I recently had to take my child to get a couple of shots at the doctors office. Oh did I dread this day. No one likes needles, especially kids! Think about it, you are going to a sterile doctors office filled with screaming kids to get a needle stuck in you on purpose, that is no one’s idea of fun! So here are a few tips to help you handle the shot situation when it’s time to take the kids in for a doc visit:

Don’t Hide the Painful Truth

The last thing you want is for your child to be “surprised” by a nurse with a needle. So on the car ride over to the doctor’s office explain to your child that they are going to get a couple of shots and yes, it may pinch a little, but it will be over super quick! Make it sound simple and don’t drag it out. Answer questions your kid may have and steer the conversation. Explain that these shots will help make them big and strong and that it will keep them from getting sick.

Stay Calm!

Your child will feed off of your fear if they see that you are anxious or nervous. Kids are very in tune to every move their parents make, so lead by example and keep cool. Encourage your child and even sing a “shot” song with them as a distraction. Who knows, the nurse may even join in!

A GOOD Surprise

Right before the shot, have a special candy or toy ready and hidden in your purse. Tell your child beforehand that they are in for a treat to take their mind off of what is about to happen. This reward gives your kid a goal and puts a positive spin on getting a shot.

A friend of mine recently gave birth at a “Birthing Center” using only a jacuzzi and a midwife. Being equally pregnant at the time and terrified of hospitals, I considered doing the same. So after extensively researching midwifery and all that it entails, I learned that many people are misinformed about midwives, their training and their approach to giving birth.

Myth #1: Unqualified Care

The number of midwife deliveries has more than doubled since 1990 and with good reason. Unlike doulas or birthing coaches, most midwives have different levels of medical training. 97% of all midwives deliver in hospitals and contrary to popular belief, certified nursing midwives are qualified to give pain meds, labor inducing medication and even epidurals to their patients.

Myth #2: Using a Medical Pro is Safer Than a Midwife?

Many people still believe that using a doctor is safer but recent reports indicate that women who use midwives have babies with higher birth rates, better prenatal care and lower rates of C-sections. If you have a low risk pregnancy and want to be more pro-active during your labor and delivery, having a midwife can actually make you feel more comfortable and in control. Midwives are great at helping new moms with nutrition for mom and baby, breastfeeding and emotional support when dealing with anxieties about giving birth.

Myth #3: The Medication Myth

I had always heard that if you use a midwife, hang up any form of pain medication. Not true. Although midwives tend to favor the natural approach to labor and delivery, if the mom wants pain meds, she can have them! This tall tale is usually the one thing that keeps women from using a midwife but the real reason behind the natural approach of massage, natural stretching and using a jacuzzi is to avoid episiotomies and reduce the chance of a Cesarean and has worked. Statistics show that the rate of having a C-section when using a midwife is one third of the national rate. So talk to your doctor about local midwives and the pro’s and con’s of using one, you may find they fit your

Ask any nurse who has worked longer than twenty years how their profession has changed and you might be surprised. Unlike the typical “times were tougher back then” answer, nine times out of ten, they’ll say that nursing today is much more involved and respected than it was fifty years ago.

Rocking the Roles

Not only are nurses payed more now than any other time in history, there is presently a massive shortage and high demand for nurses in all fields. Along with specialized roles in nursing such as practitioners, midwives, ER and OR nurses, pediatric nurses and the list goes on. The primary difference is the way nurses today work along side of doctors. Today’s nurse has taken over many of the roles that were once reserved specifically for doctors and are now a respected part of the medical staff. Able to make informed decisions and perform procedures that would have been solely reserved for physicians fifty years ago, today’s nurse is more technologically advanced than ever.

Blurring the Gender Lines

Men in the nursing field were practically unheard of fifty years ago. Even today, thanks to media and movies like “Meet the Parents” (yes you, “Greg RN”), although still not widely realized, there are more male nurses than any other time in history. Surprisingly, there were a small number of male nurses in the 50′s, but they were few and far between due to the belief that women were better equipped to handle the emotional, mental and physical (ie: bathing and caring roles) aspects of patient care than men. Times have certainly changed and although female nurses far outnumber their male counterparts, male nursing roles have become accepted in the medical field.

Time Changes Everything

Nurses today take home in one month what nurses in the fifties would make in a year! Of course the laws of supply and demand as well as skyrocketing inflation are the reason for this enormous pay increase but the difference between $5,200 and $72,000 is an astronomical jump. Other changes in nursing include the obvious dress code. The uniforms, which began as a dress, cap, cuffs, stockings and the required pillbox have morphed into scrubs and lab coats and focus more on function than form. Time changes everything and thanks to modern medicine, updated fashion and gender acceptance, nurses today are a far cry from what they were in the fifties.