Everyone Needs Help: A Labor and Delivery Nurse’s Story on How Family Connects Fills Crucial Gaps in New Families' Lives
“[Family Connects Pierce County] couldn’t be more important. There is so much disinformation out there, but with Family Connects, we’re all on the same team (doctors, hospital nurses, Family Connects’ nurses), we share the same agenda to keep maternal and neonatal health our priority.”
“Kate” welcomed her baby boy on August 27, 2023, after a nearly weeklong induction. Newborns weren’t new to her—she was an experienced labor and delivery nurse who transitioned into a pediatric emergency department nursing position to quell her anxiety during pregnancy. Yet when she and her husband returned home with their baby, she felt like she forgot everything: her training, education, and experience. There was something about welcoming their new baby that felt like uncharted territory. On top of this, she experienced postpartum complications once home and settled.
Kate had a relatively “normal” pregnancy aside from feeling a bit of anxiety in anticipation of welcoming her first baby. Unfortunately, this changed at 39 weeks, when she learned she had a condition called pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is a serious medical condition characterized by high blood pressure, swelling, and headaches that won’t go away. Her doctor recommended an induction, which led to a cesarean section, and the birth of her beautiful baby boy. About 24 hours after her son was born, Kate and her husband embraced the option to leave the hospital a little earlier than what is “typically” recommended for someone who undergoes a cesarean section. After all, she is a nurse and familiar with what to expect.
Less than 24 hours after discharging, Kate had to be readmitted for complications from pre-eclampsia, including blood pressure as high as 170/110 (for comparison, 120/80 is considered normal). After the hospital discharged her a second time, she experienced high blood pressure and a headache that wouldn’t go away with medication, symptoms of postpartum pre-eclampsia. At that point, she was readmitted for a second time. After recovering and stabilizing with the right medication and dosage, Kate and her family were finally able to settle in and focus on their new little one.
Sometimes, we get asked, “Why a universally offered model?” Studies of the Family Connects model find that everyone needs help; in Pierce County 100% of our data from completed visits revealed that someone needed at least one community referral or education at the time of their visit. The universally-offered approach aims to destigmatize public support and promote trust—if the program is offered to everyone, yet tailored to their specific needs, it normalizes a postpartum nurse visit as a standard of care for anyone caring for an infant. In connection with this, a universal approach has also proven to help reduce racial disparities in maternal and child health, showing that Family Connects visit participation rates were high for each racial group studied, and disparities reduced in areas such as maternal anxiety, depression, father non-support, pediatric emergency care, and child welfare involvement.
As a nurse, Kate had a lot of knowledge about babies and felt well-resourced, but there were a lot of things she didn’t know once she got home. She said the best thing she learned from her nurse was that picking up her son when he cried taught him to trust his environment, and most importantly, he learned he could trust her. They also benefited from their referral to a lactation consultant, and were grateful to learn that insurance covered this care. When asked what she would like families to know about the program, Kate said it’s just important that they know that this is available as part of our standard of care for families in Pierce County, and families would never see a bill for services.
From a medical provider perspective, Kate noted the incredible impacts of Covid on the healthcare community. Across the nation, there is a shortage in medical providers including nurses and Obstetricians and Gynecologists (OBGYNs). In her words, Kate said on the need for the program: “It couldn’t be more important. There is so much disinformation out there, but with Family Connects, we’re all on the same team (doctors, hospital nurses, Family Connects nurses), we share the same agenda to keep maternal and neonatal health our priority.”
In Pierce County, we continue to feel those post-Covid impacts with provider shortages leading to many of our clients scheduling their 6-week postpartum visit at 8-11 weeks postpartum. A lot can happen during this time from mental health challenges, physical complications, lactation and feeding challenges, and a general need for connection and support. Not every family lives near relatives, or as in Kate’s case, not everyone has family support to lean on to ask “Is this normal” questions to.
Her message to legislators: “There has to be something between discharge and the six-week postpartum appointment. It’s hard for families to get out of the home with a newborn; this is an obvious solution.”
We thank Kate for sharing her story with us.
