Berenice Santana
August 2021
Berenice
Santana
,
BSN, RNC-OB, CBC
Labor/Delivery Room
Advocate Sherman Hospital
Elgin
,
IL
United States
Berenice's compassion for me will not be forgotten and I like to think, because of her care early on, I had the strength to finish out my birth with strength and motivation.
When I learned I had to be induced for my labor, I was a little upset. I had these big plans to do labor naturally with very limited interventions. I had heard the warnings that “with one intervention, comes all the others”. Needless to say, I was anxious and worried about my “plan”. However, the very second I got to my labor and delivery room, I met Berenice and she immediately mentioned how my birth preferences were on my chart but she still wanted to look over it with me. I thought that was an extremely thoughtful approach and helped ease some anxiety. I was told by friends who had babies recently that “nurses hate when you give them a birth plan”. However, Berenice made me feel like she was on board for listening to my wishes, respecting my choices, and finding ways to educate me kindly on why some plans had to switch. When my “plan” said “Pitocin only if necessary” and “natural membrane rupture”, Berenice didn’t immediately throw those options out and we discussed my other ideas. We had a talk with the doctor and discovered Pitocin or medically ruptured membranes were my only options. Berenice made me feel safe and secure and educated on why those could be my only options. I agreed to Pitocin and then discovered another “plan” of mine was limited - “free movement”. However, when Berenice noticed I was now anxious about not being able to move around as I wanted, she immediately thought out loud with me on ways to work around that. Berenice allowed me free range as long as the cord could stretch, even allowing me to unplug the monitors every few hours to use the bathroom and pace my hospital room. She always made me feel like she was on my team for the maximum amount of comfort while still keeping my baby safe. Berenice’s care continued to stand out to me. About 10 hours into my labor, my doula was helping ease some back tension by using a Spinning Babies technique called “the jiggle”. Berenice was interested in what was happening and she clearly wanted to learn as much as she could and wanted to help experience the position so that she could continue to provide excellent care. I thought that was really special that she choose to be educated on something new instead of just doing the checks and leaving. Lastly, Berenice stayed a little past shift change talking to us and just further lessening my anxiety. We talked about live music and cute nicknames for children and I just saw how much Berenice cares about people. I was sad to see her leave at shift change. Berenice was with me, in and out, for 12 hours. In that time, she was respectful, beyond kind, professional, compassionate, and showed how clearly she wanted to give me the birth I wished for. Her compassion for me will not be forgotten and I like to think, because of her care early on, I had the strength to finish out my birth with strength and motivation. She even visited me quickly after her shift a few days later when I was recovering in Mother and Baby. She finally got to meet my sweet boy and showed me again how much she cares for her patients. Berenice made a difference in my birth and I couldn’t thank her enough for the support and care.