Time stood still...

Yesterday was one of those days that you look back on and question whether you did everything you possibly could given the situation. So much so, that you go to bed thinking about it, dreaming about it and the next day it begins to crash down like a ton of bricks.

The morning went smoothly as I attended a Caesarean Section. I was nervous going into it because the woman had had a previous emergency and had ended up with a cerebral aneurysm and impaired sight due to the effects of the anaesthesia and a postpatrtum haemorrhage which unfortunately I am getting used to. Thankfully all went well both for mother and baby. I spent a lot of time with her postoperatively and I lost count of how many times that she asked 'why do people opt for this?' or 'why would anyone want to put themselves through this if they didn't have to?' I am not entirely sure myself.

After this I was given the opportunity to care for another woman in labour, all was going well throughout the morning. Another induction but progress was being made. As always, there was the generalised attitude that multip=quick labour and despite a dilation of only 4cm in about 6 hours, amazingly everyone was pretty happy to let things go (Hallelujah!)

Things progressed well and next thing second stage had begun and we had baby's head on view. Again it wasn't as normal for a multip as the head took a long time to manoevure the Curve of Caris and crown but it happened just the same. It was beautiful to watch the woman instinctively work through it.

Time stood still and I awaited restitution... nothing. Contraction and nothing. The head slid back after I caught a glimpse of a cord and it was freakishly tight. Midwife made the call to cut and I made the call that we had a shoulder dystocia.

It took two to at the receiving end, two on either side trying McRoberts and me climbing onto the bed to begin with suprapubic pressure. All hope seemed lost until I felt the shoulder and manage to flick it around the symphysis pubis.

I don't think it really hit me what had happened until the midwife I was working with burst into tears. I am just glad I knew what to do at the time. Even more, of those midwives I have spoken to, many of them have gone years or decades without ever experiencing this or the extreme of PPH's and here is me, not even a registered midwife and I have been a part of both. I am taking it as a positive in the sense that experience equals knowledge and knowledge of what to do in situations like yesterday could mean everything.