At morning report, the night shift nurse reported that my postop day 1 caesarean patient had a Child Protective Services (CPS) hold on her baby. When I went to assess my patient, she was holding her baby tightly and was hesitant to give me the newborn for the necessary assessment. As I put the baby in the crib, the mother anxiously described to me how she would provide good care to her baby.
That afternoon, the CPS social worker arrived. She met with the family and then called her supervisor. I was charting when I overheard the social worker argue with her superior about the decision to maintain the CPS hold. The social worker informed her supervisor that this mother had done everything the CPS worker had asked of her, and that the family was not happy with this decision. The patient's family was known to be difficult, and the situation could easily spiral out of control.
After speaking with her supervisor, the social worker asked me if the hospital social worker could accompany her to inform the family they would not be taking their baby home. It was after 5 p.m. and the hospital social workers had gone home. I volunteered to accompany her. As we walked to the room, the social worker told me why this child had been placed on a CPS hold.
Hearing my patient's case history, I remembered seeing this young woman's story on the news. She had left her previous baby with her boyfriend while she went to the store and came home to a baby suffering from complications of shaken baby syndrome. She immediately called 911. However, the baby died later in the emergency department. The mother served prison time.
We entered my patient’s room and the social worker informed the family of the decision. The young woman began clutching her baby tighter, sobbing hysterically and yelling, "It's not fair. I've done everything the county requested." Family members spoke harshly to the social worker. As the conversation intensified, I knew this crisis needed to de-escalate.
In the chaos, I heard the young woman say, "I go to church. People from church will help me." I calmly asked, "Do you want me to pray with you?" Startled, she looked at me and softly said, "Yes." I sat on the bed and put my arms around her and the baby. Her tears penetrated my scrubs as I prayed for her family and the baby. She sobbed and asked God to forgive her for what happened to her first child. As we prayed, the conflict in the room de-escalated.
Within a few moments, I walked the shaken social worker out of the room. She was frightened about what could have happened and angry with her supervisor's decision. The social worker promised to work on this case all weekend.
After the family left, I went back to offer presence and listen to the young mom. She said that while in prison, she had come to personal faith in Jesus Christ. She was a young woman dealing with her past and had not embraced the mercy and grace God offered her. She hadn’t been able to see that she was made new in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) so she could fully go to God in confidence (Hebrews 4:14–16). I shared Romans 6:3–4 with her: "Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life" (NIV). I asked her if she thought she could trust God and his plan for her life. She answered, "Yes."
I responded, "Can you trust him with your baby?" I sensed brokenness in her soul as I held her and wept with her. I wanted to be faithful with her and trust God for her baby, and prayed for this young mom all weekend.
On Monday morning, a nursing told me the social worker had kept her promise and worked on this case throughout the weekend. As a result, the baby went home with a foster family who were members of this young mom's faith community. Furthermore, CPS agreed the mother could participate in her baby's care in this supervised situation. The pastor and members of her church surrounded her during the peaceful discharge process.
I believe this mother and child’s outcomes might have been very different without the nursing intervention of prayer. In direct response to our prayers, God actively demonstrated his love for this mother and family by arranging for the social worker to discover this specific foster family and place the infant where this mother would know her baby was safe and could participate in the baby's care.
Pastor and Bible scholar Charles Spurgeon wrote, "I do delight to think of my Lord as a living Christ with whom I can speak and discuss every situation that occurs in my ministry, a living Helper to whom I bring every difficulty that occurs in my own soul and in the souls of others" (1972, p. 122). I, like Spurgeon, delight to bring my clinical nursing practice to the throne of grace in time of need. God always has been faithful to answer.
Pamala K. McCarver, MDiv, RN, worked at San Joaquin Community Hospital in Bakersfield, CA, when she wrote this article for the Journal of Christian Nursing. She is a parish nurse and teaches courses to nursing students and healthcare providers on spiritual care.
The NCF website is a treasure trove of info and help. Find an array of resources for praying and being prayed for. Sift through resources for giving spiritual care to patients.
