Thursday, May 28, 2009

Trying to maintain consciousness

I have a half hour left on my shift at work and I am trying very, very hard to stay with it. It's been a rather steady sort of busy for me here the last four shifts, 2 over the weekend and 2 over the last two nights.

I had a very surprisingly easy shift the last 12 hours. Came in to a lovely girl who was 10 cm and pushing. When I left yesterday morning, she was here in very early labor and just exhausted. The midwife on offered her the chance for some IV pain medications to help her sleep and after being up for close to 24 hours with no sleep, she decided to try them, a method we call theraputic rest.

She was able to sleep until 10 AM yesterday, when she woke up in active labor and progressed right along. When I came in she had just started pushing. 42 minutes later, she had a baby boy, born en caul, which is considered very lucky. The midwife I was working with always mentions to parents that tradition dictates the Dalai Lama must be born en caul, lucky and blessed indeed.

This was only my third en caul birth ever in 6 years of nursing. Most time doctors will break the bag. Midwives tend to leave it be, but most bags break on their own as the head and water put pressure on them, just like a water ballon, there is a point where it will give way, often times showering us with amniotic fluid.
That's an awfully nice visual to leave you with, isn't it?

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