Anna Still Ms. Hollingsworth Comp I 20 Aug.

2012 Challenges That Labor and Delivery Nurses Face In the medical field, a person often thinks that the only problems that arise are with surgeons and doctors; however, quite often this statement is false. Labor and delivery nurses face abundant challenges and tribulations throughout their careers. The typical day of a labor and delivery nurse consists of caring for patients who require prenatal care, tending to at-risk patients, and performing emergency procedures. Prenatal care is utterly important for the mother and the baby because if the proper care does not take place, complications could happen before and after the pregnancy. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute describe Rh incompatibility as a condition that occurs during pregnancy where a woman has Rh-negative blood type and her baby has Rh-positive blood. The mothers body produces antibodies that may cause death for a baby in the next pregnancy. Some prenatal care is given for unforeseen circumstances such as Rh factor, but the mother can prevent some circumstances. The use of cocaine during a pregnancy can cause a woman to have a miscarriage, deliver a premature baby, cause premature addiction in the baby, or lead to a still birth. Any baby that has been exposed to cocaine after birth is at risk for respiratory problems, and mental retardation. This causes problems for any nurse because if the patient does not have the proper prenatal care, the chances of delivering a healthy baby are sadly decreased, causing more stress for the nurse.

Still 2 The correct prenatal care is vital to the patients health because the wrong care can cause some patients to become at-risk for gestational and delivery procedures. If a patient becomes atrisk, her health must then be closely monitored. Gestational diabetes is a high blood sugar (diabetes) that starts or is first diagnosed during pregnancy (PubMed Health). When a womans pregnancy hormones are unbalanced, the insulin does not perform its role, which causes the glucose levels to rise in the womans blood. Similar to gestational diabetes, preeclampsia is also a gestational disorder that is not preventable. Preeclampsia occurs when a pregnant woman develops high blood pressure and protein in the urine after the twentieth week (PubMed Health). Unfortunately, the cause of preeclampsia is unknown. The negative effects of preeclampsia can include excruciating pain in the abdomen area, constant headache, inflammation of the hands or face, and unexpected weight gain. The effects of gestational diabetes and preeclampsia can become a burden for any patient. In the event that an at-risk patients condition becomes more serious, an emergency procedure may be called for. There is always a chance that an emergency will need to be performed since every pregnancy is different. Gestational disorders are classified as complications that occur during the pregnancy and sometimes may cause an early delivery. For instance, meconium aspiration occurs when a baby urinates in the womb, and this can cause the babys airways to become blocked. Placental abruption happens when the placenta that nourishes the baby detaches from the uterine wall before the delivery. On the other hand, delivery disorders such as a prolapsed cord and shoulder dystocia occur frequently in deliveries. A prolapsed cord can cause the umbilical cord to drop down the cervix before the baby. This can then cause the cord to become trapped against the babys body and can cut off the oxygen supply. Shoulder dystocia transpires when the babys shoulders become stuck behind the pelvic bone. Emergency

Still 3 procedures become necessary and are always nerve wracking because the nurse is put under a tremendous amount of pressure to deliver a healthy baby in an unhealthy situation. A labor and delivery nurse may face several different problems throughout the course of a day, such as patients who require special prenatal care or any at-risk patients who may need an emergency procedure performed. Proper prenatal care is vital to the patient and the babys health because it can prevent complications from occurring later in the pregnancy. At-risk patients become the top priority in any nurses case load because the unexpected sometimes happens and can lead to emergency procedures. Because a labor and delivery nurse is specialized in assisting the patient, her help is vital in any traumatic situation.

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Still 4 Works Cited PubMed Health. A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia, 12 Sept. 2011. Web. 22 Aug. 2012. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001900/ National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. People Science News, 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 22 Aug. 2012. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/rh/