A Dose of Allie, PRN

2 Articles on How to Care for the Postpartum Mom

Recently, I have read some alarming articles on how America is the most dangerous place to give birth in the world for developed countries. This is likely due to the risk of hemorrhaging or having a stroke, and not to the actual act of giving birth. Based on my own experiences as a nurse who works on a postpartum unit, I find some of the articles I've read to be extremely shocking and scary, but I've also seen the truth in them as well. I've seen and taken care of the hemorrhaging mom. I've called a code on moms with extremely high blood pressures, as well as moms with scarily low blood pressures. I've noticed the changes in my patients as they've developed magnesium toxicity, or how their vitals and symptoms indicated a possible pulmonary embolism.

What scares me most is I've seen and taken care of the patients mentioned in the following articles. I've called the doctor and told them I don't feel like their patient should be discharged. I have had to give my assessment and nursing judgment on critical patients by phone, only to have the doctor take hours to come visit the patient I'm very concerned about. I've had patients that I felt shouldn't be able to go home due to my fear of them stroking out due to such high blood pressures - like some of the women in these articles - but the doctor discharged them anyway.

One thing I always do before sending my moms home is go over when to call the doctor - high blood pressures; pain, heat and swelling of the calves; mood swings and uncontrollable crying; severe abdominal cramps; clots larger than a ping pong ball; etc. Since so many new changes are occurring to these women's bodies, I want them to know exactly what to look for, and when exactly to call the doctor or go to the emergency room without hesitation.

I can only hope that when the time comes for me to become a mom, I have nurses and doctors that are advocating for me and my health as much as I do for my patients now.

Must Reads:

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/nation-world/hospitals-know-how-to-protect-mothers-they-just-arent-doing-it/507-577603291

https://wtop.com/local/2018/07/dangers-of-childbirth-us-sees-many-deaths-even-after-baby-arrives/

New Blog Name!

Allie 8:06 PM No comments

Found Here

Yes, it's true!

I have a new blog name and I LOVE IT!

I had been thinking long and hard about what I should change my blog name to, when it hit me like a ton of bricks - why not change my name to something related to nursing? Duh.

Although a bunch of different nurse/medical phrases came to mind, I wanted to keep it as simple as possible, and that's how "A Dose of Allie, PRN" was born. For those who don't know, "prn" is an abbreviation for as needed.

Now the content of my blog will remain much the same - a little bit of everything - but I will try to focus more on nursing, traveling, and health related aspects of my life. I am so excited to share my journey with you all!

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Major (League) News!

Allie 8:30 AM No comments

*Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post; I was not compensated for it and al opinions are my own*

Spring has taken a little while to arrive here in Atlanta, but it is finally here to stay!

Some of my favorite things about the spring are seeing all of the beautiful flowers blooming, the sun shining (most) of the day, the smell of freshly mowed grass, and heading to a baseball game to cheer on the home team.

What better way to cheer on your favorite team as a group than to include the little ones in all the fun??

This spring, The Honest Company has decided to bring the game to the babies by releasing a collection of Major League Baseball diapers - just in time for the season!

With my sisters both having kids, especially having a niece who just turned one in February, our family has been a huge fan of The Honest Company and their diapers for as long as I can remember.

Whether you're a huge baseball fan, a huge baby fan, or just a huge fan of quality diapers from a company that strives to only include the necessary ingredients in their products, you can't go wrong with these amazing diapers.