Student midwife on the loose

Well it's taken me a few days to get my head around my first experience of being at a birth as a "midwife".

I wasn't sure what to expect from M as she is a very good friend of mine as well as my assigned midwife for clinical placement. A couple of years ago I attended one birth with one of her clients as a birth companion and I wasn't sure what was expected of me, so I was pretty nervous.

I was sitting in bed having a lie in and reading a book (trashy novel) on sunday morning. Boys were all out fishing and the daughter was watching telly. Phone rang and it was all on. Deposited the daughter at her Gran's and raced up to hospital arriving at about 10.30am.

Day progressed quickly. Lots of physical - walking, supporting the mum, tidying the room. I took blood pressures, temperature, pulse, fetched things, and helped write up the mountain of notes that are expected. M showed me the ropes and explained everything she was doing.

There were a few out of the norm things with this pregnancy and an epidural was required and the birth ended up being a failed ventouse and forceps.

The anaethetist was very old school and was quite abrupt with M and also very dismissive of the mum and dad. The registrar kept asking me to get stuff which I didn't know where it was - so I felt like a moron. M explained I was a first year and this was my first birth as a midwife and then he said "did I want to be useful - then glove up" - so my worst nightmare after my whole glove debacle ... I had to put the STERILE GLOVES on while he watched and then stand in the sterile zone and pass him stuff and cut the sutures while he sutured up the episiotomy.

Good news - I didn't feel faint looking at the episiotomy gash and the suturing...in fact it was all very interesting and lord knows how you know what to sew into what! Bad news - I made a complete DICK of myself. A very blond moment.

I cut a couple of sutures for him and then he said "How are you feeling, are you doing ok" and (OMG I'm so embarrassed just typing it) I said "oh yeah, I'm a bit shaky but I'm ok" and he said "that's nice but I was meaning the mum". It was a beam me up scotty moment. I laughed though but I think he thought I was a complete moron.

I found watching the forceps from the business end quite traumatic and felt quite emotional. I didn't intend to but I think I may have shut my eyes when he did the episiotomy but it was quite interesting watching how the forceps went in and all that - right up until he literally YANKED baby out.

Anyhoo buba arrived with huge forceps mark over his eye and a very sore looking swollen head (and I should imagine one hell of a headache) and the next couple of hours were a flurry of trying to get buba to feed, paperwork, cleaning up the room, more paperwork, before my sore feet and I left for home at 9.30pm.

Very exciting, very scary. It is hard to imagine doing all of that on my own and there is so much to remember, learn and do.

I passed my intermediate research assignment (by the skin of my teeth) and also passed my CPR assessment (actually I'm not too bad at CPR) so things are trucking along ok on the uni front. Have another woman who is overdue and is going to be induced on Friday night so watch this space....