10 Clever Labor and Delivery Nurse Life Hacks

The best L&D tricks get passed nurse to nurse, never written in a textbook. Here are 10 worth keeping in your back pocket.

1. Tape a 10 cm strip on the back of your badge. It gives you a quick reference for cervical checks.

2. Belly bands (abdominal binders) hold fetal monitors in place when you can't keep a clean tracing.

3. Double insertion for a misplaced Foley. If the first catheter ends up in the vagina, leave it as a landmark, then aim higher with a second catheter. The first one blocks the wrong path and your odds of a urine flashback go up on the second try.

4. Hydrogen peroxide pulls out blood stains. Rub it on with a cotton ball or gauze until the blood lifts.

5. Baby spitup on fabric? Rinse with water, scrub with baking soda, launder as usual. No stink, no stain.

6. Padsicles. Pad, ice pack, Tucks, and Dermoplast. Your postpartum vaginal deliveries will thank you. For home, tell them to add witch hazel and aloe vera gel to a pad and freeze it for pain relief after discharge.

7. Nauseous patient and no antiemetic order yet? Have them smell an alcohol swab while you get the resident on the phone.

8. Weighing a newborn boy, lay a piece of gauze over the diaper area so you don't get sprayed.

9. Flavored ice keeps an NPO laboring patient happier.

10. Put baby lotion on a wipe to lift those first sticky meconium stools off the skin.

New to L&D? These will get you started. Seasoned OB nurses always have a few more.