Ann attended a delivery for a patient of mine, who was also my dearest friend. This was her first pregnancy, and she had dreams of how her son's delivery would look. As she became sicker during labor, her fetus started to have a hard time. At delivery, the baby was critical and needed to be resuscitated outside the room. For anyone, but especially a first-time mom, this can be terrifying. All the dreams she had of skin-to-skin and breastfeeding had come to a halt when that baby was taken, but even more so, when we were told the baby would need to be under observation in the NICU.

Even though he no longer needed interventions and was improving, the protocol was to be under observation for 4 hours. Ann had extra time and decided to bring the baby back to his mama in the delivery room, and agreed to stay at the bedside to observe, so she didn't have to separate them. This spoke volumes to me as her birthing support, friend, and labor and delivery nurse. Ann advocated for this baby boy, and it was life-changing for this new mom. This mom was terrified and so worried about being separated from her new baby boy.

Because of Ann, this new mom's terrifying experience became a beautiful one, as she was able to reunite with her baby boy. Ann showed care for her patient, my patient, and understood the importance of the mother-baby bond. Because she went above and beyond, my patient stated she would absolutely deliver here again.

We all know that NICU nurses work so hard and are so busy. This spoke volumes to my patient and me. I believe that Ann displayed all the qualities of a DAISY Honoree.

Thank you so much, Ann!

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This is Ann's 2nd DAISY Award!