How Nurses Are Coping in the Current Climate

The AWHONN Insights Content Advisory Board discusses the current challenges faced by nurses and how they’re coping. The conversation centers on self-care strategies, emotional coping, and the importance of support within the nursing profession. The group explores ways to nurture creativity and resilience amid the constantly evolving and demanding landscape of obstetrics and women’s health.

Support for the AWHONN Insights episode How Nurses Are Coping in the Current Climate was provided by Medela.

Meet our guests:

Jamie Agunsday, MA, MSN, RNC-OB

Jamie Agunsday is a master’s prepared Registered Nurse who has spent 11 years serving women and birthing families in New Jersey. As a labor nurse, Jamie was deeply impacted by seeing women experience serious pregnancy related complications. She spent 5 years telling the stories of women in NJ who died from complications of their pregnancies to the NJ Maternal Mortality Review Committee. Jamie recently joined a nonprofit where she partners with clinicians, leaders, and community members to ensure that healthcare teams have the knowledge they need to support birth equity, family empowerment, and joy in safe clinical settings.

Jamie’s work crosses sectors into the arenas of public health, education, and patient advocacy. She has a long history of advocacy and is involved extensively in AWHONN on the state and national level. She was an AWHONN Emerging Leader in the 2022 cohort. Jamie is regularly featured on the AWHONN Insights Podcast as a member of the content advisory board. Jamie is a nationally recognized public speaker and thought leader. Through her efforts, Jamie seeks to center the voices and amplify the stories of those most impacted by adverse outcomes to help make meaningful improvements in the health of all those giving birth.

Lakisa Ballard, RN, MSN, C-EFM, RNC-OB

Lakisa Ballard is a Clinical Nurse Education Specialist in Labor and Delivery. Her years of nursing experience span labor and delivery, high-risk antepartum, and postpartum in hospitals across the US. Her mission is to impact the perinatal workforce through tools, knowledge, and support that produce the best patient outcomes. She’s passionate about fostering supportive learning environments derived from evidence-based practice. Lakisa is a Maryland Maternal Mortality Review Team board member. In November 2022, she was awarded the Sandy Chapman Rising Star award at the National Perinatal Leadership Conference.

Shannon Francois, MSN-E, RNC-OB

Shannon Francois is a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner with a strong commitment to supporting women’s health across all stages of life. She is currently pursuing certification as a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) to expand her expertise in providing holistic care. With a background in nursing education and inpatient obstetrics, Shannon is deeply passionate about women’s mental health and its critical role in overall well-being. As the mother of twin girls, she is personally and professionally dedicated to supporting mental health, both for women and their families. Shannon is committed to advancing women’s healthcare by empowering women to make informed decisions about their health and promoting integrated, patient-centered care in the field of women’s health.

LaShea Haynes, M.Ed, MSN, AGCNS-BC, APRN, RNC, C-EFM

Lashea Haynes has obstetrical and perinatal nursing experience and expertise that spans 26 years in labor and delivery, antepartum, and mother/baby. She’s worked as a board-certified clinical nurse specialist, nursing instructor, and perinatal outreach educator. She’s provided high-risk perinatal education to various hospitals and audiences throughout her region. LaShea is the editor of Healthy Mom&Baby magazine and the founder and owner of her own nursing mentoring and education consulting company. She’s also a Designated Instructor Trainer in Fetal Monitoring and Obstetric Patient Safety. LaShea is an active AWHONN member, Vice Chair of the AWHONN Section Advisory Committee, and past two-term Georgia section chair. In 2022, she received the AWHONN Distinguished Professional Service Award and The Award of Excellence in Education.

Jennifer Peterman, MSN, CRNP, PMHNP-BC, IBCLC

Jennifer Peterman has been a Women’s Health nurse for over 30 years. She received her bachelor of science in nursing from The College of New Jersey and is certified by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners. She received her master’s degree from Drexel University and is a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Jennifer has been an advocate in the field of lactation, mentoring hospitals on achieving Baby Friendly Designation. She is currently a Clinical Practice leader on the Postpartum and Well Baby units at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Jennifer has been an active AWHONN member, including on the editorial advisory board for Health Mom&Baby Magazine. Jennifer is passionate about maternal mental health and continues to advocate for increased awareness and resources.

Kimber Stovesand, RN, BSN

Kimber Stovesand is an experienced labor and delivery nurse and newly graduated midwife that has a passion for delivering quality, evidence-based care before, during and after childbirth. She recently graduated with her Masters in Nurse Midwifery from East Carolina University. She is an AWHONN Emerging Leader in the 2024-2025 cohort. She enjoys assisting birthing bodies in the liminal space of the delivery room and loves being a witness to the miracle of each person coming into their own strength. Her goals include eliminating disparities in care, increasing patient and provider collaboration and empowering patients with the knowledge and resources to claim birth as intimately and unmistakably theirs.

Jessica Irrobali, MSN, RNC-OB, CHSE, C-ONQS, C-EFM

Jessica Irrobali is the Director of Collaborative Clinical Programs at the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). With extensive experience in perinatal high-risk critical care, she has served as a perinatal educator, maternal designation/critical care coordinator, and surveyor for Levels of Maternal Care. Jessica has demonstrated her expertise and dedication by leading the expansion of the post-birth warning signs education toolkit and improving resources for rural and critical access hospitals. Her initiatives include developing a post-birth warning signs app and translating patient materials into 50 languages. She has also produced educational videos for clinicians and patients to enhance their understanding of post-birth warning signs. Jessica travels nationwide to teach AWHONN’s Obstetric Patient Safety Program and advocate for simulation-based learning in various healthcare settings. Additionally, she co-hosts the AWHONN Insights Podcast and directs AWHONN’s Emerging Leader Program to cultivate future nursing leaders and advance the profession.