The responsibilities of a nurse are very elaborate. I currently work in a hospital, Level I – healthy newborn nursery, and Level II – intermediate care or special care nursery where the baby may be born prematurely or may be suffering from an illness; these babies may need supplemental oxygen, intravenous therapy, specialized feedings, or more time to mature before discharge. I am the person who helps with the delivery of a newborn baby and follow through the baby after the delivery is over. My usual day will depend on the assignment that I am given.There are many surprises in my field, some of which are most beautiful—the miracle of life! Rarely are surprises sad. Some surprises just get you an adrenalin rush, in which case you are thankful everything worked out. Birth is beautiful, miraculous, and probably the single most dangerous event that most of us will ever encounter in our lifetimes. It is remarkable that 90% of babies make the transition from intrauterine to extrauterine life perfectly smoothly, most only requiring basic stabilization, including thermal and airway management.
Although approximately 10% of all newborn infants require some assistance at birth, 1% require full resuscitative measures as per the Neonatal Resuscitation textbook. Last week, as I come in for my regular 12-hour night shift to take report from the previous day shift, we got a call from the Labor & Delivery asking one of the Nursery nurses to come to the delivery for a STAT (emergency) Caesarian Section for a 33 weeker preterm delivery. The Neonatologist & myself came to the Operating Room right away. Not knowing what the mother’s other pertinent history at the time, we anticipated, prepared, and made sure we were equipped to deliver resuscitative care. My focus was all about the anticipation of delivery of a premature newborn. I turned on the radiant warmer right away, made sure there were pre- heated blankets & a hat. I assembled the equipment in an organized, easily available system such as bulb syringe, mechanical suction with tubing that is functioning, attached the suction catheters sizes 8F & 10F, and a meconium aspiration device is readily available.
The Term Paper on Respiratory Distress in Newborn
Respiratory problem are often the case in newborns. It accounts for nearly half of neonatal deaths. Research by Kumar & Bhat (1996, p. 93) states that Respiratory Depression (RD) is a common neonatal problem that generally occurs in preterm infants due to surfactant deficiency which relates to antenatal history of immature lung development and term infants of diabetic mothers. To describe some ...
I set up the positive pressure ventilation device and a face mask for preterm infant with cushioned rim, a functioning laryngoscope with straight blades sizes 00 and 0, endotracheal tubes 2.5mm & 3mm sizes, a stylet, and available neonatal code box should we need it for the resuscitative medications. Just a few minutes after all the preparation, finally the baby girl was delivered, suctioned, and was handed to the Neonatologist. She places the baby under the warmer and we vigorously dried the baby for stimulation. At first the baby was not crying and was cyanotic, was showing signs of mild respiratory distress, we observed for a brief moment, heart rate was a little lower than the normal limits. The Neonatologist started giving positive pressure ventilation for about 3-4mins while we continue to stimulate the newborn. Then we re-evaluated after 5 mins of life and the newly born has shown improved color, heart rate, normal breathing, saturation greater than 95% on room air.
At this point the newborn has been stabilized so I gave the routine medications: Vitamin K injection & erythromycin ointment. Cut and clamped the cord w/ a transponder attached., Applied the ID bands and weighed the baby on the scale. We then wrapped the baby in warm blankets and a hat and showed the newborn to the mother who was still laying on the operation table. They bonded for a little bit and we explained to the mother and significant other that although her “beautiful baby looks great,” “Maya,” her newborn needs further monitoring in the nursery. And they verbalized understanding. And finally, we admitted the newborn to the Special Care Nursery and thats another story. The work can be stressful and emotionally taxing, particularly when caring for very sick newborns and infants. However, I find caring for infants extremely gratifying.The most gratifying aspect of providing skillful assistance to a compromised newborn is that your efforts are most likely to be successful. Every day that I work seems to be different in some way and I am always learning.The best part of being a nursery nurse is seeing a newborn delivery. Words can never express the joys with the miracle of life! Knowing that you are making a difference in people’s lives is what makes my specialized field a rewarding career.
The Term Paper on End of Life Care
When a loved one is dying, conversations about the end of life can be uncomfortable and difficult. Still, discussing end-of-life care is important. Depending on the circumstances, you might be able to help your loved one make important end-of-life decisions — such as whether to remain at home, move to a nursing home or other facility, or seek hospice care. Also, you can work with your loved ...
