Forceps

So today was a long 13 hour (7am-8pm) day in the labor ward. Voluntarily mind you, but nonetheless, long. It doesn't feel really like it's been that long because I'm not really tired, but my legs and feet are a bit sore. And now my preconceived schedule has gone to pot. I got to see my first "professional" birth, and while it was prob not the best to see as a first, it was quite interesting. It was a birth by foreceps. What this basically entails is that the baby is literally pulled out with a pair of foreceps while the mother pushes.

There are 3 methods of delivery: your usual spontaneous vaginal delivery, then there's the assisted delivery (e.g. with forceps), and then there's the C-section. So the assisted delivery is the middle ground where the mother can't quite get the baby out on her own, but either she doesn't want a C-section and really wants to just try assisted first, or the baby just needs a bit of a help.

This one required the doc to really put his back into it though and there was concern at one point when the baby's heart rate seemed to drop to a scary level.. the baby came out understandably bruised, but seemed otherwise unharmed and in fairly good health. The mother was just so grateful that the baby was finally out. Completely understandable as the baby was postterm and on the way to becoming quite the bruiser :) Didn't really disuade me from having children, despite the frank distress I've witnessed that comes with childbirth, but yeah. It could all change with my first.

I'm not sure what I can really say more on here without risking breaking confidentiality, so suffice to say, it was a good day. The midwives I worked with were great and I learned a lot about the birthing process. Still haven't met any of the consultants I'm supposed to be following though...

There was a lady that was brought in by ambulance because she got stuck in solid traffic on her way in and was having contractions 2 min apart. She ended up giving birth about 10 min upon arrival, so the midwives made a good call in sending the ambulance to get her from the the road.

Think I'll try the labor ward again tomorrow morning and maybe try something different in the afternoon... Or maybe take the afternoon off since I still have to go and get that comforter.... Decisions, decisions :)