Nurse breaks down after delivering stillborn baby in heartbreaking picture

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A heartbreaking and emotive picture of a nurse has gone viral as it captures the huge pressures facing hospital workers every week.

The image shows a distraught woman, identified as Caty Nixon, sitting in a chair in tears having worked 53 hours in four days - and having just delivered a stillborn baby.

Her sister, Laura McIntyre, captured her sister slumped in the chair, a plate of food on her lap and her hand wiping tears from her eyes.

Laura wrote: "She's gonna kill me for this pic, but can we just give it up for nurses for a minute?


"Caty just wrapped up her fourth shift in a row. That's around 53+ hours in four days. that's not including the 1.5 hours she's in the car each day.

"She usually doesn't get a chance to eat lunch or even drink much water, and she has to dress like a blueberry... I mean, come on.

"She is so good at what she does that she often forgets how to take care of herself while she's taking care of her patients."
Laura said the image was taken in July after Caty came to her house after a particularly tough day.

She had delivered a stillborn baby and Laura revealed the full extent of the emotional rollercoaster nurses have to endure every day.

Laura added: "Have you guys ever really thought about what a labor and delivery nurse sees? They see great joy in smooth deliveries and healthy moms and babies.

"They see panic and anxiety when a new mom is scared. They see fear when a stat c-section is called. They see peace when the mom has support from her family - because not all new moms do.

"They see teenagers giving birth. They see an addicted mom give birth to a baby who is withdrawing. They see cps come. They see funeral homes come. Did you know that they have to make arrangements for the funeral home to come pick up the baby? I didn't either."

Her post has received a huge response from people online, after she ended by telling Caty and all other nurses that "you are SPECIAL. You bless your patients and their families more than you will ever know. Thank you for all that you do."

The post garnered more than 21,000 comments and 124,000 shares. Laura received messages from across the world and said: "I just think the positivity of it is the most amazing thing. Just to spread love," she said.