Tara Stern a.k.a. Tara Matthews a.k.a. T: Labor and Delivery Nurse / Sister from Another Mother / #1 Mom / Roller Skate Queen

The scene:We are in the mini-van, returning to school for the second time this morning to deliver a laptop that was left at home by my oldest nephew. I meant to join them on their first trip to drop my younger nephew off for a week of camp in the redwoods (if I’m being honest, I wanted to hide in his suitcase so I could go too). Join us as we sister-talk about a nurse’s perspective and personal experience of covid, the extreme importance of breastfeeding and baby/parent bonding, and - holy shit - how is my sister turning 50?!?Highlights:+ “Ripping the bra off” - today is the first day that school kids can opt out of a mask+ Nurse for 17 years - adults, obstetrics, graveyard shift, 12 hour shifts+ Q: What happens when you tell people to stay home? A: Babies+ Birthing babies for mom’s with covid while wearing full protective gear+ Her own rapid test was negative, TWICE (and she actually had covid)+ If you retest negative, you can come back to work within 5 days - as a hospital employee…+ Breast-feeding was normalized and natural in her upbringing+ Huge supporter of La Leche League and lactation support for new mamas and babies+ Decided against an MPH so she could be more hands-on with actual human care+ She knew at 6 years-old that she wanted to be a labor and delivery nurse+ Breastfeeding babies sets the pace for how a human will eat, for their entire lifetime+ New mothers need A LOT of support after birth+ Why are we separating babies from their parents? (It’s the worst thing you can do for newborn health)+ Going against the grain of archaic hospital thinking+ Humans have made the birth process over-complicated and mechanized+ Elective inductions - chosen by mothers who are just tired of being pregnant (mostly in affluent communities)+ The C-section rate at her hospital is currently 18%. The national average is 40-60%!+ Risks: infection, antibiotics in mom, antibiotic exposure to baby (causing lifelong effects on immune health)+ A blessing of covid: forced waits for patient-elected inductions led to healthy natural births+ Women’s bodies are literally made for birthing babies, and you’re not broken if it doesn’t go smoothly+ Trust your birthing team - they’ve helped a lot of mamas and babies+ Read the room to observe the needs of patients instead of inserting yourself robotically+ Every area of your life affects every other area of your life - be present where you are+ If you do things repetitively, they become your cloth+ Your work ethic is the level at which you choose to function+ When you say “it’s not my job,” you’re harming your own ecosystem. Pay it forward.+ Altruism shouldn’t feel like work, it should be your doctrine - it’s just what you do+ Senior nursing students: take advantage of the preceptorship you’re gifted+ Obstetrics nurses need training in all human health areas+ Life advice: enjoy what you get and you do have a choice about your attitude towards it+ The shit end of the stick is being working moms and just wanting to be with our kids+ All kids find a reason to blame their parents for not being perfect (and they get over it)+ Parents: make time for yourselves apart from your kids - they’ll appreciate a happy, patient parentA taste:“What do you think’s going to happen? You stick a bunch of people at home and they can order a bunch of things to their home online, like virtually anything they wanted, except for toilet paper. […] You look at each other, ‘What do you want to do?’, ‘I don’t know, what do you want to do?’ So here you are 9 months later. It’s been kind-of a baby boom.”Favorite saying:“This too shall pass.”Support the showThank you for listening!  Please subscribe to support this project.Love, Sagewolf xoxo