This nurse gave us an exceptional experience for the delivery of our first child. Our original birth plan was to let her be as natural and unmedicated as possible. The plans immediately changed as my wife was induced 5 days early. We were very nervous, anxious, and overwhelmed with all these changes. After an entire day of 24-hour monitoring, our emotions kept growing and growing. The next morning, we met this nurse, calm, cool, collected, professional, and very attentive to all the questions and concerns we had after the first day and night at the hospital. We instantly hit it off when she said, " I’m big into movement and medicating as needed", which was huge for us. My wife and I are physical therapists, and we instantly felt more settled and appreciated that something was finally aligning with our views and original plans.

She was very thorough with her examinations, cervical checks, and took the time to explain the ever-so-changing labor and delivery process. She gave us multiple positional ideas, encouraging us to walk, perform deep squats and side lunges, bringing in a physio ball to sit, a Peanut for side-lying, and was actively listening to every request we had, as my wife still wanted an unmedicated birth. The biggest impact was towards the end of the delivery, when things progressed quickly. Meeting with our OB, she expected a few more hours before our delivery and left to perform a C-section and attend to another patient. My wife was feeling more intense labor pains, and this nurse kept her calm attitude as the surrounding family was building anxiety and stress by the second. She kept on encouraging low-toned breathing, supportive motivation, and continued movement throughout this process, actively listening during our times of distress. My wife was so sure the baby was coming fast, and the nurse's most recent cervical check agreed. She quickly acted, prepped the room, facilitated the team, and quickly requested the hospitalist as our OB was unavailable. Once in bed, this person never left my wife's side, continued motivating words and encouragement. With growing concerns that the doctor was unavailable, this nurse said, "I’ll deliver this baby if I have to."

My wife wanted a side-lying delivery, and this person made this request clear as the team came in. She held my wife's hand and continued to be my wife's rock and gave her encouragement. She took charge of the situation, facilitated this action to the team upon delivery, and even assisted with the intervention. From my perspective of chaos, this nurse was always a few steps ahead of everyone in preparation, but also very direct and clear in all the unsettling and uncontrollable moments. Once the baby was cleared, she encouraged me to hold the baby's hand after the suction and offered direct skin-to-skin for the baby and me, as everyone else was attending to my wife. We were not thrilled that our OB was unavailable, but very appreciative that this nurse stepped up for us throughout the labor and delivery process. To top it off, she stayed past her end of shift to support us, "I’m not going anywhere until Baby, Mom, and Dad are happy." This person stood out among the rest and deserves this recognition for her exceptional service. We are so appreciative of her above-and-beyond behavior, and we will be forever grateful that she was a part of it.