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April 2015 Moms
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L&D Nurse gifts?

Coco118Coco118 member
in April 2015 Moms
Is anyone bringing gifts for their L&D nurses? The nurse who ran our birthing class brought this up, how it's "not necessary but always appreciated" and now I'm wondering if this is something I need to do??
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Re: L&D Nurse gifts?

  • Sharon&PaulSharon&Paul member
    edited March 2015
    I have never brought a gift. In our hospital it is not allowed.  As someone who works in medicine a simple Thank-You goes a long way.
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  • ashleylane66ashleylane66 member
    Another problem is you never know how many nurses you will have either... So if you do something I would do something small that you could bring a lot of. I was in labor for three days and when I delivered it was shift change so they had two shifts in the room plus two teams of nurses for my daughter (she was in distress). I probably worked with over 20 nurses just from arrival to delivery (not including all the postnatal nurses)
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  • JAP09-02JAP09-02 member
    I haven't in the past, but may this time only because my husband is a physician where I'm delivering. My mother-in-law makes fancy caramel apples, so I'll probably do a few of them for the nurses to share. I love the idea about writing a nice note to administration. I loved getting them when I was working.
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  • hmae18hmae18 member
    I just filled some cute containers with lots of chocolates and wrote thank you cards -one for my dr. And one for the hospital staff:)
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  • Puppies+Rainbows+UnicornsPuppies+Rainbows+Unicorns member
    My mom is a labor nurse. A note goes a long way. Home baked goods go straight in the trash (never know how clean someone's house is). Starbucks coffee is always a hit.
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  • maelarockmaelarock member
    I wrote out thank you notes and picked up a box of chocolate for all of our nurses and our doctor. Definitely not necessary but I know they'll appreciate the gesture.
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  • guinevereisguinevereis member
    We love thank you notes!!!
    Especially if it has a pic of you guys cause honestly you kinda forget the names of our patients after a couple weeks.
    At my hospital you can fill out a " standing ovation" and a copy goes to us and management which helps with our annual reviews.
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  • emilydsimmonsemilydsimmons member
    I have some left over thank you favors from my shower - probably about 12 of them. I plan on giving those out. They are little mustache bags with Hershey kisses inside that have stickers on the bottom that have little sayings and pictures on them. I have also attached suckers that I got from oriental trading that say "Welcome Franklin". On the bag itself is a tag that I stamped with a mustache shaped thank you. (Can you tell I'm having a boy?? lol) it's not much and it's purely left over but I hope they like and appreciate it!! When all is said and done I hope everything goes great and then I will also write a letter of my appreciation as well!
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  • gittybabygittybaby member
    The hospital I used to work at specifically stated that we were not to accept gifts from patients. I'm a little surprised that your nurse brought that up…seems a bit crass. I am big on thank you notes, so I'll send the crew a note along with the birth announcement. If I'm being honest, I have enough to worry about getting done aside from putting together gifts for the nursing staff, as much as they are appreciated!
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  • Coco118Coco118 member
    I was also very taken aback when she brought it up, especially because it was the hospital's birth class and she is one of their L&D nurses! I hadn't even thought of it until then (I work in a different hospital and while I've seen nurses get gifts before, I've never heard any of them talk about expecting anything. Though I work more in ICU/PCU, dietitians don't work in L&D). Glad to hear most of you are going the thank you note route, that's what I think I'll do!
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  • Finally Mrs QFinally Mrs Q member
    When I had our first son we sent them a massive box of chocolates ☺️
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  • laurendutchlaurendutch member
    Lurking from June 15

    A friend of mine who worked for labor and delivery told me that most home made goods go in the trash. But they loved the individual wrapped Dove chocolates. Just send them out to the main desk to share with everyone.
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  • fatcat11188fatcat11188 member
    I plan on saying thank you and writing a nice letter to the administration of the hospital about the kick ass ones! That goes further then food in the belly  ;)
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  • pistachio&blushpistachio&blush member
    I'm not bringing gifts for the nurses/doctor. I think it was inappropriate that the nurse suggested that.

    I read a comment that someone might make some treats and thought that was a nice idea. Then I read a few comments that the nurses will just throw away home baked goods. I understand why the nurses don't eat home baked goods.

    I agree with those that suggested or are planning to send a thank you note with the birth announcement.
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  • astrat017astrat017 member
    Not something I would worry about until after delivery either. Once you've gotten home with baby and had a chance to reflect on your stay you may feel that the nurses and or doctors made a big difference for you. If you feel that way then at that point you may want to thank them in some way.
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  • Holly9239Holly9239 member
    With my first, I brought a gift basket of snacks (chocolates, Apple chips, dried fruits... Things like that) and Starbucks cards. As well as a thank you card. I know the staff probably was not the same, but that's ok. Nurses and docs do a lot for patients so I felt it was good to say thank you. For my high risk docs and my son's pediatrician, we gave them each a basket of wines and some of the famous snacks from my home town (it's an area known for good wines and fruits). I probably spend a lot more time in the maternity ward and with the high risk docs than a non-risk pregnancy though. I knew most of the nurses' first names.... So I felt I had to say thanks!
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  • KMidge09KMidge09 member
    I picked up mini hand sanitizers from bath and body works. Just something small to say thanks for all your help!
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  • pistachio&blushpistachio&blush member
    clare2582 said:

    I think it's kind of tacky for nurses (or anyone, really) to suggest bringing thank you gifts, or anything like that. I am already freaked out that I won't have everything I want packed.... Let me worry about what to being the nurses too....:/


    This is what I wanted to say but could not figure out a good way to say it. Thank you
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  • MandieLeeS123MandieLeeS123 member
    I delivered our baby girl on On 3/17/15 and I've been thinking about this. We had a lot of nurses during our stay and I'm afraid that if I bring treats in that not all of them will be able to enjoy them. So what I may do is donate to a children's in honor of the maternity nurses at our hospital and bring in a card describing the donation with some flowers.
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  • riettejriettej member
    I made lil gift baskets with snacks and a thank you card inside (:
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  • trihumpstrihumps member
    Wow, that is kinda tacky. Sorry you had to deal with that.

    I just thought about doing something just because I'm a fellow RN and know how much snacks are appreciated, especially during a long 12hr shift. I will be getting induced on the 1st (due to preeclampsia but the Little Guy will be 37&2 at delivery), so that puts us getting discharged from the hospital a day or two before Easter. I was planning on getting a few bags of Easter candy for my stay there and a thank you know to shortly follow.

    Best of luck with what you decide.
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  • sacottrell16sacottrell16 member
    I'm going to buy 6/7 bags of candy after Easter (when candy is on sale CHEAP) and pack it in my fiance's hospital bag along with 2 big plastic party mix bowls
    When they decide to keep me instead of going home, he will go out yo the car to get our bags and he can empty a bag into the bowl at the nurses desk for them and leave them half the remaining bags and bring half the bags into our room and do the same. The nurses will have a treat at the desk and they can get a treat when they come in our room too. Not much, considering we need to save all the money we can, but just something to say were appreciatIve of all they are doing to keep me and lo healthy.
    Plus those late night check in our room, I few prices of chocolate should get them feeling upbeat and awake..
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  • tncastncas member
    When I had my first, 5 years ago, no onle talked about gifts for nurses. And now I almost feel pressured to do it.
    When we toured the L&D department this week the nurse doing the tour stopped in front of the nursing station to point things out on the hall and she introduced us to some nurses. When one pipped up and said "we look forward to seeing you and bring treats!"
    Seriously? I was considering doing something small before, but I was so offended I may not now.
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  • resilient61resilient61 member
    I have a pretty detailed birth plan, so I pack healthy-ish store bought treats & leave some at the nurses station and more on the counter in our room along with copies of the birth plan so the nurses are softened to my requests. :). I do write down the names of my nurses & praise the good ones in a thank you note to the unit after our return home.
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Pregnancy Ticker
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  • shrkfanshrkfan member
    I never even thought of gifts for the nurses. My husband and I talked about getting something for our dr and the nurses in his office but I had complications and got to know them pretty well. Would have never thought of labor and delivery nurse gifts... I do think it's extremely tacky and rude nurses have brought it up to you guys.
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  • mrscasey306mrscasey306 member
    Not to be rude but why is this a huge deal... It's their jobs I understand wanting to be nice but I guess I'm not getting it .
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  • Mari621Mari621 member
    I'm a nurse and we hardly ever get thanked for our job. I don't work in L&D but I am at a major NYC hospital on a very busy floor.  I do think it is rude and tacky for nurses to bring up treats. Our jobs go beyond just nursing. We become electricians, customer service, social workers, therapist and ect... When we are not at your bedside we are checking your labs, vital signs, calling different departments to follow up on when you are going for a test. We are the ones who call doctors when things don't seem right. The nurses are the ones that catch signs and symptoms of when patients aren't doing well or just have that gut instinct that something is about to happen to their patients and notify the doctors. We call doctors and tell them to get their sh*t together when they aren't doing their jobs or taking the necessary actions.   We are the ones that get the brunt of everything and have to suck it up and take it with a smile when a patient is unhappy with their care they are receiving from their doctors or whoever. We our on our feet for 13 hrs with sometimes a 10 min lunch break and forget that we ourselves need to go to the bathroom. When patients say a simple thank you I can guarantee that your nurse willing to bend over backwards just because you are showing just a bit of appreciation. When a patient says thank you to me it makes my day. So, you don't have to get a gift but a simple card to the nurse manager listing all the nurses and the other staff members that stood out to you. You will also get a survey (Press Ganey) in the mail. If you fill that out and put positive comments on it most of the time the staff get recognized for their hard work.
    Pregnancy Ticker
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  • Coco118Coco118 member
    edited May 2015
    Since I started this thread I thought I'd follow up with what I ended up doing. I didn't bring anything to the hospital as I ended up going in for a routine NST and being kept for induction. However I hadn't planned to bring gifts anyways, just cards to write. Well my induction took 48 hours and I was at the hospital 5 days total, so I went through a LOT of nurses. They were all amazing and I wrote down the names of all who stood out which were like 20.
    Because I had such an amazing experience nurse wise (I honestly believe without some of the nurses' support my delivery would've ended in C-section), when I went back to the hospital 2 weeks later to meet with the LC, I brought in a reusable grocery bag full of snacks and treats from Whole Foods. In it I put a thank you note that listed all the names I wrote down. I also wrote 2 separate thank yous to 2 specific nurses. I left it at registration to be taken back to L&D. Well it ended up those 2 were working that day and while I was with the LC they came by to see me and baby and see how we were doing. They were so appreciative of the notes and that they could follow up with us and see how we were. So I'm glad I did it in the end, but only because I had such amazing nurses that I would've felt terrible if I never thanked them.
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  • clare2582clare2582 member
    I'm updating to add that my husband was very thankful for the care I got, and bought the nurses a pizza one night when he went out to get us one. They seemed to appreciate it.
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