catching babies

The past week I've been on labor/delivery "days" rotation. Days=before 6am until about 7:30pm...running around the whole time! I've learned a lot this week, met a lot of big ladies, and witnessed quite a few miracles :)

Some of the highlights:

I had an entire conversation with a patient in Spanish! They have "translator telephones" but I didn't even use it - I just talked to her, and it went really well! Until I tried to tell her that her baby was cute, I don't think she really understood. She even asked me for some water and for some medicine-and I got it for her! I was really proud :)

I learned the drawbacks to being a tertiary care center - Friday around 4:15 when all the doctors from smaller hospitals wanted to go home they sent us all their emergency cases. One lady who lost a LOT of blood after she delivered her baby, and another who was 29 weeks pregnant and had ARDS (a respiratory disease that comes on quickly and has about a 50% death rate) were the scariest. However, there were all the patients that come in at the end of the workday that have been feeling sick, so triage filled up. In addition to all that, there were some ladies who were in labor and their babies were ready to come out! Friday afternoon was stressful for everyone involved!

Another scary time was when a 29 week pregnant lady came in whose water had broken and the baby was showing signs of distress. As we were wheeling her in for an emergency C-section she kept saying to us "This is too early! is my baby going to be ok? What is wrong?" and we couldn't tell her because we didn't have any answers. When they opened her up, they couldn't get the baby out because her uterus clamped down on the baby's head - they were pulling on it's tiny little feet! It came out and was whisked away by the neonatal specialists for resuscitation - it's Apgar scores were 1 and 2 (on a scale of 10 - not good) but from what I hear it is getting better.

I went to YPP clinic - basically a clinic for pregnant teenagers - and I really, really enjoyed it. I actually surprised myself by how much fun I had. I can't tell you why this was so fun, but I want to go back. I volunteered in the Florence Crittendon Home (a place for pregnant teens) in college and thought it was one of the most eye-opening experiences I have ever had, since having babies was the farthest thought from my mind when I was a teen. I liked the interaction that I had with them. I don't know if it is because I am finally more comfortable seeing patients on my own, or maybe because I was able to give them more advice and relate to them - I was just a teenager 3 years ago. Something to think about for the future.

Finally, there was the 400 lb woman in a C-section - this was probably the craziest case. This lady was 1) huge, 2) had an anterior placenta (which means that as soon as they cut into her uterus it starts bleeding like crazy) 3) had polyhydramnios (which means that there is a HUGE bag of water that had to be broken), and while THREE doctors are sweating and putting their whole body weight into wrestling with her (10lb!) baby trying to get it out, she says "why is this taking so long? Everyone is getting to hold the baby and I'm the one doing all the work!"

Anyway, a fun and exciting week. The hours were long but no two days were the same and I have definitely learned a lot. I still don't think I want to be an OB/Gyn when I grow up, but I think that if I had to be one it might not be so bad.

I hear nights are more relaxed...a little break would be nice!