Yesterday I worked the Day shift. This shift works the best with my sleeping schedule. I have adjusted a lot better, but I still wake up at 3:30am. I can now fall back asleep for another 1 1/2 hours, so it is improving LOL
Anyways, I stayed fairly busy this shift. Got to do a postpartum check on a 2 week old baby. Everything was normal.
One labor - a 14 year old, didn't deliver, but I got to help assist the midwife until we endorsed her care to Swing shift.
Labor-watched for one of the midwives as she did a baby check. When I first entered the cubicle, the laboring woman asked me what my name was. I responded "Ako si Jordan", she turned to her bana & they chatted a minute before she turned back to me and said "That's a boy name, right?" I laughed & agreed with her. This lady knew English really well & though she was in transition, she talked and teased me between contractions. She had 4 kids - 2 boys and 2 girls, so this one was going to be the tie-breaker. The boys ended up winning :-)
Today I worked clinic. I observed a prenatal to get back into the swing of things, then did my own...10 of them in all. These were all initial prenatals & for most of them it was their first baby. One girl was only about 12 weeks along and another had waited until being 38 + to come in for her first prenatal check-up. One lady was 22 and due with her 4th baby and other was 29 due with her first. So interesting to see the differences. One was 15 years old, her bana had walked out of her life & didn't know she was pregnant. Those situations grieve my heart. I thought about taking her as a cont, but it wouldn't have really worked because she wasn't due until March or April. I think someone else might be taking her, which will be better anyways as she speaks more Visayan then I do.
Good news though, I took a Cont. She is due November 22 with her 2nd baby. Her first is a girl & 2 years old. When I asked if I could be her midwife & explained what that meant, she lit up & said that yes she wanted me as her midwife. So in a few weeks, I will be on call for her :-)
Thank you for all the details. How beautifully amazing that you have picked up as if never having left. As you bless many, may you be blessed
ReplyDeleteLove, Mom
You're right, it has been amazing to be able to step in & remember so much! Love you!
DeleteYou're definitely keeping busy! So, what all is entailed in being someone's personal midwife? Do you do house calls at all? Is that an open door for witnessing? How does it work? Thanks for the interesting update! I wish knew more but you do a good job explaining it.;)
ReplyDeleteI am definitely trying to! Once I start catching babies, I will get much busier lol
DeleteSo, to be someone's personal midwife, you exchange numbers, every time she comes into the clinic for anything, you are called to come in. This might mean that you just got home from a shift or exhausting day at the clinic & have to turn around and go right back in, or sometimes they deliver when you are on shift already. No, we don't do house calls. We have an open door with any patient that walks in. Have a continuity patient helps though, because we have more time & get to know them better. Let me know if you have any more questions! :-)