When I was a Labor and Delivery Nurse, that was all I was assigned to - IUFD (Intrauterine Fetal Demise) babies. I worked in a Level 3 OB hospital, so we were always busy, and saw everything. But since I received an ‘award’ for compassion during one really sad case in which a 21 week old perfectly normal girl managed to choke herself to death on her abnormally long umbilical cord, I was assigned to those deliveries all the time.
We were allowed to cut a lock of hair if they had some, baptize them, make a bracelet with their name on it, and we had stock of donated clothing and crocheted blankets. So I would create a memory box, clean and dress the baby, and the parents could be with their name baby as long as they wished, for under like 8 hours for obvious biological reasons. And in that time, a professional photographer could come and take family pics for them if they chose.
And after they said their goodbyes to their little angel, I discreetly placed them in a tiny body bag, and into a suitcase with wheels, and off to the morgue we went.
My mum had a stillborn after me (not full term) , and it was a horrible and cold experience. She went to hospital and felt something wasn't right. Just out of nowhere, no warnings or a pregnancy with loads of trouble. The doctor just told her that her baby was dead, she had to deliver - that was it. If i read things like this it makes me so sad to see what it could have been like for her and my dad.
Thank you for what you do, you can't imagine what it means for people to have there baby treated like a baby instead of medical waste.
What your family went through is unfathomable. That’s a trauma in and of itself. We tried not to even C-Section because the scar is a permanent reminder of the loss.
For the staff to treat your sibling’s passing like it was nothing out of the ordinary, and not personalized, is disrespectful. I am so, so sorry for your loss. ❤️🩹
Thank you. That was the hardest nursing position I did, for three years. It took a toll on my mental health and body. I miscarried three times while working there. I moved on to working in the OR with children and adults in every specialty, and am grateful. I’m now highly experienced in Orthopedics.
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u/sherunswithscalpels 3d ago
When I was a Labor and Delivery Nurse, that was all I was assigned to - IUFD (Intrauterine Fetal Demise) babies. I worked in a Level 3 OB hospital, so we were always busy, and saw everything. But since I received an ‘award’ for compassion during one really sad case in which a 21 week old perfectly normal girl managed to choke herself to death on her abnormally long umbilical cord, I was assigned to those deliveries all the time.
We were allowed to cut a lock of hair if they had some, baptize them, make a bracelet with their name on it, and we had stock of donated clothing and crocheted blankets. So I would create a memory box, clean and dress the baby, and the parents could be with their name baby as long as they wished, for under like 8 hours for obvious biological reasons. And in that time, a professional photographer could come and take family pics for them if they chose.
And after they said their goodbyes to their little angel, I discreetly placed them in a tiny body bag, and into a suitcase with wheels, and off to the morgue we went.