DAISY Award—Janice Au, M.S.N., RN, R.N.C.-O.B.

Janice Au, M.S.N., RN, R.N.C.-O.B.
Davis 3 University Birthing Suites

Janice Au has now personally provided me with exceptional care at UC Davis Medical Center not once but twice.

The first time was nearly two years ago when I was pregnant for the first time with my daughter. It was discovered my baby was breech at 36 weeks. I had an attempted ECV attempt at Labor & Delivery to turn her from breech to proper presentation for delivery. Unfortunately, being my wonderful but determined daughter, she was quite set on staying breech and would not turn. While the whole care team, including the doctors performing the procedure, were kind and determined to help me, the experience was exceptionally painful, by far the worst pain I’d ever felt. During the procedure, I instinctively attempted to grab the doctors’ hands, either to stop the pain or hold a hand. Obviously, I was not allowed to do this because doing so would interfere with the procedure. Seemingly from nowhere, Janice appeared. It seemed to me she had pushed anyone else out of the way (though I’m sure she was perfectly polite). She then took my hands and held them through the whole procedure. I will never forget how comforting this act was. Her compassion has stuck with me to this day.

The second time I met Janice was with my second pregnancy, when I was 37 weeks pregnant with my son. Janice was assigned as my nurse for the delivery, a TOLAC. I was excited to meet my son but also extremely nervous from going into labor 19 days before my due date and not sure if the attempted VBAC would be successful, or even if I could manage the labor pain. Seeing Janice again put me at ease, as I’d never forgotten how she helped me through the procedure with my first pregnancy.

For this second pregnancy, I hadn’t prepared a birth plan (thought I’d get to it in a few days), so from memory, Janice went down the list with me to ask my preferences and help me achieve my labor wishes. Throughout my labor, she made me laugh, stay calm, and feel informed. She was my personal guide through labor, making incredibly personal things (bathroom, shower, nudity, pain) feel normal. She knew what to expect, skillfully preparing anything to help with the next stage of labor. In addition to her clinical skill with the tools of labor, she also skillfully asked me questions in a way that helped me made decisions about how to proceed with labor.

From her compassionate guidance, I felt strong, capable and prepared. We also succeeded in the TOLAC and delivered the baby vaginally rather than going through another c-section.

I will always be grateful to Janice, her knowledge, and her compassion.