Jan 22

As if I don't have enough time-suck things to do! meez.com....too much fun at 4am! Last night was my first 'day' back after a nice little 10 day break. It was a lovely return. Seriously....the nicest night call I've had in months. Had a very sweet first timer who'd been flown in from one of our very remote villages. Often women from remote villages will deliver at one of the hub hospitals like Kanakanak Hospital in Dillingham or YK hospital in Bethel, but her original provider told her that she was very high risk for C-section because she was only 4'11" and had a "borderline" pelvis. Nothing like setting someone's expectations, eh? When I came to work, she was in triage enjoying a nice morphine sleep after a day and a half of prodromal (early) labor...i.e., having regular mild to mod contractions but little cervical change. Anyway, when she woke up...about 2 hrs into my shift....she was 6cm! Hooray! I admitted her to the unit. She was so all alone and very frightened and we talked about lots of different ways to help with her labor pain. Her partner had planned to fly in on Wednesday....but baby wasn't going to wait. We talked about her fear of needing a C-section, but my hands told me that baby was between 7 1/2 to 8 lbs, and her pelvis felt roomy enough...and baby was tolerating labor beautifully....i felt she could deliver her baby easily enough. We talked about epidural for pain, and she said as long as someone was with her, she thought she could handle it. Luckily she was the only patient in L&D, and her nurse and I took turns working with her breathing, massaging her legs, stroking her arms, cooling her neck and face with cold washcloths. I, of course, had my knitting in the room and would knit a row on More Stripes between contractions. She told me that she crochet'd and her mom knit, and seeing me knit at her bedside made her feel like nothing bad could happen. She had a sister long-distance on the phone for more than two hours...not talking much, just a few words of comfort from the handset lying on her pillow..Around 11:00pm, she was 8cm and I broke her water....at 11:30 she needed just a little bit of Nubain (pain med) to help take the edge off....at 12:55am she was complete and we started pushing.. and exactly 30 minutes later she easily delivered her healthy 7#14oz beautiful daughter into my waiting hands. Her bravery, strength, determination and belief in herself and her body and the natural process of birth overcame the dire predictions!C-section my ass! And it totally goes to show you what good one-to-one bedside nursing and midwifery care can do! Oh...and NO stitches...due to her most excellent control and cooperation at the very end! I think she easily drank 3 liters of apple juice during her labor, and we joked afterwards that baby should be named 'Apple', but mom and dad had already decided on another name...It's births like this, and moms like her that are so wonderfully rewarding and spirit renewing....Thank you mama J for making my first night back so lovely. And Happy Birthday baby Jade!