Day 5: Night Shift-Baby!!

Well, I just got back from Night Shift, & this time, I didn't sleep a wink!!! There were 5 gals there (Elsa & our shift's Supervisor-Estef--both Filipino, Jacquie (a 1 yr student), Jordan & me.

When we got on duty (10 pm), there was a client (C1) already in labor. For the next few hours, Jordan & I observed the labor, & got to help take b/p, temp, & pulse, & check the FHT (fetal heart tones). C1 had constant back pain with contractions, & once I got to take on the 'doula role', of massaging her back thru a contraction.

NOTE: Until Elsa (& later Estef) were needed with C3, Jacquie was in charge pretty much, while they rested.

About that time, another gal (C2) in labor came in (she was my age!). Because she was only 1 cm dilated, we (Elsa) sent her home, with instructions to rest & keep hydrated/fed.

NOTE: I left C1 to admit C2, & then woke up the midwives to alert them. From then out, I was completely working with Elsa & C2/3, while Jordan stayed with Jacquie & C1.

After dismissing C2, we (Elsa & I) found C3 waiting for us outside the little curtained cubicle (2 am). She was obviously in pain & getting close, & after Elsa commenced an IE, we found that she was almost fully dilated & effaced. At that time, the baby's FHT was a little bit low, & when we next checked it, a few minutes later, we found that it had plummeted. At that time, Estef came & there was a little bit of organized chaos, getting C3 hooked up to oxygen, bringing in the birthing trays, & starting fetal stimulation, & constant FHT monitoring.

NOTE: From the very beginning of C3's admittance, I did all the charting of her labor, & throughout it, she & I really connected on a more emotional/mental level, I guess you could say... I also conducted some FHT monitoring, blood pressure, & helped as possible, which was fun...

C3's labor slowed down some, & since baby's FHT was doing well, we asked her to rest for a while, to regain strength & energy. She did this for almost an 1.5 hrs. Every time she changed positions (from back to side/side to back), she would make faces & groan, but labor did not gotten any harder.

Back to C1: hours had passed of hard labor, & nothing had really happened. That was okay, until baby's FHT plummeted. That turned the tables, & "Super" (supervisor) decided to transfer. So, after completing the necessary paperwork, & inserting an IV, Jacquie & Jordan transferred her in the MMC Ambulance to the Hospital.

At 4:29 am, nothing had visibly changed, & C3 was happily resting. She was lying on her side, & decided to go on her back all of a sudden (which she had done many times in the last 1.5 hrs), & all of a sudden starting crowning!!!

Funny thing was, during this whole time, I was almost always in there alone (except to get something, check in with the "Super", etc.) with C3 & her husband (the midwives were either with C1 or out chatting). :D

No one had called for Elsa to come in right then or anything, but C3 had barely changed positions when Elsa rushed in there (& Estef shortly after her), & in 3 minutes, the baby was born!!! Talk about fast!! :D

Baby had a 7 &8 1/5 minute APGAR (which is good), & though he was quite purple (yes, it was a boy :D), he had no problem breathing or screaming (& boy was he angry sounding!!) It was really sweet too, because C3 was very responsive after the baby was born & handed to her. She kept saying over & over again: "Baby, Baby (Pro: Ba-BEE, Ba-BEE), Praise the Lord, Thank you Jesus!!"

Of course, being that C3 transitioned so fast, there was no time to get her in a better position, & so she ended up with a 2nd degree laceration :(, which had to be sutured.

This next part was really interesting, because not only was I charting everything, but I also had keep track of the time (so we could get APGARs & Vitals every few minutes), hand suturing supplies to Elsa (& watch the whole process), but I also helped take some vitals during that time as well.

Unfortunately, the Ambulance drove up just as C3 was crowning, & so Jordan missed the actual birth!

They named him 'Reyvir', & after I took a shower, I came back & talked to them a little bit, & her husband took a picture of us. Praise the Lord, he accidentally took a short video as well, which I have included below:

I am working Day Shift tomorrow: 6am-2pm.