Hi,
I just started my spring semester of my first year of nursing school, and found out today I will be in the OB rotation for the first half. I am soo excited because I eventually want to become a mid wife. My problem, however, is that I have never had contact with babies, except for babysitting them for a few hours (in which they were usually sleeping...) I am SOOO NERVOUS!!! Does anyone have any advice? also i am aprehensive because I feel like my patients (new moms) are going to look at me and say "you are only 19 years old, and you dont have a child so how could u possible teach/show me how to raise mine?" ANY ADVICE?! ?? thanx! :D
Emily

OB clinic is not about raising children. It's about safe, successful pregnancies and healty neonates. My best advice would be to stay ahead on your readings. Find out ahead of time (if you can) on what kind of patient you will have each week (L&D, nursery, Post Partum) and read ahead in your text about care for these patients. Remember that while this client group is generally healthy, sometimes they do get very sick. There are a lot of nursing diagnoses that get overlooked because the patients are healthy, and "there's nothing wrong with them" to write a care plan with. Not so! Things like Readiness for Enhanced Parenting, Effective Breastfeeding, and many pyschosocial NDx all apply. You just have to be creative.