New Baby

So last night I went to Maternite for a mom who had come in after having a couple of hours of labor at home. Together with the nurse on duty that night, I got some supplies ready and talked with the mom a bit. This was her sixth pregnancy and she was fairly calm and composed, and didn't seem that far along in labor. The other nurse told me she had just checked her and she was only at 3 cm. I checked the fetal heart tones which were within normal range and got my stuff organized. It was about 9:00 and she had only just come in, so I went back to my house to get some OB pads and electrolyte powder for after the delivery.

When I came back, I went back into the labor and delivery room to check on the mom. She said, "the baby's coming!" and sure enough, she was right. So much for 3cm - she was probably actually at 9. The other nurse quickly got the clamps and bulb syringe ready while I got on sterile gloves and escorted a beautiful baby girl into the world. I was amazed at the mom's composure and cheerful attitude.

After getting the baby dried off, weighed and dressed, I examined the placenta and gave the mom her medications, then helped her sit up and feed the baby. She was already a pro at breastfeeding, so that part was easy.

When we'd cleaned up, I struggled a bit with the documentation, which I haven't had much experience with. I have to write everything in French, but thankfully I had help. :)

I don't have plastic cups for Maternity yet, so I mixed up the electrolyte powder with water in an old oatmeal can and gave it to the mom. She was so excited to receive it. This is a new thing I'm going to implement - rehydration for moms after delivery! What a concept. Most of them don't even get a sip of water for hours afterwards.

 I went home very happy about the normal, complication free delivery and the happy and healthy mom and baby. The mom stayed the night and I checked on her again in the morning.

I was also able to give tickets to all the moms in maternity who had recently delivered so they could get postnatal vitamins in the pharmacy. Thankfully we can give these for free, but we have to keep track of how many we give out, hence the ticket system. I am in charge of documenting and supervising the vitamin distribution. I need as much help as I can get!