What Happens Right Before Delivery with Labor & Delivery RN Hailey — Episode 165

Today we’re chatting about those few minutes (sometimes hours) before delivery. What to expect from the hospital staff and your provider.

Today’s guest is Hailey. She is a labor & delivery nurse who lives for helping you create a beautiful birth memory! Hailey is a face behind Labor Nurse Hailey at Your Cervix on Instagram and has been affectionately coined by all her night shift gals as “the crunchiest labor nurse on the unit”. Find her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/labornursehailey_atyourcervix/

This episode was inspired by my post on what happens at delivery.

Big thanks to our sponsor The Online Prenatal Class for Couples — if you want to know more about what happens in the hospital it is the class for you. Save with the coupon code mentioned in the episode.

In this episode

What happens when it’s time to push

When we call your provider (and when they come)

Why they slow down pushes right at the end

What moms often feel after delivery

My review of the Rachel & Ross Birth Scene: https://www.tiktok.com/@pregnancynurse/video/7133575421139881258

Other things that might interest you

Making your partner part of the birth team episode

Delivery Room Rules

Labor fears episode

Producer: Drew Erickson

Check out my other pregnancy podcasts:

Transcript

[00:00:00.190] – Hilary Erickson

Hey, guys. Welcome to the Pulling Curls Podcast. Today on episode 165, we are talking about what happens at, well, like, right before delivery. Just rewind delivery an hour or so. What happens right then? Let’s untangle it.

[00:00:23.130] – Hilary Erickson

Hi. I’m Hilary Harrison in the curly head behind the Pulling Curls Podcast: pregnancy and parenting untangled. There’s no right answer for every family, but on this show, we hope to give you some ideas to make life simpler at your house. Life’s tangled just like my hair.

[00:00:44.650] – Hilary Erickson

Okay, I want to introduce today’s guest. I have found her, I’m pretty sure, on Instagram, where her handle is @yourcervix, which is, like, my favorite. She is a labor and delivery nurse who loves creating beautiful births and memories of the birth. She is Hailey @yourcervix on Instagram, and she has been coined by her fellow birth nurses as the crunchiest labor nurse on the unit, which I absolutely love. I want to introduce today’s guest. Haley.

[00:01:11.270] – Hilary Erickson

Do you feel prepared for your delivery? In just three short hours, you can be prepared for the confident, collaborative delivery you want. You’ll know what to expect and how to talk with your health care team. And there are no boring lessons in this class. I’ll use humor stories from my 20 years in the delivery room to engage both of you. I love how Alyssa told me that she found herself laughing at things that used to sound scary. Most of all, you guys are going to be on the same page. From bump to bassinet, join the online prenatal class for couples today. You can save 15% with coupon code UNTANGLED. You can find the link in the show notes.

[00:01:45.750] – Hilary Erickson

Hey, Haley. Welcome to the Pulling Curls Podcast.

[00:01:48.870] – Hailey

Hello. How are you? Hillary?

[00:01:50.820] – Hilary Erickson

I love having fellow labor nurses on here. It’s just like giving the dirt behind the nurses station.

[00:01:57.330] – Hailey

I know, exactly. It’s like that inside little scoop.

[00:02:01.060] – Hilary Erickson

The G rated. Haley and I were just saying all the squares that we end up using at the nurses station, so we’ll try and keep it clean for everyone and their children today. Okay, so, today we want to talk about what happens before, like, right before delivery, because I think a lot of that is a black hole in people’s minds. I think people envision them with their baby right after delivery, but it’s just, like, blank as to what happens before them. Maybe they thought of, like, Rachel Green pushing, right?

[00:02:29.760] – Hailey

Yes.

[00:02:31.830] – Hilary Erickson

So when you get to 10, we feel like you’re ready to push, we’ll start pushing. Well, usually I’ll call a doctor. When you’re 10, we start to push just to give them a heads up, right? Yeah.

[00:02:41.900] – Hailey

I would say it definitely depends on your provider. We’ve got a couple that really love to just be called when half the head is out as a joke. We always joke that half the head is out, but really, it’s just like a good crown and the patient’s pushing well, and then they want to be called.

[00:02:56.520] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah.

[00:02:57.120] – Hailey

We have a laborer in house, so we have a provider that is there 24 hours a day. They trade off every 12 hours. So if for some reason their preference is a little too last minute, then the labor still deliver the patient. But otherwise, we’ll usually let them know when the patient’s complete and we’re either starting to push or they have an urge to push. So they can decide if they want to head in at that point or if they want us to just call them back and let them know. But depending on your provider, most providers want an update. Some are just like, call me when you need me to come put the gloves on.

[00:03:34.430] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah, I will say it’s just a heads up call. I never expect them. Unless it’s like, your 6th baby. And then I’m like, I’m not pushing with this girl. We could laugh this baby out at this point.

[00:03:45.390] – Hailey

Yes.

[00:03:46.590] – Hilary Erickson

I’m not even telling jokes in that room.

[00:03:48.970] – Hailey

No, it’s just silent.

[00:03:51.070] – Hilary Erickson

I have funeral music going on in there.

[00:03:52.840] – Hailey

Yeah. I’m like, all right, don’t breathe, don’t fart, don’t laugh. Like it’s just going to come out otherwise. Don’t sneeze, don’t throw up.

[00:04:03.900] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. So I think a lot of people envision their OB GYN with them while they’re pushing, and that may happen. Well, some doctors I’ve had doctors who love to be in there and push, bless their hearts. Like, two of them, over like, 30 doctors. Yeah, it’s just not common. And midwives. Midwives love to be in there and help you push. So if you have a midwife, you can expect them to likely be in there. Maybe not all the time, but they love to be in there, see the progress, see what we could do to speed things up for you. But most of the time, it’s the nurse doing the job because, honestly, we’re the best at it. That’s a lot of our training. And we tend to have a personality that’s like a cheerleader, like, yes, you can do this. Let’s do this.

[00:04:41.640] – Hailey

Yes, it’s 100%. I always tell my patient that I want you to know, can you hear my voice getting higher and louder? Because if that’s happening and I’m getting higher and louder and I’m getting more excited with your pushing, that means you’re pushing so good to just keep doing whatever you’re doing. The louder I get, the closer your baby is. I know that sounds so strange. I always tell my coworkers, they always know when I’m pushing with a patient and my patient is doing well because they won’t hear me at the start of pushing. And then right near the end, they can hear me screaming from down the hall like, yes, it is so good. Keep going. That’s it.

[00:05:19.570] – Hilary Erickson

I know the worst. My kids, when they were little, they’d be like, I can’t get the door open and I’d be like, keep pushing, keep pushing. More, harder. My dad would last. Just because we all have these zones we get into, we’re like, yeah, you got it. Go.

[00:05:36.260] – Hailey

Yes.

[00:05:37.080] – Hilary Erickson

It’s a lot of cheerleading because it’s small. It’s small games. Like, for most people, they’d be like, that baby has not come very far. But for a labor nurse, you’re like, that’s amazing.

[00:05:47.650] – Hailey

Oh, yes. The process of that final leg of birth, I mean, birth is just amazing in general. To see the whole entire process from start to finish and be a part of it in any aspect is amazing. But to see that last little bit where that patient is pushing and pushing effectively, like, seeing a baby born is, like, one of the most beautiful things in the world. I always tell my patients that pushing is usually a marathon, not a sprint, especially if it’s your first baby. So a lot of times it is like that three steps forward, two steps back, three steps forward, two steps back, because you’re trying to work that baby down. Each centimeter of movement is like miles in a marathon. So even if it feels like it’s so long and it’s taking forever, like, every little bit you push, if you’re pushing effectively, you are moving that baby with every push. It’s just getting them all the way under that pubic bone. And once you hit that point, baby ain’t going anywhere. Baby is coming out. There’s no more backing up. That baby is coming.

[00:06:50.990] – Hilary Erickson

Yes. And as a labor nurse, one of our big things that we learn in training is when to call the doctor, when that point is, because it’s pretty much once that baby slips under the pubic boma and they don’t back up anymore, there’s no backing up.

[00:07:03.120] – Hailey

Yes. It’s completely an exit. Well, in that sense, it’s a complete exit, not an entrance.

[00:07:11.590] – Hilary Erickson

It’s multi. Use that area.

[00:07:13.580] – Hailey

Yes.

[00:07:14.650] – Hilary Erickson

All right, so then we call your doctor, and we’re like and part of our job is to know how far away your doctor is. Part of our job is to think about what the traffic is that day. Part of our job is to know, oh, it’s Tuesday, he’s in surgery, he’s just at the hospital. Part of our job is to know he’s in surgery, and now we’re totally screwed because he’s scrubbed it. So your labor nurse has so many things that we’re thinking about at that point, and our job is to think about all those things. So all or patient has to do is to just push and us to time it right.

[00:07:42.820] – Hailey

Yes.

[00:07:43.620] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. So after we call the doctor, then at least at my hospital, we would, like, clean you off with just some lightly soapy water just to get the area clean in case you were to tear. There wouldn’t be a lot of bacteria or whatever down there. I’m honestly not even sure why we prep the area, because as soon as I’m done. I’m like, well, that was useless. Do you do that at your hospital?

[00:08:04.250] – Hailey

We had a doctor that used to work with us that did a true vaginal prep with the Beta dine. Yeah, that’s kind of old school. But to be honest with you, we’ll kind of wipe you off as things are going on, but when it kind of gets to that nittygritty point, we kind of just let it all go. Obviously, I will say, if you are having a bottle movement, obviously we’re kind of, like, casually, discreetly getting that out of the way every time. So that’s not a factor. But otherwise, we’re just kind of like we don’t do any major prepping of the vagina or anything like that. It’s just kind of like as it is.

[00:08:42.250] – Hilary Erickson

This doctor went Betadine to Betas. Is it beta scept? What’s the other clear one? Which we were like, come on. This is mucus membrane. So now it’s just a little bit of baby wash. I don’t know. But even all that. So they may prep you. They may just wash you off a little bit down there. Who knows? And then usually then we would get out the stirrups. We’ve got out the handles. The bed turns into like a whole thing. Now, of course, it’s super controversial. Nobody wants to birth on their back on social media, but having the bed that way is super important because if we have to stitch up a tear or anything like that, we need those stirrups available. People can birth however the heck they want, but I have to say that a lot of people really enjoy birthing on their back so that they can rest in between contractions. What do you think, Haley?

[00:09:24.880] – Hailey

I’ve had a couple I would say more so natural mamas that feel like hands and knees is definitely way more comfortable for them. I would say it’s not something our doctors are comfortable with. I’ve been a part of a couple of hands and ease deliveries that have been totally fine. It is a little awkward to get the baby up to mom, but it’s totally doable. But I would say that’s more of a midwife okay preference than a OB okay preference. And it’s not so much that they’re not about letting you do what you want. It’s just that they are just not comfortable with that. That’s just not how they’ve been trained. So they’re kind of, like, resorting to what they know. They’re like, oh, this works. Usually patients, I feel like, that have epidural. Your nurses, I mean, historically, especially, I feel like nurses that are really seasoned or new nurses that have extreme passion for the job are very willing to be like, hey, let’s do a couple of pushes in this semi reclined like sodomy. And then let’s get in hands and knees. Let’s push on your side. Let’s get the squat bar.

[00:10:27.940] – Hailey

Squat bar. I’m a huge fan. I’ve had, like, multiple RN deliveries are almost missed deliveries of squat bars. They’re my favorite primates. Multi. Doesn’t matter. Love the squat bar. So I feel like a lot of nurses will kind of pull out those tricks, tug of war, handlebars, let’s do this, let’s do that. I think if you’re open to wanting to push in different positions or maybe one position is not as effective as another and another one is more effective, usually your labor nurses are going to be pretty open to doing that for you during the pushing process. And then usually if you’re delivering with your OB and your observations, press that they’re not comfortable with a different position besides lothatomy or you’re delivering with a doctor who by chance is not your doctor because sometimes that does happen depending on who’s on call. If you come in an active labor on your own, if that’s not their comfort level, then we can push however we want. I was joking. Station can push however we want because your doctor’s in bed right now or in the office.

[00:11:33.230] – Hilary Erickson

In the office or in the office.

[00:11:35.090] – Hailey

Or they are down the hall, hall in their call room waiting for me to call them or they’re in surgery downstairs. They’re focused on something else right now. So we can push however is comfortable. And then when that baby is right there and ready to come, no matter what position we push and that baby is going to come.

[00:11:55.360] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah.

[00:11:55.710] – Hailey

So at that point then if the doctor wants more of like a lothatomy position, I would say usually we kind of move into that position. Obviously if the patient is completely adamant, if they don’t want to do that, then you know what, nobody can make you do anything you don’t want to do.

[00:12:09.060] – Hilary Erickson

Right. I will say that at those last few pitches, a lot of their skill is preserving your vagina for you. Absolutely. They are best trained in. There is a very fine skill of pushing, like how they push and how they manipulate the walls of your birth canal so that they don’t tear as much. And some doctors are great at it and some aren’t. And sometimes it doesn’t matter because of your tissue type or how big your baby’s head is or different kinds of things, but they’re really trained in trying to preserve that while you’re in stirrups. Most often because it is really hard because I’ve done deliveries where the midwife is on the floor and they probably can’t take the pressure, they can’t see.

[00:12:52.600] – Hailey

They can’t get a good handle.

[00:12:56.230] – Hilary Erickson

So I think OBS tend to fall into the camp of this is how I’m going to do best. This is how I’m going to do my best work. Like if you brought your tile guy and you’re like, I want you to do it on the ceiling, but I’m used to you doing it. He’s a floor guy. He’s probably going to be like, I mean, I can do that, but I’m not sure that things are going to look as good as they normally do when I do it on the floor.

[00:13:15.270] – Hailey

Right, absolutely.

[00:13:17.470] – Hilary Erickson

I always come back to the tile guy. That’s way too much tile in my house. But I just think that’s something important for you to think of. But if you really don’t want to move, then push on Hands and Knees, and I think your provider is not going to have a fight about it. Most of the time they’re probably going to fight your nurse. They’re not going to fight the patient.

[00:13:35.660] – Hailey

Yeah.

[00:13:36.120] – Hilary Erickson

Although I did see that one creator I follow on TikTok was in Hands and Knees, had a shoulder dystopia, and then had to get on the bed.

[00:13:44.590] – Hailey

Yeah.

[00:13:45.180] – Hilary Erickson

Hard.

[00:13:46.510] – Hailey

Which is wild because Hands and Knees sometimes resolve shoulder dystotia. So that baby must have definitely just been in there. Funky. And sometimes that happens, too, with position wise of your babies. Sometimes no matter how you’re pushing or what position you’re pushing in, sometimes babies just coming out at an odd angle, their hands trying to come out at the same time as their head and stuff like that. And sometimes, no matter what sort of care we’re doing down there, pressure, warm cloth, stuff like that, sometimes it’s still just a natural process of birth, unfortunately.

[00:14:19.010] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. Unfortunately. My vagina echoes that for you, Hailey. Okay, so your doctor comes in the room. When they come, we usually have like, a set up of instruments so that is not somewhere that your partner should be touching.

[00:14:34.770] – Hailey

Yes.

[00:14:35.300] – Hilary Erickson

Because we try and keep those as clean as possible. A lot of those might end up inside of you or be used in a sterilish way. It’s hard to say that it’s sterile because your vagina obviously isn’t sterile, but we try and keep things as clean as possible because there is always a chance of getting an infection where you’ve torn, and we do not want that. No, thank you.

[00:14:53.370] – Hailey

I know. Usually our tables are covered in nice blue drapes. They’re hidden in the closet, which is fantastic because this hospital that I work at now has a delivery table hidden in every closet in every room. Whereas my last hospital, you had to run down the hall to this one closet and pull the table out and you had to race down the hallway with it. It was kind of a cluster, this one. It’s nice, discreet. It’s like, oh, you’re nine. Oh, you’re complete. Let’s bring your table out and we bring your nice delivery table out. It kind of hides in the back part of the room until we’re ready and Dock comes in and we’ll pull that blue drape off and all those instruments are kind of going to be out. Kind of visible. And all the tools they’re going to need for delivery and delivery or placenta. Any kind of repair. All that stuff is going to be all laid out and ready we got magic drawers in that table for any kind of extra stuff. We need all the things like magic.

[00:15:47.030] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. And so they’ll bring that in the room, and it’s super important or us to kind of have access to that. It gives us a lot of emergency sewing materials, all sorts of hidden catheters. There’s just so much in that table. And then the baby’s head comes out, and usually you’re like, yeah, the head’s out. And then come the shoulders, which is usually the largest part of the baby. And so that’s important. All of that time is really important to listen to your provider. They may say small pushes at certain points, and it’s just with how the baby’s head is coming through your vagina, we’re trying to preserve that as much as possible. So listen to your provider at that point. Yeah. Do you have any other tips on that part?

[00:16:25.830] – Hailey

I would definitely say trying to list them as best you can. I know that kind of sounds like kind of like a school child being scolded, but in the sense of, like, they’re really trying to talk you through the best way. So that. Like. A lot of times I’ll notice patients will start to really crown really well. And they won’t have a contraction. But the pressure is just so intense and. Like. That burning is intense because that’s the point where you hit that ring of fire and whether or not you have an epidural. If you have an epidural. That burning sensation. That stretching sensation. That doesn’t get covered with the epidural. That pressure doesn’t get covered with the epidural. So whether you’re natural or not, you’re still kind of getting that. So I’ve noticed a lot of patients, even without contractions, will get that very strong surge of pain and pressure and burning and want to push right through it, which is great in the sense that we want those powerful pushes. We want controlled, powerful pushes. If you’re not having that contraction, as hard as it is, it’s much better to let all those tissues stretch, let that baby’s head kind of stretch and naturally kind of accommodate and kind of sit there for just a second.

[00:17:31.520] – Hailey

And then when your provider is like, okay, you’re starting to get one, or that pressure gets even more intense, kind of then starting to slowly try to kind of just slightly bear down a little bit to just try to preserve those tissues as best you can. And it’s so hard. I will 100% admit I’ve been doing this for four years. I do not have a child, so I cannot say, oh, my goodness, it’s just, listen to your doctor. It’s so easy. I have no 100% idea on how hard it is to do that, but I can only imagine in that moment, whether you’re medicated or not, how it just feels like, oh, my God, I want to I want to push it. I want it over yes. But it’s so intrigued. It’s like so important to that process of just letting those tissues naturally stretch and just taking those couple extra breaths. Whether they’re like the pant blow breathing. Whether you find peace in like. Those big longer breath kind of blowing it away. Stuff like that. Or if you want to just continually say. I swear word over and over and over again for a couple of seconds.

[00:18:29.710] – Hailey

Whatever works best for you. Just to kind of give your body a couple more seconds to let those tissues really stretch and expand. Because your vagina and everything is meant to fully expand and kind of accommodate baby’s head and shoulders. So that’s extremely important if you can kind of zero in on your provider and your care team, your labor, nurses and stuff to kind of listen to what they’re saying when it comes to breathing and pushing. But obviously at the end of the day, the body is the body. The fetal ejection reflexes a thing, so sometimes that just kind of takes over.

[00:19:03.030] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. I know there’s a lot of people on social media saying. Oh. The lithotomy is where the worst tears happen. Which I disagree with. But I will say the worst tears I’ve seen are at home on an unanticipated delivery where somebody’s just in the shower and has their baby just because very unexpectedly.

[00:19:16.880] – Hailey

Yes.

[00:19:17.830] – Hilary Erickson

Because they just push that baby out and they don’t get any of that stretching time because naturally our body just wants to explode that baby out. Which is what it ends up looking like. So listening to your provider at the end is super important. No matter what position you’re in, they really are there to help guide the baby. And something that I’ve heard is a lot of people feel better by saying, oh, it burns. Because at that point we can kind of distract you with like, that’s so normal, your baby is so close to verbalize what you’re feeling and then we can talk about it and your baby really is going to be born right soon as you get towards that end. But it is. Yeah, you feel like you’re just like, get it out.

[00:19:54.980] – Hailey

Yeah. And sometimes, too, I’ve had patients that actually kind of find a little bit either encouragement and kind of a mirror at that point when baby is starting to crown a little bit, that kind of takes like a minute of distraction. I was like, oh, my God, oh, my goodness, the baby’s right there. Like, that’s what I’m feeling. Oh, my goodness, we’re touching the baby’s head. Yeah. Yes. Or reaching down and touching your baby’s head, being encouraged that a baby’s got a lot of dark hair. Or we had a baby probably about almost two years ago now that was born with like, white hair, like white hair. And as baby was crowning, we were like, oh, my goodness, your baby’s got such beautiful, bright white blonde hair. And sometimes that’s just so wonderful to hear that can sometimes just distract you and just give you that rush of wonderful feelings and emotions to kind of help you just kind of distract for a second, even if you’re kind of feeling overwhelmed or nervous or just get it out. Sometimes I’ve had patients reach down, feel that head in the moment, and they’re like, oh, my God, oh, my God.

[00:20:57.940] – Hailey

And they’re kind of, like, able to kind of recenter, kind of get some breath, like, oh, my God, I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it, and then kind of gets them a little longer to that next contraction to kind of help all those tissues stretch, kind of get ready for that next big push for the rest of the head and the shoulders, too.

[00:21:17.490] – Hilary Erickson

I think a lot of people kind of, like, act real medical at that point, but there are so many emotions in play of, oh, my gosh, my entire life is changing with this next push. Like, it’s like a wedding and a medical procedure all in one.

[00:21:34.870] – Hailey

You know, I always feel like you’re still always a mother, even when you’re still pregnant, but that’s the defining moment that that baby is here. I have so many mothers that after they’ve delivered that will just look at the baby or they’ll be watching when we’re doing vitals or if we’re doing their weights or something, and they’ll just be like, I just can’t believe they’re here. Or they’ll see their significant other hold the baby for the first time or a family member hold the baby for the first time and just be like, I just can’t believe it. I just can’t believe they’re here. They’re finally here. They’re real. I’m looking at them. I’m not pregnant anymore.

[00:22:09.070] – Hilary Erickson

I know it sometimes you’re like, it’s make believe. I’m just super fat and have a lot of gas, and that’s what’s going on in here because I can’t believe there’s actually and looking back at it, I can’t believe that my kids actually were created inside my body. That really seems to make believe to me.

[00:22:25.910] – Hailey

Now, you’re just here, you just showed up, right?

[00:22:29.870] – Hilary Erickson

It makes a lot more sense that the store could come and bring a baby, honestly. Okay, so after baby is born, we’re going to do delayed cord clamping. Now, a lot of people get their pants in a bunch. That is the standard of care. 30 to 60 seconds of delayed cord clamping. If you want it to be longer, you can. But the sad news is a lot of babies cords aren’t long. Maybe not a lot, but a good number are not long enough to stretch to where you want the baby at, right?

[00:22:55.210] – Hailey

Yeah, I’d say probably about like 60 40. I’d say like 60 or kind of shorter. They usually end up kind of like, right on your upper mid belly. And then we get a couple that I’d say like 40% of them that are like super long and juicy. You could, like, put that baby up next to your head if you really wanted to, but a lot of times they’ll have a smidgen of a shorter cord until that placena kind of starts to let go. But at that point, usually, even if it’s been a couple of minutes of delayed cord clamping at that point, we’d cut the cord at that point. So the baby’s already kind of up on your chest.

[00:23:28.430] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah.

[00:23:28.780] – Hailey

So your baby kind of ends up like on your lower belly or like your belly button area. So it’s kind of a little awkward sometimes. It can be a little hard to get a real good look at that new fancy cheesy baby of yours.

[00:23:40.570] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. Worth the delayed cord clamping. But I know a lot of people are like, why don’t they just delay cutting it forever? Well, I mean, load of birth, but we are not going to go in there today. But a lot of times it’s hard for mom to get a good look at baby and it doesn’t feel very stable with them on your upper abdomen for a lot of moms. So I think a lot of people like it when we cut the cord and baby can come up close to you where you can see them better.

[00:24:02.460] – Hailey

Yeah.

[00:24:03.280] – Hilary Erickson

So, I mean, that’s pretty much it. I will say as a nurse, there is so much work that happens in this time that we’ve talked about that’s our big lot is getting done right. You’re like calling the doctor, am I doing it right? Are all the supplies in here? Have I called the baby nurse? And then after delivery, you’re like, how was their bleeding? How is the baby? How is that?

[00:24:21.040] – Hailey

How are the vitals, the leftwing your baby, you want some pain medication, you need to eat something before we get up to the bathroom, all these things. Yes, exactly.

[00:24:29.220] – Hilary Erickson

A lot of people are like, is it just magical every time the baby is born? And I’m like, sometimes you are able to take a breath and just be, especially if I’ve been with that couple for a long time. This is amazing. It’s just magical. It’s better than disneyland. It’s amazing. But sometimes you’re just like, oh, my gosh, it’s just so much work for the nurse.

[00:24:47.020] – Hailey

Sometimes it is. It can be like your brain’s on a million things. I had a patient just a couple of nights ago that I was trying to disconnect some tubing, like one set of tubing from another set of tubing on her IV, and it was stuck. And she was asking me a question about something, and it was like kind of a semi detailed response, and I wanted to give her my full attention and give her the complete, accurate information in response. And I tried two times to start explaining it, and every time I just could not get the tubing disconnected and. I was like, I need to get this disconnected, so I need to keep moving on these fluids and things that I’m doing. And I literally said to her, I was like, I am so sorry. I said, this is, like, bothering me so much. I can’t get this disconnected. I said, I cannot focus to actually speak to you thoroughly. Let me just get this undone and finish this, and then we can have a very thorough conversation. I will break everything down. Like, there’s no emergency. Everything is good right now. I just literally cannot talk and do this at the same time.

[00:25:50.950] – Hailey

And normally, that’s not for me. Normally, I can be doing something and give a relatively good conversation and explanation, but I just could not. So sometimes there really is no time for that. Like, really good breath. Yeah.

[00:26:07.050] – Hilary Erickson

So that’s what happens with delivery. And I love how I just described it. It’s like a wedding and a medical procedure all at the same time. Everything is changing. So, yeah, it is a magical, amazing time. And this can be just as amazing. If you’re in the or. A lot of people are like, well, the operating room couldn’t be just as magical, but the first time you see that baby, it’s just a lot. Things are very real.

[00:26:29.940] – Hailey

Absolutely. I would say, too, depending on what the reason is, you’re going back to the or. For kind of dependent, I would say. I mean, regardless, the best sound in the world is the baby cry. But I feel like, depending on what reason you’re being sectioned for or if your hospital does clear drapes or drops the drape or anything like that, that cry is, like, the first thing you hear and know. Like, my baby it’s like that first real thing. And that’s just like we had a Nicky nurse the other day that said to me, she’s like, oh, I’ve never heard a better sound than when a baby cries. And that’s so true. Like, when a baby cries, and you’re like, oh, yes, we have a baby. This baby is crying. This baby is well, this baby is beautiful. It’s born at his birthday. There’s just nothing in that mom that is just, like, whether it’s right after delivery or some point after delivery that’s like, oh, my God. I did this. I did this. This is my baby. Oh, my goodness. The baby is here. There’s nothing better in the world for a labor nurse or any kind of obstetric nurse, women’s health nurse, then to have that moment with you, it’s just wonderful.

[00:27:36.350] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah. Even when we’re not the baby nurse, I’ll be like, in the middle of something else, making bands or whatever. I’ll be like, what is going on? Come on, come on, come on. And then you hear a cry, and you’re like, oh, good, yeah, we have a baby.

[00:27:47.980] – Hailey

Perfect. Lovely. Okay, great.

[00:27:49.760] – Hilary Erickson

All right, moving on. All right, thanks for coming on, Haley. Where can people find you?

[00:27:53.880] – Hailey

I have an Instagram page. It is labor north. Hailey, @yourcervix. I think I’ve had a rough night. I’ve been up all night.

[00:28:03.490] – Hilary Erickson

Yeah, @yourcervix. That’s why I was like, as soon as I saw her, I was like, we are clearly best friends because I always wanted my manager to make pence that said @yourcervix that we could just drop in patient rooms. And she was like, what if people found those outside the hospital? I was like, It would be amazing. I don’t know what you’re talking about, nifty.

[00:28:21.890] – Hailey

What kind of pen is this? Where did this come from? I’m a big pen collector, so anytime I see, like, a homeless pen, I’m like, oh, you’re coming home with me.

[00:28:31.630] – Hilary Erickson

Pens are like gold in the hospital. And a good pen. Oh, yeah, that’s like nurse porn. When you’re like, oh, look at that, right? That feels good.

[00:28:40.990] – Hailey

Yes, absolutely.

[00:28:43.390] – Hilary Erickson

All right. Find Haley at nursehaley @yourcervix. I’ll put the link in the show notes. So just click into the show notes, you’ll find her, and then follow her on Instagram. You’re on TikTok too, right? Hailey?

[00:28:52.280] – Hailey

I am. To be honest with you, I’ve only got one video on there right now. My life has been pretty crazy since, like, the very end of June. I’ve been kind of, like, really behind on life and on my Instagram page. I have a lot of things going on work, so I’m busy. I actually got coveted for the very first time at the end of July. After I had come back from a two week vacation. I went to England, so I had been overseas. I got engaged, so my life has been insane. So my page is kind of a little bit weak at the moment, but I am on TikTok. But to be honest with you, I don’t remember my name on TikTok. Either way.

[00:29:27.400] – Hilary Erickson

I think it’s a way. Find her on Instagram. Lots of great content that will reassure you before your birth. She’s not one of those scary creators, so check her out. Thanks for coming on, Hailey.

[00:29:37.470] – Hailey

Absolutely.

[00:29:38.320] – Hilary Erickson

We’ll talk to you later. All right.

[00:29:40.020] – Hailey

Bye, ladies.

[00:29:41.180] – Hilary Erickson

Okay, I hope you guys enjoyed this episode. Hailey is so fun and positive, which I think is awesome. I get tired on social media of seeing all the people who just like to rant about either doctors or birth or all those different kinds of things. I think she brings a positive light to birth experience, so definitely follow her on Instagram. And there was one other thing I was thinking about while we were chatting. I recently reviewed the Rachel and Ross Bursting, and in that she goes, I can’t. I can’t. And I have to tell you that that is so normal. It’s normal to be like, I can’t do this because there’s all those emotions, but your labor team is there to totally cheer you on. I can’t tell you how many moms have told me that they can’t and they totally could. So it’s normal to feel like you can’t totally verbalize that. That’s okay, too. But know that it is so normal.

[00:30:25.940] – Hilary Erickson

Stay tuned because next week, we are talking to my friend Ally about playing with your baby. So that’s a great one for you, my pregnant mamas out there. And then the week after that, we are talking about communicating with your health care team, which, honestly, I think is important. Pregnant or not, just learning to communicate with healthcare providers is such a gift as you move forward in your life. So stay tuned for those.

[00:30:45.090] – Hilary Erickson

Thanks so much for joining us on today’s episode. The Pulling Curls Podcast grows when you share us on social media or leave a review. If you do, please tag us so that we can share and send you a virtual hug, which, frankly, is my favorite kind of hugging. Until next time, we hope you have a tangle free day.