February 22, 2008

  • I'd like to take the physical challenge

    Haha...so somehow escaping fate, despite saying the call was slow, i only had one more delivery after the other post I made. Another young hispanic mother, and, relevant to some of my previous posts and convos with you all, one who was adamantly opposed to epidurals.

    She was present with her mother who also was telling her (if my understanding of rapidly spoken spanish was correct) do not take the epidural. Not that it seemed the mother needed to do any convincing. Then again, after, oh, 30 minutes or so of labor, the resident managed to convince the poor screaming/singing woman to at least take some stadol to help with the pain. Apparently she didnt fully understand what natural childbirth entailed.

    Now this baby was a premie, at 34 weeks, and the mother was not really pushing with all her effort, for whatever reason. (and no, mom2basharndanny, this was BEFORE she had any kind of pain medication). Post medication, this continued, so on the last push, the ob/gyne resident reached in and spread the mothers vagina wider, like the incredible hulk shoving open a particularly difficult elevator door, while the family practice reached in and grabbed the babys head, delivering it in one smooth motion.

    Now to answer a question i am sure at least one of you has...this was done not because the woman was not laboring fast enough, but because since the baby was already crowning, and the mother would not push, the residents were trying to pass the child before the mother became exhausted. Once this happens, they simply do not have the necessary energy TO push, and the whole process becomes more painful and drawn out than ANYBODY wants it to be.

    Baby safely delivered, I stepped up to deliver the placenta. Well, first i stepped up to obtain the cord blood from the mothers side of the cut umbilical cord. I released the clamp and rather than dripping gently out into the cup like when the residents all do it, the thing tried to spray like a fire hose. Lost my grip for a moment, and the slippery eel sprayed a little bit of blood on both the floor and me. Thank goodness for sterile gowns and shoe covers. I quickly got a hold of the cord, and doing my usual "pretend no one saw that" maneuver, finished obtaining the cord blood and went on to deliver the placenta. I warned you it was slippery.

    However, as i have mentioned before, once the placenta is out, it is placed in a tray and inspected for any damage to the membranes, the umbilical vessels and the like. Since this particular woman was ruptured, i needed to simply find the one place where the bag had been punctured as well as checking the rest of the membranes. I finally realized what this reminded me of

    Double Dare. You all remember double dare. The slopstacle course, with the big buckets of 80's nickolodean slime that contestants would have to wade or dig through to find something to let them on to the next challenge? That is what I felt like searching the placenta. A double dare contestant. Since this was another show i always wanted to be on (like American Gladiators) the thought made me smile. I am that much closer. Thanks, placenta!

Comments (2)

  • You know, I'm still confused about the placenta... as far as what happens after it has been "delivered."  I asked before and since I am like Curious George in that way, I went to Google and found via Yahoo Answers (haha)  this information (hopefully the link works).  I read that some women want to take it home and in some countries, the placenta is actually cooked for the mother to consume since it is thought to be full of nutrients.  Yeah, that's what I read man.  P.S.- Yes, Double Dare, I remember that game. I saw it in my friend's house. All this green slime and kids falling all over the place for a little flag (I think it was a flag right?) to go on to the next challenge.

  • Wondering out loud if perhaps she was afraid to push?  That happened with me when my older son was born.  My husband told me about when he was a medical student rotating through ob-gyn clerkship in a rural hospital in Damascus.  He told me that some of the women had rather poor hygiene and would eat heavy foods prior to going into labor, so they would defecate during the process of pushing.  Uf, not a pleasant smell.  I was terrified that I would poop during labor and wasn't pushing as hard as I could have...until my ob told me it's okay, it's nothing that she has not seen before.  Pain relief can be given during the pushing stage of labor?  I had heard that after 6 cm, nothing will be given (shrug).

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