Ethnography

The onset of her labor was on a Saturday morning. She thought she had had too many tacos, but then she lost her mucus plug. Labor was slow because her cervix would not dilate. She went to the hospital more than once, but the maternity ward would not admit her because her cervix was stuck at two centimeters. The obstetrics staff advised her to walk around which she did. She took multiple hot baths to help with the pain. She was in labor and awake on and off from Saturday morning until Monday night when she finally gave birth at Kaiser hospital in Riverside, California.

The doctors gave Heather drugs to slow down her contractions, but they had to perform an emergency C-section. During the C-section, scar tissue ruptured and she began to bleed excessively. Heather says she saw her baby after she delivered, but she does not remember much after that.

After that the woman fell and turned pale as if all of her blood was sucked out of her. Then mysteriously the blood from the other two corpses started to congeal at one spot, and that spot was where the baby had just came out. Since the baby had just came out the womb its body was covered in a mixture of blood, vaginal fluids, and shit. The mysterious thing about the baby was that the baby open. Its mouth was full of sharp teeth that were curved back just like a pythons. The baby didn't cry but it seemed the baby was beckoning something towards its mouth. The blood started moving at a speed close to the speed of sound, its target, the baby's mouth. After the blood made it into the mouth of the baby it put a smile on its face as it was satisfied. The baby's mouth closed, it being tired from having such a big meal went to

A commonly known procedure when it comes to hospital births are epidurals. An epidural is an injection of a drug between the “epidural space” which causes

Then he stuck the high powered suction tube into the hole and sucked the baby's brain out. (Shafer, 1995)

I felt frustrated at times. Due to my past nursing experience I was used to dealing with emergency situations on a regular basis and I found it hard to sit back and let the other midwives decide what to do next. Even though my job of recording vital signs was important I sometimes felt that I could have done more to assist my colleagues. I also felt sad for Susan’s husband even though he was kept well informed throughout, it was a terrifying experience for him.

For the nursing staff in the OR and the Anesthesiology team it is a matter of showing them that they can still do their jobs without the skin to skin contact causing major disruptions. The best way to do this is to come up with a protocol and discuss in staff meeting and then have a “mock cesarean surgery” to show how it would work if the protocol was to be implemented. This allows the nurses and doctors a way to see it in action and how it would impact their job duties while in the OR.

When I arrived into the operating room the nurse and surgical technician were prepping and getting the sterile table ready. They were also performing counts on the gauze and other tools. When the patient arrived in the room he was transferred on to the operating table and was asked his name and date of birth. Which demonstrates National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG), “use at least two ways to identify patients” (The Joint Commission, 2014.) The nurse and CST then calmed him down, he was very anxious. Finally, at about nine thirty he was put under anesthesia and the nurse anesthetist intubated him. He already had a catheter

They make sure the room is ready for surgery time. After the doctors are done with the patient surgery the scrub nurses help take the patient to the recovery room carefully and change him into different beds.

It’s a major part of the whole childbirth process, we know, but no one needs a recap of your birth canal’s big day in the spotlight. We assume that if the baby’s here, everything did what it was

Being able to view a cesarean section that close was a very cool experience and all the doctors and nurses in the room were very nice and welcoming. Once the surgery was over, I was able to assess the mom and we did fundal checks every fifteen minutes. The first two checks had a scant amount of bloody discharge. Then we went in to clean her up so she could feel clean and fresh since her family was going to come visit shortly. From rolling her from side to side, our next fundal check let out a clot the size of a lime, and that was very cool to see. I also assisted mom in getting to do skin to skin and positioning her baby correctly so he could latch onto her breast. He latched on with no problem and ate for about twenty minutes. This couple lost a previous baby boy at twenty-four weeks, so I was happy for them that they were blessed with another boy who is happy, healthy and full of smiles.

The picture shows a mom’s uterus and a fetus’s lung mass that the surgeons are removing. This fetus was in danger of dying from hydrops because of the burden of the large lung mass. The main idea that needs to be addressed that there isn’t enough data to support the effectiveness of the interventions between doctors and patients. One needs to keep in mind that when discussing with patients about maternal fetal surgery, a doctor cannot be compelling someone to choose an intervention that might put a female at risk. According to Monica Casper, the main concerns with maternal fetal surgery include: maternal health outcomes, use of lethal v. non-lethal conditions, and impact on maternal choice (Casper, p.15). Early on, one of the big concerns was

Cameron’s mother knew something was terribly wrong when she began to have contractions at only twenty-three weeks pregnant. She was rushed to the hospital and told Cameron would not survive. Although she felt the pressure to push, the doctor

Since the patient is in critical condition, the decision is based on her beliefs and wishes. She can undergo emergency surgery, if the nurse decides what’s best for the patient. The person or persons who are most affected in the situation is the patient, the unborn baby, the husband, and the health care team. The team thought it was best to perform a blood transfusion and an emergency C-section.

This week is my final week. I was assigned to another nurse, Chelsea, at labor and delivery because my preceptor had to train a new nurse. By working with another nurse allow me the opportunity to see how different nurse function differently. The nurse who I was assigned is much more easy-going, her pace is much more relaxing, comparing to he serious pace of my preceptor. She doesn’t believe checking patient every 15 minutes/ 30 minutes; she evaluate the patient and check on them when she think fitted with the patient needs. So looking at the strip and assess the mother, she does not think that we need to check on the patient as often.