Today, we’re turning the spotlight on San Francisco based certified nurse midwife, Stephanie Creighton Barrett (MSN, RN, CNM). She’s sharing her personal labor experience and how her treatment from nurses changed her life forever.

Q: TRUE or FALSE: Nurses eat their young. 

A: They do, and it is so disappointing and upsetting. We are meant to support each other, not try to make someone fail.

Q: What is your specialty and where are you based? 

A: I've been a certified nurse midwife for the past 4 years; for the 17 years before that, I was a labor & delivery nurse. San Francisco Bay area.

Q: Any self care or mental health tips for new nurses? 

A: Remember why you are there. I try to remember that these women I care for...they are a sister, child, mother, friend....Whatever interaction we have with the public, patients...those interactions are very important things to that person. Having a baby is life changing and may happen once in a person’s lifetime. Or eight, but those eight experiences are huge. Training your brain with the right perspective from the start is important.

Q: How did you choose your specialty? What drew you to it?

A: I was pregnant with my oldest daughter. I was 22. Read everything I could get my hands on about pregnancy in 1996. I was 10 days from my due date. Miserable. Huge. Florida. July. I was at home alone, I had had one really painful contraction and my water broke. I showered, my husband at the time, came home and we went to the hospital. I couldn’t walk normally when I got there. My cervix was completely dilated and my daughter was a +1 when we arrived. This was a level 1 hospital in the 90’s. No epidural, no IV drugs, no nitrous. The next surprise was that she had a hand presentation. If I delivered her like that, I could injure her shoulder. I waited, completely dilated and unmedicated for 30 minutes to push her out. My doctor finally arrived and he was able to get her to move her hand. I delivered her in the next contraction with one push.

The nurses who cared for me and helped me not push made all of the difference in her life. My daughter is a commercial pilot. Had she hurt her shoulder she wouldn’t be. I was a teaching major at the time. I changed my major to nursing and only ever intended to work in L & D. I started UF nursing in 1998. Graduated from UF in 2000 with a 3 year old. I have a Masters degree from Walden University in nursing management and leadership. I went to grad school again at Shenandoah University and GWU and am now a certified nurse midwife.