In L&D we have a unique opportunity to make a positive impact on whole families by being there from the start. As L&D nurses, we do not take this challenge lightly and attempt to make each delivery memorable for that patient and her family. Sometimes the memories are more dramatic than we expect. Alesha is one of my most flexible team players. She works L&D It was a day like this that Alesha was pulled to APU (antepartum unit). Since we have long outgrown our space, currently our APU is two floors above our L&D. Alesha had a full patient load on APU and was sitting at the nurses station that we refer to as "our closet", trying to catch up on her charting, She noticed a tracing on our central surveillance system that was out of normal range. Much like a telemetry unit that monitors several patient's EKG tracings at the desk, we monitor several fetal monitor strips at once. Even with the geographic difference between the two units both areas trace at each nurses station. As always we take responsibility for all fetal tracing not just our own. It was while the tracings that Alesha noticed what looked to be signs of distress on a tracing from L&D. The fetal tracing was dipping down below 100 bpm (bradycardic for a fetus) and showing no signs of recovery. Alesha quickly picked up the phone and called the L&D station to make sure someone was aware of the tracing and taking needed action. When there was no answer after a couple of rings, Alesha knew she needed to act. She ran down two flights of stairs and into the patients room. She found that the patient was It was her quick action and vigilance that made a safe delivery possible. The patient and family were very grateful for Alesha's care and now have a bond with her that will last a lifetime.
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