OSF St. Joseph Navigating to Healthy Babies, Families
By: Maria Chandler WMBD/WYZZ TV
Updated: August 30, 2012
BLOOMINGTON- A new baby is exciting, adorable, and fun.
Everything that comes along with the new little life, though, can be overwhelming and sometimes scary.
That's where a new navigation system in the Twin Cities is keeping moms on track.
Newborn Paisley is Mindy Klimkiewicz's third little girl.
While this mom may be a pro at pregnancy, she says each term is full of questions.
"I had questions about water birth, questions about VBAC because I've had two cesareans and from sickness you experience to things you didn't know about pregnancy," explains Klimkiewicz. "Instead of contacting a book, it would've been really great to have somebody to talk to."
Moms, wonder no more.
Patients at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center can now have their own personal pilot through pregnancy.
"So, you're like my new nurse BFF. I think that's cute. It's actually a good way to describe it," explains OSF Charge Nurse Shauna Bivens.
It's called the OB Nurse Navigator program.
Registered nurses partner up with moms-to-be who sign up.
They field any and all questions and concerns...starting at 20 weeks and lasting even after baby is born.
Which can prove to be the most challenging part.
"It's not til they get home, then they realize, I brought this baby home, I'm in charge now. They don't know what to expect," says Bivens.
Klimkiewicz says it's something she's experienced, "I didn't know there was such a thing as postpartum depression. I had nobody to talk to. It was my first baby so I was confused," she explains. "If I had just had somebody, especially a medical professional to tell me, hey, this is normal, you're not crazy."
The program wasn't around for Mindy, but she's says she knows it has potential to be a life safer.
And a guide, bringing healthy, happy families together.
"In the end, just looking for a happy baby and mom to send home," adds Bivens.
A trip...that means everything.
"It's vital, it's probably the most important thing for both mother and baby," says Klimkiewicz.
The nurse navigator program isn't mandatory.
Moms who do sign up also get to decide how involved they want to be in the program.
For more information, click here.
Everything that comes along with the new little life, though, can be overwhelming and sometimes scary.
That's where a new navigation system in the Twin Cities is keeping moms on track.
Newborn Paisley is Mindy Klimkiewicz's third little girl.
While this mom may be a pro at pregnancy, she says each term is full of questions.
"I had questions about water birth, questions about VBAC because I've had two cesareans and from sickness you experience to things you didn't know about pregnancy," explains Klimkiewicz. "Instead of contacting a book, it would've been really great to have somebody to talk to."
Moms, wonder no more.
Patients at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center can now have their own personal pilot through pregnancy.
"So, you're like my new nurse BFF. I think that's cute. It's actually a good way to describe it," explains OSF Charge Nurse Shauna Bivens.
It's called the OB Nurse Navigator program.
Registered nurses partner up with moms-to-be who sign up.
They field any and all questions and concerns...starting at 20 weeks and lasting even after baby is born.
Which can prove to be the most challenging part.
"It's not til they get home, then they realize, I brought this baby home, I'm in charge now. They don't know what to expect," says Bivens.
Klimkiewicz says it's something she's experienced, "I didn't know there was such a thing as postpartum depression. I had nobody to talk to. It was my first baby so I was confused," she explains. "If I had just had somebody, especially a medical professional to tell me, hey, this is normal, you're not crazy."
The program wasn't around for Mindy, but she's says she knows it has potential to be a life safer.
And a guide, bringing healthy, happy families together.
"In the end, just looking for a happy baby and mom to send home," adds Bivens.
A trip...that means everything.
"It's vital, it's probably the most important thing for both mother and baby," says Klimkiewicz.
The nurse navigator program isn't mandatory.
Moms who do sign up also get to decide how involved they want to be in the program.
For more information, click here.
