Postpartum Nurse's Role In The Maternity Unit

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Today, my patient refused to have nursing students, and because the census was so low on the Pediatric Unit, I was floated to the Maternity Unit. Being in this unit, I was able to see multiple newborn babies who were in good health and did not have to be transferred to the NICU. I was also able to watch over a mother who was in the hospital to give birth to her second child. Something that surprised me was how many nurses were on the unit and all had different jobs. Some nurses took care of the laboring mother, there were postpartum nurses, and some charge nurses. There are so many different roles in the maternity unit, with all the moving parts of labor, care of the newborn, and care of the mother after giving birth. Nothing challenged me while in the Maternity Unit because I was just observing. …show more content…
I was able to observe a cervix check on a woman who was brought in early to be induced due to her having gestational hypertension. For this mother, I offered her basic care of water, food, and other needs she may want during the time of her stay. I was also able to observe multiple newborns getting stuck for a blood sugar test. While these newborns were getting this test, I was asked to have the baby suck on my pinky finger with a glove on to comfort them.

The mother that I was with on this day had her husband with her and had two other children at home. The husband was very attentive to his wife and the wife was very thankful for him. They were willing to have a student nurse observe for the day because they know that we are trying to learn. During my time on this unit, I watched the wife and husband go for multiple walks around the unit, call their children, and the husband started a bath for his wife to