Oh baby! Oh boy!

Friday was baptism by fire day as some would call it. My first clinical on a labor and delivery floor and guess what I saw?? Yup. I got the works first-hand. I was assigned to a lovely happy-go-lucky couple who was having its 2nd C-section after mom and child number 1 battled through the first one 5 years earlier. Although it was a scheduled event, I was not fully prepared for the dissection that took place.

Perched atop a stool hovering over the resident and the attending, yet keeping my distance from any loose flying liquids, it became clear that I wasn't going to miss any part of this invasive surgery. (Fortunately the mother was shielded by a hanging drape in front of her face). Not long after the physicians had reached their destination, did a forceful spray of amniotic fluid and blood cascade onto the resident. Ding, ding, ding. It was just about time to heave-ho at the baby's head. The newbie, weighing in close to 10 pounds, put up a fair stink about having to squeeze through the underestimated abdominal incision, let alone leave his warm and familiar sleeping quarters. After much stretching and tearing with metal tools that resembled shovels and with the aid of a vacuum, a healthy boy was safely excavated. It was something like you'd see in a science fiction film really - a slimy, not quite human-looking creature molding it's way out of the belly of a woman with a non-visible head.