Another day that started at 4 AM
Feb. 23rd, 2009 07:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
osodecanelaI was absolutely dead to the world, my CPAP in place, my husband gently snoring next to me, and a gentle rain tapping on the roof, when the phone rang. It was a nurse at labor and delivery.
"She's an anterior lip, and she wants to push. I think he better get down here, now!"
"Who? Who's in labor?"
My patient hadn't bothered to call; she simply showed up at labor and delivery and that was her presenting exam. I groaned. I told the nurse that they had better have the residents standing by, because it was unlikely I was going to get cross county in time to deliver her. With that I hopped out of bed, quickly brushed my teeth, slapped on my glasse, s threw on some clothes and was out the door. It was a bloody monsoon this morning as I made the drive to the hospital. Have I mentioned how much I hate driving in the middle of the night in the rain?
Much to my shock, I arrived at labor and delivery with my patient still undelivered. WTF? In general, after a baby or two most women have an exit sign on their cervix that reads "This Way Out". This however does not abrogate the need to push. The child is not simply going to fall out. My patient had on some level decided that without my being present she was not going to push.
It's always amazing to me just how different different people are. The vast majority of women at that point in their labor have an uncontrollable need to push. My patient had spent 45 minutes putting literally almost no effort into pushing at all. I then watched her through two contractions, as the two residents sat at the foot of the bed, coaching (or perhaps a better term might be pleading) for her to push. I shook my head, and asked if they minded if I sat down at the foot of the bed. This patient was after all mine.
And with that, she began to push in earnest, delivering an 8 pound baby girl half an hour later. Mama and baby are doing just fine, and I was able to get under way to the office in time to see patients.
I am however still trying to convince myself that sleep is highly overrated.
"She's an anterior lip, and she wants to push. I think he better get down here, now!"
"Who? Who's in labor?"
My patient hadn't bothered to call; she simply showed up at labor and delivery and that was her presenting exam. I groaned. I told the nurse that they had better have the residents standing by, because it was unlikely I was going to get cross county in time to deliver her. With that I hopped out of bed, quickly brushed my teeth, slapped on my glasse, s threw on some clothes and was out the door. It was a bloody monsoon this morning as I made the drive to the hospital. Have I mentioned how much I hate driving in the middle of the night in the rain?
Much to my shock, I arrived at labor and delivery with my patient still undelivered. WTF? In general, after a baby or two most women have an exit sign on their cervix that reads "This Way Out". This however does not abrogate the need to push. The child is not simply going to fall out. My patient had on some level decided that without my being present she was not going to push.
It's always amazing to me just how different different people are. The vast majority of women at that point in their labor have an uncontrollable need to push. My patient had spent 45 minutes putting literally almost no effort into pushing at all. I then watched her through two contractions, as the two residents sat at the foot of the bed, coaching (or perhaps a better term might be pleading) for her to push. I shook my head, and asked if they minded if I sat down at the foot of the bed. This patient was after all mine.
And with that, she began to push in earnest, delivering an 8 pound baby girl half an hour later. Mama and baby are doing just fine, and I was able to get under way to the office in time to see patients.
I am however still trying to convince myself that sleep is highly overrated.
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no subject
Date: 2009-02-24 04:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-24 04:48 pm (UTC)She's probably telling her hair-dressing shop that, not only did she have to go out in the driving rain in labor, but she had to "wait" 45 minutes for 'the doctor' to arrive, 'before I could have my baby'...
When someone aksed me what they should do with their life (which is infrequent, thankfully), I often think of recommending that their first job be working with the general public, as was mine.
You learn so much.
That there is no estimate, even, of how different different people are. That there truly is no such thing as 'commonsense'. That a *lot* of people are very lonely and will talk to strangers readily. That people will remember events based on their emotions, mostly - so that there are never two sides to a story, but three or four or more. That everything you learned at home, no one else knows about.
And, in my case at least, that people are basically 'good', but seem to have learned all kinds of other behaviors that they believe are 'necessary' to help them navigate the waters of life...