Babies, babies and more babies!

So far, my OB rotation has been going well. Each night, 2 of us go to L&D (Labor and Delivery) and 2 go to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) to observe and follow a nurse. With my last name being the first on the list, I got to go first, with another classmate.

My night in L&D was great...got to see 2 births! I was in the delivery room with a close friend of mine when she delivered her stillborn but that wasn't a happy occasion so that really didn't count as a delivery room experience. This time..we had reason to celebrate!

I followed "Amy" for the first half (since I go to clinical at night from 4-11, I am there during the shift change. Shifts are mainly 7a-7p and 7p-7a) of clinical. She was in the recovery room (there are operating and recovery rooms right there on the floor for the C-sections), recovering a recent C-section. This patient was 41 and also had a tubal ligation (got her tubes tied). I guess she figured at 41 with 2 kids now, the store was CLOSED! The baby had already been taken to the nursery but she had to recover first before being transferred to the mother/baby unit. I can't remember how many weeks of gestation (how may weeks pregnant) the baby was but I'm pretty sure he was born a full-term baby (born between 38 and 42 weeks). Otherwise, the NICU might have received him if he was a preterm (born before 37 weeks) baby, just to make sure everything was ok.

"Amy" assessed the mom to make sure her vital signs were ok and that she could move her extremities (legs) after the wear off of the anesthesia. After everything looked good, instead of waiting for the tech to bring mom over, we just took her to the mother/baby or postpartum (after birth) unit. Her family was all waiting by the nursery, which you have to pass to get to the rooms. Her parents and other family members were there to kiss and greet her. She was also able to see her baby for the first time, which is always a good feeling. Once we got that mom settled in her room and "Amy" gave report to the new nurse that would be taking care of mom, we headed back to L&D.

Overall, it ended up being a good night. I got to see 2 births, vaginally! The first one, I came in about 10 minutes before the baby was born. The mom had already started pushing and while she glanced over at me after I entered the room with "Amy", she was not paying any attention - she was concentrating on pushing that baby out. At one point, the doctor had to give her an episiotomy, which is an incision through the perineum made to enlarge the vagina to help with getting that baby out. Man..when I saw the doctor lift up those scissors, my toes curled. And that lady screamed..even though I'm not sure whether she had an epidural or was going totally natural. Lord help her if she was going natural. But, it's better that the doctor cut her than she tear naturally. But, the "best" part was when after the baby had came out and the baby (a girl) was on the mom's chest and she was now laughing instead of screaming...a gush of fluid rushed out of her! I don't know if all the amniotic fluid, or "bag of waters", hadn't emptied out by then or what..but it was like a hydrant had been opened in her nether region. Even the doctor commented that he almost drowned.

My 2nd birth was a little bit more "civilized". I was able to see it from start to finish, per se. From the first time she started to push (even held her leg) to when the baby boy came out. This mom actually was a bit early (at 34 weeks) so the NICU team came down to be there when he was born. The funniest part was the dad did not move from the head of the bed. He stroked and comforted his wife the entire time..even cracking jokes between contractions. But, did he want to see the head as it crowned...or cut the cord? No way..as he stated "I'm good!" LOL! It's amazing..some guys want nothing to do with that area when it's exposed and pushing out a baby..and others are all up in there with a video camera!

Overall, good experience in the L&D. I also got to see an epidural being put in. While I don't really have a pull to be in L&D like a lot of nursing students..it's definitely an option I wouldn't turn down.

I also had a night in the NICU. It's funny....before I went into nursing school, I always said I wanted to work in the NICU. But, as I started school and worked at the hospital, I became fascinated with other departments like cardiac and the ER. But, last night in the NICU...I am back to being interested in it!

The babies were so small...and sooo sick! A lot of them were born at 25, 26 weeks! Imagine going into labor and delivering that early! There are a lot of multiples in the NICU. A lot of twins..and I got to see one set of triplet girls...so cute! Some of the babies were on CPAP machines to help them with their breathing because a lot of babies are born with respiratory problems. I even saw a baby with an ileostomy! It's no biggie to seen an adult with one..but a baby?!? Hopefully, it won't be permanent and her little bowels will be fixed.

Now for the rest of my time in OB, I'll be in the mother/baby unit..which involves a lot of teaching....boring! LOL! But, I'll enjoy my easy time there for now. Because in a few weeks, things will get really crazy....literally! Psych rotation starts next month!