Actually, the findings of the study were that ambulation didn t add to or take away from the labor experience. Previously, our patients were pretty much on bedrest, and they were not permitted to walk. Now with these findings, people who want to get up and walk can do that. They can feel comfortable with it, knowing they re not doing anything to hurt their baby. On the other hand, perhaps some patients don t want to get up because they re comfortable lying on their side on the bed.
People can pretty much do what they have to in order to get through the pain.
We all have a fairly good working relationship. Our medical staff is very supportive of nursing services. They re the type of people who want to help us expand our professional roles. They allowed us to have a lot of control on the study, and we actually did the work. In our department, there s not a lot of nurse-generated research.