I want to nominate Lauren Chaves for her outstanding compassion and care she gives to all of her patients. I have known her for almost two years now, and I have had many opportunities to witness the exceptional quality of compassion she delivers to each of her patients. This particular scenario entails a second-time mom who had a pretty traumatic delivery the first time around. The patient explained that she never tried any other positions during her labor and that she ended up pushing for 4 hours.

She was compassionate and caring, taking her time to explain the entire plan of care and answer every question this mom had regarding positioning during labor and pushing. During labor progression, she utilized all the birthing tools we had available. The patient was positioned to the left, right, and even sitting straight up in the “throne” position. When Lauren noticed the contraction pattern might indicate the baby’s position was “sunny side up” she got into hands and knees to “shake the apple tree”. The mom progressed through labor adequately, but unfortunately, the baby was still not in the optimal position for delivery despite all of the position changes. At the start of the pushing phase, the patient was optimistic and encouraged because everyone had told her that the second baby would be easier to push out because the path had already been paved. By hour 2, the patient started to get discouraged.

The patient was putting in 110% effort, but the baby was not descending as she had hoped. They changed to a different position to push in and regrouped. She ensured the mom was comfortable in every position, encouraged her to drink some Gatorade, and helped her boost her energy. She showed her encouragement and told her they would reevaluate after another hour of pushing. Lauren also made it clear to her that she would be real about her progress after the reevaluation period and assist her with her decision-making appropriately. They pushed for another hour, and when the evaluation time came, the physician wanted to section her, but she said they had actually made significant progress from when they first started pushing. The patient wanted more time to push, and Lauren continued to encourage the family. She had the dad refill the Gatorade and grab her a wet washcloth for her neck. They flipped positions and resumed pushing. She grabbed the mirror so the patient could see the amount of progress they had already made. This gave the mom the motivation she needed actually to see the progress her nurse had been raving about.

The patient ended up pushing for 4 hours and delivered a baby almost 2 pounds bigger than her first. The baby got to stay with the parents the whole time after delivery, and the parents couldn't stop thanking her for the amazing encouragement she provided them. The mom stated multiple times that if it weren't for Lauren's positive attitude along with the multiple changes in pushing positions, she would have given up and gotten a C-section. This is just one patient out of so many that this nurse has provided excellent and compassionate care to, and we are so lucky to have her as part of our labor and delivery team!