Hispanic Moms= Fast Babies.

First week off orientation I learned this rule. 

Hispanic Mom's= Fast Babies

I had no idea this was true until this last week. To start off this women had been here at BJC for 24 hours laboring. Which was abnormal for this type of patient G3P2 latino women. Usually they have precipitous deliveries within 1-2 hours. She told me her birth plan. I want to go without an epidural. I laugh to myself..obviously in my head.. Oh great I get to hear her scream all day. Her pain she is rating is an 8 and I keep assuring her to breathe and getting her some heat packs to put around her stomach. Nope that doesn't work everyone can still hear her down at the nurses/doctors station. Doctors are looking at the screen, "Cameryn is your patient pushing?" I look up at the screen. I see the contractions that look like zig zags. "No...she was complaining of nausea I think she is just throwing up."

 Well, I didn't lie...we admitted  her because her chief complaint: hyperemesis gravidarum and I did just give her zofran. She has been in and out of the hospital. So I check back up on her just to make sure there was no baby in the bed....Nope she is on the birthing ball bouncing up and down. That would do it.

 I ask her but mostly in the direction of her husband because I know she wont answer, "Everything okay in here?"

"I want the epidural!"

"Okay, I'll be back!" Sounding like Schwarzenegger in Terminator.. That would be funny, I don't think she would think this is funny. 

So I call the Anesthesiologist attending and of course he tells me that the intern will do it. Oh great,  this wont take long (Being sarcastic hint hint**).

So we wait until he arrives. I monitor baby while mom is in hysterics. Gripping the bed with white knuckles and holding her breath. 

"Breathe! In through your nose out through your mouth!" I have to remind her. Baby's HR was dropping with the contractions. 

Okay lets set up. The intern says. Let's have you side lying..(ugh why?) That takes so much longer. 

"It hurts so bad!" She says grabbing my arm. "Please help me...(Crying) Please....(sobbing)help..." crying gets weaker than SCREAM!!! 

"We are doing the best we can, in order for us to do this you have to be really still." I say reassuring her but being realistic. I have dad come sit next to her. Usually we don't let family or another person sit relatively close but in this case it was the only thing that I think would calm her down. We get the epidural in. FINALLY. The attending and intern leave..and my patient says...

"I feel something" I check to see if I see baby's head. Nothing yet. I call out for a resident on the phone in the room. Secretary picks up, "Hi can I have a resident in 82 to check my patient." I would have except I was scared that the baby would literally fall out once I put my hand down there. A resident comes in and baby head is starting to descend. 

"Baby is right here!" She says. "Let's break the bed down NOW!!!"

Oh crap I think baby's head is coming out... No baby stay in stay in!!! 

Women is in hysterics.. Her two kids on the cot next to her bed say, "Nurse, is mommy going to be okay?" They are both crying. Why are the kids in the room?? We don't have a policy against this but do you REALLY want your kids to remember this moment and be scarred for the rest of their life?

I push the big red button on the call phone, "I need a chief and attending to 82 NOW!!!" I say losing my cool a little. 

As the resident is gowning her sterile field, I have my hand on baby's head gentle handling the baby's head stabilizing it. Its evident baby's head is coming out. At least I have gloves on... I think to myself. A bunch of fluid and blood hits all the way to my elbow crease. Well gloves didn't do any good.

 Baby's neck is coming out.. baby's body... and then the whole thing just falls out! Holy crap! I catch the baby. 

Uh.. what do I do.. think think.. what do the doctors do in this situation....clamp clamp cut! The resident helps and we cut the umbilical cord. I put baby on mom's chest dry... stimulate.. finally the chief and attending get there. Seriously we have docs and residents all over this floor and I still  manage to deliver a baby. Who would have thought.

We wait for placenta and bolus her with pitocin. I call out time of birth...thinking crap I didn't look at the time.. I guess.. 1645? 

We didn't have enough time to break down the bed so the sheets look like a slaughter house out of a horror movie. (Sorry if your queezy might want to stop reading then)! All I think is, great, I have to clean all her sheets up... don't judge. 

We get her in stirrups where we stitch her a bit. Not too bad. She had just gotten the epidural but I don't think it did too much pain wise...

Docs give her local lidocaine and a few stitches. There! They leave, well thanks docs! I will just do the rest!!!! No worries, the nurse is here, we labor the patients and deliver the babies NBD. Jk I am just being facetious our docs really are amazing. 

I clean her all up and get Lucca /they finally pick a name, all wrapped up. I leave the room my hands shaking and still high on adrenaline. All the nurses and docs congratulate me. First catch? My charge nurse says. Yep! Guess it happens more than you expect! 

Well I can say I successfully had my first catch! It makes me realize that getting Neonatal resuscitation certification is a must at this job because what if the baby came out not breathing? Well then.. that would be for another story... hopefully that doesn't happen in the near time or future!

Mom then tells me later, Oh with Isabella (her first child) we had a nurse deliver her too and got a picture. Do you mind if we take a picture with you and Lucca? That would have been nice information to know beforehand...

Sure! I say. He is a cute cute baby. Full of dark hair. 

Sorry explicit photos ahead!!!