Labor Pains : the Birth Stories of Nurse O'Neill

Rita Batchley RN, tells a timely tale filled with poignant birth stories. Labor Pains, invites its audience to join Paige O'Neill RN, a labor and delivery nurse, who brings babies into the world for a living but can't seem to have another of her own. As a natural born healer, Paige intuitively knows how to relieve the pain of her patients; but, when it comes to her own suffering she relies more and more on alcohol. From the sacred realms of the delivery rooms to the dark alleys of binge drinking, your visit into Mercy General will open your eyes to what really goes on behind the scenes of a small community hospital that merges with a health care Goliath. Management becomes more focused on making a profit than taking care of patients and conditions for Paige become too much to bear. As Paige's life unravels, a united purpose grips her coworkers and a political movement is born. Healthcare is changing. The battle lines between big box brands and patient care have been drawn and the nurses can no longer remain neutral. Paige just wants to do her job and go home, but when it comes to saving face getting involved becomes a necessity. Giving birth is hard, but giving birth to change can be even harder. A whole new meaning to Labor Pains unfolds as the nurses push to deliver the power it takes to change each other and the health care system that is dying to get better. Nurse protests are occurring all over the United States. Anyone who has ever been a health worker or a patient knows that a doctor admits you to the hospital, but it's the nurses that make sure you get to go home. Now more than ever, the world needs a story that pushes for patient safety and nurse protections. Labor Pains, the story of an RN on the hero's journey, is a life-changing read that is long overdue. Nurses work hard to protect their patients; yet most nurses have no idea how to apply the same protections to their own practice and well-being. Labor Pains offers an inside peek into the political power nurses must uphold to provide patient safety that also protects the nurses themselves from burnout and bodily harm. This unique view into the battle between the front line healthcare workers set against the executives of corporate greed will resonate with nurses and patients alike. Rita Batchley is not your ordinary RN. She is a political activist, author and speaker who happens to believe that nurses hold the key to real healthcare reform. Since graduating from nursing school over 25 years ago, Nurse Batchley has helped to deliver more than 3,000 babies and now, in her breakout novel "Labor Pains," she delivers a gripping story that breathes life into the spirit of activism. Rita decided to write a book about a nurse hero, Paige O'Neill, because there was little, in terms of media, that inspires people to become involved in nursing politics. After 15 years of volunteering for the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United to pass nurse ratio laws that protect nurses and patients alike, Rita had the idea to write "Labor Pains" and Paige O'Neill was born. Anyone who has ever worked in a hospital or has been a patient knows that a doctor admits you to the hospital, but it's the nurses that make sure you get to go home. Now more than ever, the world needs a story that awakens people to the heroic powers of the nursing profession: courage, compassion and hope. Labor Pains, the story of an RN on the her