Happy Friday! I’m so glad Friday is here. I had a 24 hour shift in the middle of this week in which I was awake 23 of 24 hours. You know you’re tired when you just lay down on the bed, glasses on, shoes on, and pass out without even thinking about falling asleep…only to be woken up 1 hour later to go see the patient that is vomiting. Thankfully, most of the 24 hour shifts I work involve more than 1 hour of sleep. On a positive note, my sweet 13 month old son decided it was time to start sleeping through the night. PRAISE HANDS EMOJI HERE.
I have lots of fun things for this Friday Five…let’s dive in.
1. Have you ever wondered how to display your credentials? This little brochure published by the American Nurses Credentialing Center dropped into my lap this week and I found it easy to read and useful! I think this is great for anyone in the field of nursing – especially since there are so many degrees in nursing!
2. Belly casting! My Centering group this past week wanted to do some belly casting at their upcoming visit…I said “Sure!” and then realized I needed to do some research on my own to be able to do 10 bellies at a time. I stumbled across this beautiful belly casting done by a labor and delivery nurse. Her casts are stunning! We won’t be doing elaborate casts like these at our Centering group, but I’ll definitely share for those interested in going the creative route! Has anyone done a belly cast in their pregnancy? What materials do you like to use?
3. This article about improved birth outcomes in a Wisconsin hospital! The hospital brought in a team of nurse midwives to staff the hospital labor deck 24/7 and found the CNMs help reduce surgical deliveries and birth complications requiring NICU admission for the baby. Snaps for this midwife team!
4. The Postpartum Stress Center. I came across this website this week and loved it! I see about 10% of women struggle with some degree of postpartum depression or anxiety. The issue is that sometimes the healthcare system doesn’t have good strongholds for mamas to access mental health within the clinic or hospital system. And the waiting time for a provider is often 4-8 weeks. Putting a resource like this into a mama’s hands is both helpful and important. Postpartum Support International is another one of my favorite resources for postpartum depression/anxiety – check out one of their blog posts: What Pediatricians Need to Know About Postpartum Depression. If you’re interested in going to the Postpartum Support National Conference – it’s in New Orleans this year in July. It’s on my bucket list of conferences to go in the next 5 years. Lastly, if you think you have postpartum depression or anxiety, please reach out to your healthcare provider, call a hotline to speak to someone, or seek out resources within your community.
5. This article about maternal mortality in South Dakota (and the United States). In short, women are dying every year from pregnancy related complications. South Dakota is starting a committee to review those deaths and see what areas the state can help to reduce the incidence of death. South Dakota isn’t the first state to recognize the problem. California has paved a great path forward with their California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative – or CMQCC. Many states are starting to fall in line…
Bonus…Scholarships abound! The American College of Nurse Midwives scholarship deadline is in February – check out the scholarships here. Are you interested in a career in health care with the Indian Health Service? They put out their scholarship application here (I’m all for people finding ways to pay for their school!). And don’t judge the IHS before you learn about them! One of my favorite books of last year was <a href="http://<a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1643133403/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1643133403&linkCode=as2&tag=amidwifenat0c-20&linkId=a3ca2a2faf892342754ff207738c0e76">On Call in the Arctic</a>
Bonus #2 – I stumbled across this hashtag this week: #yearofthemother. Oh yes – let’s do it ladies! I can certainly celebrate mothers and mamahood year round.
Did you see Jessica’s birth story? I’m looking to share some more birth stories…if you’d like to share yours, please send your story here. Have a lovely weekend!
Jamie
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