first shifts

I have had two shifts at the hospital now, and I’m starting to get used to it. I’ve seen two more births, and this last one, I would have been able to count as a catch had the doctor not come in at the last minute to touch the head as it came out so she could count it and then leave again. But I got to do an active management of the placenta, which was something that I had been a bit worried about.

This lovely lady was a multi who went from 5cm to skin to skin in an seventy minutes! The baby had a true knot in its cord, which I’ve been told is quite rare.

I was always of the thought that Meg had true knot/s in her cord. I would be very curious to get our birth notes and have a look. They have to keep them for 21 years and one week, so I could probably still get a hold of mine. It’s something that I intend to do, but probably won’t get around to, like a lot of other things.

I had a good look at CTG’s today, and my understanding of them is getting quite good. I can see quite a few flaws though. It’s very easy for the focus to be taken away from the woman, looking at the contractions and FHR on the screen, rather than with her. Also, decelerations of the baby are very obvious, and can cause alarm even if they are harmless and the baby has a great recovery. Then there’s the factor that it’s on, but there are times when nobody looks at it for quite a while, and then when they do look at it, it is so open to subjection that the line of action is very difficult to decide upon. It feels like more a case of watch your back and have evidence if you ever need to take it to court.

Hospital midwifery is very different to private practice, or even continuity of care in hospitals. For these women, I found myself wishing that they had been told about the other ways that they can do things. For the extra support and trust. I can see the huge need for great midwives in the birth suite environment though.

So that’s my student midwifery spiel for the moment. Oh, except for this. I met a resident today who went back to uni in her mid thirties, when her youngest was in preschool. Her little girl is 11 now, and she still has study. There’s a part of me that wants to do what she has done, but to be studying for that much of my children’s life sounds a little bit crazy.

I still find it a little bit amusing that I am working in a hospital.  As a midwife.  Ha!  I found myself walking up the stairs the other day, with this looming building in front of me, very surprised by the rush of pride that washed over me.  In comparison to the fear that I felt the first night that I had a training gig there, I am super impressed.  And quite proud of myself.  In the last year, I have achieved a great deal just in my personal fears and accomplishments.  Heck, I have my license!