Catch #19

The shift was relatively quiet.  There were two labors, both had been endorsed to the swing shift.  I had a busy day of seminars, which didn't leave me much time to be on shift early during the shift, but I was "on call."  No call, all was ok.  At 5:00pm I was "on shift".  There were still the two labors, each with their own complications, but attended by wonderful midwives!

It was about dinner time and as neither labor was particularly active, we took the opportunity to eat dinner. Mmm.  It was rice, filipino BBQ chicken, and steamed medley of veggies.  Mmmmm.  Just before finishing the last bite, a labor walked in.  She was mine!

I directed her to the bathroom (CR) to wash and pee.  As soon as she was done, she followed me to bed one...not my favorite, but that was what was available.  All her vitals were normal.  Although she had put down information for a bana (husbad/boyfriend) he wasn't there.  I inquired about him, but she said that they were no longer together.  Her aunt and mother were in attendance instead.

Unfortunately, her aunt was not as helpful as she had originally appeared to be.  She would encourage the patient to push "when you have pain."  Or, "Ok, i'll go get the other bantay (mother) so we can press on her stomach when she has pain/contraction."  Fundal pressure is very common here, especially for women who deliver at the hospital or in the mountain.

Well, after almost three hours of laboring from being 8cm at 6:19pm to fully at 8:40-ish. She pushed twice...maybe three times and pretty well blasted her baby out!  Some women need more encouragement than other women to push the baby out slowly to really reduce the occurrence of tearing.

At 8:49pm Adrian was born.  A healthy baby boy weighing 2650.  Just beautiful!  The momma tore, just a little.  Even though we have just had our suturing class and I've joint sutured twice, i didn't have to suture.  YAY!  It was a little close to endorsements, so I really didn't want to have to suture under pressure or be committed to staying until it was done.

One more little blessings!  He's precious.