In Jest!

Because I can be a birth professional and have a sense of humor, and I need to share this link with everyone. http://www.lets-panic.com/

Maternity Clinical Experience - Day 1

I had my first clinical day of my maternity rotation. I'm working at hospital in downtown Manhattan and loving it. I was worried about coming back to maternity care after extended time away from moms, but I am back in full effect.

My priority, on the first day, was integrity of the uterus in post partum care. Often the uterus can become "boggy" after birth and does not contract properly, and also, can become displaced. With my patient, her uterus was two fingers above her umbilicus, firm, but displaced to the right, which often is an indication that she should use the bathroom as a full bladder can effect the location of the uterus. After a few hours the uterus had shifted to the other side; a pretty incredible thing to feel/realize, and again I encouraged her to get up frequently, every hour or so, to urinate. I also massaged the uterus and encouraged the mother to breastfeed, which is a natural way to help the uterus contract.

Her baby, Sophia, was precious. I unwrapped the baby blankets and her arms shook up and down, as if she was saying, "What are these for???" I tucked them neatly back into her blankets and swaddle her into what I fondly call, The Burrito. I scooped her up and held the snuggly, warm lump. She slept soundly and I was content. Since swaddling, for me, wasn't instinctual, I'm certain there are other people who aren't clear on what it means, so I'm providing a link that has a good video on swaddling technique and one that has great, still photographs. I am not promoting the designs for purchase on the website (you can swaddle a baby with any large baby blanket), and I haven't looked into their other suggestions enough to stand behind them, but this is a nice way to illustrate what I'm talking about. Also, please note how one of the doctors on the show describes the baby...too funny: http://www.swaddledesigns.com/how-to-swaddle and http://www.babycenter.com/how-to-swaddle-your-baby-gallery.

Later on, a mother and father of twins needed help while mom ate and dressed. I jumped up fast, as if doing the Presidential Fitness "Shuttle Run" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8T6A1ETUXc, and ran to Twin B, a tiny baby boy. He was a little restless so we bounced and rocked and he sucked on my knuckle. Mom mentioned that the boys were a little sedated the first two days after they were born by C-Section. She'd had an epidural and complained that she could not feel the strength of her contractions and had much difficulty pushing, which ultimately resulted in her cesarean birth and may have had something to do with the delay in feeding, although more evidence is needed on this topic. Two days later, of course on the day they were leaving the hospital, they were wide awake and HUNGRY! They ate more that day than in the two previous. Mom and dad were exhausted and it was only 11 AM. Here is a good link with general information on epidurals, from Mothering, http://www.mothering.com/pregnancy-birth/ecstatic-birth-the-hormonal-blueprint-of-labor?page=0,3

Enjoy!