Jan 18, 04
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First Delivery!
So I started my maternity rotation yesterday thinking that I would hate it. I didn't think i'd be grossed out by any of the sights and smells of labor and delivery, I just didn't think it would excite me or give me any feelings of satisfaction. Boy was I ever wrong.
My morning started at 6:45 6:45am--My clinical instructor hands me the special LDR (labor and delivery) scrubs I have to wear. 7:00--meet up in the delivery area ( By the way, my rotation is at BC Women's Hospital) where i'm paired up with the nurse i'll be working with for the day. She's a really nice nurse who just graduated in April, so she's very student friendly. 7:05--I get some info about the patient we'll be working with. Nurses at BC Women's work one on one with their patients, which is extremely rad. I've been told that at Lion's Gate Hospital, a nurse has to take care of 4 women (and their babies))! My patient is a new mother who started going into active labor earlier that morning. It's her first child, but she doesn't want any pain meds. 7:10--I walk into the delivery room to meet the patient and her husband. They're both very nice, but nervous. They don't have a problem with me assisting during the birth. yay. 7-10--Me, my nurse, and the patient's husband help her through contraction after contraction. I get to feel her stomach during each contraction, measure the baby's heart rate, take her vital signs. The hardest part was massaging her back during the contractions. There's an area on the small of the back that's supposed to block pain receptors when it's pressed on hard enough. My arms are sooo sore this morning from how hard I had to massage her back. My patient finally decides to use so Nitrous oxide gas to help through some of her contractions. It helps, but not that much. She keeps asking us how much longer. 10--She's fully dilated and ready to start pushing. She can't use the Nitrous oxide at this point. =( The doctor comes in and out to see how far along she's progressing, but basically leaves the work up to the nurse and I. The patient’s and I assist her with each push. With him on one side, and me on the other, we hold her legs up while she bears down with each contraction. I'm fully in awe at how women have had to do this alone for millions of years. At one point, she's exhausted and tells me that she can't do it anymore. I encourage her, telling her that she can. I can see the baby's head! It's got a full head of hair. I've seen countless births on TV, but being up close like that was totally different. By this time, I'm sweating along with the mom during each set of pushes. The doctor finally sets up in front of the patient. The baby's entire head comes out. HOLY SHIT was that ever cool. We have to give the mom a shot of Oxytocin to help her uterus contract the rest of the baby out at this point. Five minutes later, the baby came out. It was a boy! The dad got to cut the cord and the doctor and my nurse took the baby to clean him up and check him out. The mother still had to deliver the placenta and get sutured up (she tore a bit during the delivery). She was soooo exhausted at this point, but ecstatic at the same time. I got to give the baby his shot of Vitamin K (the bacteria in our intestines produces it, but since babies don't have much bacteria in there yet, they need an initial dose at birth). I also got to help the mom try and breast feed for the first time. Breast feeding isn't as innate of a behaviour as most people think. The baby has to learn and sometimes it can take a really long time. But yeah, I'm seriously considering specializing in labor and delivery now. Especially since the nurse I was working with told me that she got hired full-time at BC Women's the second the graduated. If I do decide to continue onto med school, I’ll definitely consider obstetrics as a specialty. I think yesterday was one of the most amazing days of my life. I got to help bring a new life into this world. Literally. :) edit: had to fix up a few things i was too excited to notice the first time. heh Last edited by diva; Jan 18, 04 at 04:31 AM. 
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Jan 18, 04
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should've ran off and ate it!!
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Jan 18, 04
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lucky you!!! how long was the lady in labour for?
my maternity rotation UNFORTUNATELY won't start until next september. but it's definitely something I'm looking forward to though! wish I could be doing fun and exciting stuff like delivering babies. for now, I've been placed at St. Vincent's hospital for my extended care rotation. it's kinda lame because we basically do what all the RCA's do, which isn't all too much fun or exciting for me.... :( --Joanne :P
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Jan 18, 04
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Quote:
She spent about and hour in the second stage. That's from when she started pushing until the baby was completely delivered. Second stage can last anywhere from one to three hours...sometimes even more. (third stage is when the placenta gets delivered) Quote:
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Jan 18, 04
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^^COCO BABIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Esi - I am so happy their are people like you out there ...who don't cringe at the sight of babies being born ...cause that means one day A LONG LONG time from now when i have one..it won't have to be alone in a cave!
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Jan 20, 04
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bl0nde: I go to UBC. You need an A average out of high school to get in. Something like 88+ % It's tied with Science as the faculty with the second highest average to get in. Commerce is first, I believe.
If you want to get in after high school, you need 48 credits of post secondary. Entrance average for this stream is an A-, I believe. You also need a bunch of pre-reqs like bio and stuff. You get to start out in third year if you get in, though. www.nursing.ubc.ca I don't know, do a google search for nursing schools in BC or something if you want info for the other schools. All I know about the college programs is that the waiting lists are HUGE. A friend of mine was on the Douglas College waiting list for 2.5 years. Good luck.
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