The Birth Nurse

Double Trouble: I had the opportunity to present twice at the Ohio AWHONN conference last week --- and I was nervous! Yes, I've done the panel and podium presentation in the past. Yes, I've presented at conferences before. Yes, I had friends in the audience, even. But this one felt off. I'm not sure if it was how it was setup, my own procrastination in getting my head in the game (it's a thing, and the timeframe for this varies by event), or if it had more to do with what's going on in my life currently. I just felt uneasy about this event. BUT - Ohio nurses really showed up and showed out for this one. So many attendees came up to my colleagues and me during the event to chat about - how they now recognize obstetric violence culture in their own workplace and how they can combat it in their practice - how their own birth trauma is showing up for them in this trauma-informed care learning - and how difficult this process has been, learning trauma-informed care, leaning into bias work, etc. But they're so grateful for the language around secondary traumatic stress, and they feel connected in the healing work - even when we're not all together, in the same unit, or even in the same state! Many attendees described the presentations as empowering, amazing, impactful, and reflective. Here's a glimpse of what some attendees had to say: "Educational and interactive without being boring. So relevant to where the world is and should be" "Helpful, informative, and transformative" "This information allowed me to think about my practice since the beginning of my training." It's always fun to work with colleagues to share about our work, challenge nurses to step into trauma-informed care as standard practice, and to be in community with perinatal nurses. This experience was even better, because it came with its own set of unique challenges (nerves, chaos, the moon? who knows) and nurses were so supportive and engaged in this deeply personal work. Perinatal nurses - I'm your biggest fan. Thank you to the Ohio nurses that showed up and showed so much love! Image source: The Birth Nurse, https://lnkd.in/eHcQTZbf @thebirthnurse #traumainformedcare #obnurse #nurses #peanutballs #nurseeducation #nursemanager #laborandelivery #patientadvocacy #obstetrics #laboranddeliverynurse #nurseleader

The Birth Nurse went to Canada as the headlining keynote speaker and peanut ball workshop facilitator! It was phenomenal!

Had another “jam session” today with a nursing leader - we TOTALLY geeked out about collaborative decision-making Trauma-responsive care cultures Improving birth outcomes Birth trauma mitigation Secondary traumatic stress in nurses ???????? while the office manager asked for a walk. She noted that when patients aren’t activated, they’re not engaged. I cheered I noted that when patients aren’t engaged, nurses don’t have the tools to confidently support Where They Are At. She cheered. It’s so inspiring and energizing to expand my nursing leadership network. The work feels less lonely, more powerful, and that much more effective ???? What topics do you have jam sessions about? #obstetricviolence #perinatalmentalhealth #laboranddeliverynurse #postpartumnurse #traumainformedcare