Exhausted nurse sobs at end of long shift which saw her deliver a stillborn baby

Caty Nixon was overcome with emotion after a particularly punishing shift. Her sister Laura shared the photo to raise awareness of the work nurses like Caty do

This is the heartbreaking moment an exhausted nurse broke down after a string of lengthy shifts which included helping deliver a stillborn baby.

Caty Nixon was overwhelmed with grief and exhaustion after a particularly hard day at the hospital, with her twin sister Laura McIntyre deciding to take a photo of the moment.

Laura, from Forney in Texas, shared the photo earlier this week and wrote: ‘This pic is from a night back in July where she came to my house after a particularly hard day.

‘She delivered a stillborn. have you guys ever really thought about what a labor & delivery nurse sees?

‘They see great joy in smooth deliveries & healthy moms & babies.

‘They see panic & 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 – bc not all new moms do.

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‘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.’

Laura posted the photo on Facebook in a bid to raise awareness of how hard nurses work, and highlighted how Caty had worked over 53 hours in four days.

But Caty, who recently won an award for her hard work, remains modest about the importance of her job, and says she loves the people it allows her to meet.

She told Good Morning America: ‘The best part of nursing is making connections with people, being the calm in the storm, being their cheerleader when they need encouragement, and being the shoulder to cry on when they are hurting.

‘The worst, though, is knowing that even when you’ve done everything you can for someone, we’re not able to change the outcome (for fetal loss, poor prognosis, etc.); always feeling like you have to be strong for your patient – when on the inside, you are falling apart.’