Two weeks have flown by on the labor & delivery (L&D) floor. I can't really remember the number of vaginal deliveries & c-sections that I assisted in or done first hand. This ward is not about numbers to me, but about an experience that's hard to put into words. This is especially true for vaginal births. Why? Well unlike c sections, which feels like any other surgery, vaginal births feels like a rollercoaster of emotions! If I had to summarize what I observed about most vaginal deliveries, I would have to break it down into six phases:
- Phase I: most moms seem happy, excited, and with a hint of nervousness (more of this last ingredient for first time mommies). During this phase moms have to wait for hours for the cervix to dilate (the passage in the uterus/womb that the baby has to get through). The pain hasn't fully kicked in, so most of the moms seem pretty happy and chatty with me. The partner/husband often looks calm at this stage.
- Phase II: Pain starts to set in as the baby comes down more and the cervix dilates more. I can tell this stage as soon as I walk in the room because the moms are no longer smiling as much. The partner/husband (if it's not a single parent), are now more serious looking and semi confused about what to do as they watch mama endure some pain. Some partners try to be supportive by holding mama's hand or rub their hair. Others sit back and either look helpless or guilty for making the lady pregnant.
- Phase III: This phase exists for most moms. This is when most moms receive epidurals to relieve the amount of pain they're going through. Without reading the charts or asking the nurses, I know all about phase III when I see the moms smiling and/or looking more at peace again. As soon as I enter the room, I tell them "Hey! you're back to smiling, you must have an epidural now!" (and then I'll tell them all about my phases observations), to which they'll laugh and tell me "yup! the epidural's in".
- Phase IV: This is the phase when the contractions are more frequent and stronger. There's something very humbling about this phase for me. Pregnancy as a whole is a tiring and long event for moms. As if 40 weeks wasn't enough work, there comes the whole process of pushing the baby out. It's humbling to see this last push of effort from the moms - the exhausted facial expression of the mom, yet pure determination to break down that last brick wall - it just leaves you with nothing but pure admiration for moms everywhere.
- Phase V: This is where a crazy turn happens in the rollercoaster of baby delivery. As soon as you catch the baby and place him/her on mama's tummy, the humbling feeling of trying to break down a brick wall from phase IV suddenly changes to an almost post-struggle celebratory mood. It's not exactly a party-excited type of feeling, it's more of a 'finally we are free' sense of peace.
- Phase VI: This phase occurs the day after delivery. When I visit the mom and new baby (+/- partner/husband), the room has a warm sense of peace to it. Most of the rooms have that sense of accomplishment, 40 weeks of work, and now here's the new baby! The moms look tired, sleepless, but when they hold their baby wrapped up in their blue/pink blanky, they have this look of peace as if nothing else in the world matters except the bond between them. When the Dr. and I come in to check the baby, it feels great to hold this new wrapped bundle of joy. It's cozy to hold this warm sleeping baby, to watch him/her move their lips as they instinctively look for food, and to feel their little legs move inside their blanky as I hold them in my arms. A warm little bundle of life! I can only imagine how much nicer it must be to hold your own baby one day. This phase definitly makes obs/gyn a rewarding career!
