles, no broken bones, and no lack of oxygen to his brain. He was unscathed during his traumatic birth. It may have been my doctor’s hands that brought my son into the world, but it was my nurse’s voice that I credit for my son’s health and our future without the need for further medical treatment. Our nurse changed our lives. 

                                                                                                                        -Jessica

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