1

Labor and Delivery Journal

Michaela Watkins

Centofanti School of Nursing, Youngstown State University

NURS 3731: Childbearing Family and Women’s Health Nursing

Mrs. McClusky

January 27, 2022

2

Overall Clinical Experience

Today at clinical, I observed a vaginal delivery. This was an amazing experience, and I

learned a lot. The first time the nurse and I went into the patient’s room, the nurse emptied the

patient’s bladder and asked how she was feeling. She said she was comfortable right now, so

the nurse said we will begin pushing when she felt ready. After about 30 minutes, the nurse

called the doctor because the patient had been 10 centimeters dilated and 100% effaced for a

few hours. The doctor instructed the nurse to begin pushing with the mother. The nurse and I

began to help the mother push with each contraction for 3 rounds of 10 seconds. I assisted by

pushing one leg back to help open her pelvis, while the mothers support member did the same

with the other leg. The nurse counted the mother through her pushes and felt the head of the

baby move down into the cervix. A nursing diagnosis that was utilized during this was anxiety.

This was the patients first birth, so she expressed how was nervous and uncomfortable. The

interventions and nursing skills that the nurse provided were to encourage and support the

mother through each push.

In about 20 minutes, the doctor arrived, and the patient began pushing for 4 rounds of

10 seconds with each contraction. Once the baby’s head was further done and crowning, the

doctor scrubbed in and brought the sterile table near the bed. After pushing for about 10-15

minutes, the baby was finally delivered. A nursing diagnosis during this was acute pain. The

nursing intervention and skilled that was performed was the nurse repositioning the patient for

comfort. Also, the patient did receive an epidural earlier in the day. Once the baby was

delivered, she was quickly wiped off and assessed before being returned to her mother. Also,

vitamin K was administered, and erythromycin was applied. After the baby got a set of vitals
3

and was weighed, she was placed skin to skin on her mother. The placenta was passed about 5

minutes after delivery and the doctor sutured the episiotomy.

Course Objectives and Learning Experiences

The most significant learning experience that I observed during this delivery was the

importance of letting the mother push when she is ready and allowing the baby to naturally to

sink lower. This allows for an easier delivery for the mother. This patient was giving birth for the

first time, and she pushed for less than 2 hours. The nurse did not pressure her to begin

pushing too soon even though she was completely dilated and effaced for a while. This ties in

with the course objective of demonstrating critical thinking, ethical decision making, and

therapeutic interpersonal skills while caring for childbearing families and women in n diverse

settings. Throughout my whole experience, I saw how the nurse provided reassurance and

encouragement for this first-time mother, as well as be a patient advocate. I believe that is

extremely important in a setting like this. It made the mother not have to exhaust herself from

over pushing and also decreased any tearing or bleeding that occurred. Overall, I enjoyed my

first experience of a vaginal birth.