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Random waffling from Dory.
A bit about me - I am a married mother of three, living on the South coast of England, and qualified as a midwife in October 2005
A bit about me - I am a married mother of three, living on the South coast of England, and qualified as a midwife in October 2005
Random thoughts for today...
I just realised it's ages since I last wrote in my blog - partly I guess because I've been on a ward placement, and although I love working on the ward, small triumphs of 'getting that baby to feed' are hardly interesting reading...
I have recently had the privilege of looking after a woman over several weeks on the ward, I thought I'd write a bit about her. K was admitted to the antenatal ward at about 30 weeks pregnant. She had many medical issues going on prior to and during her pregnancy, and having a baby was never really in her plans, partly because of her conditions. When she was admitted she had the worst leg oedema I've ever seen, and was worried about the skin on her feet splitting - I spent an hour one night rubbing handful after handful of cream into her feet and chatting, this woman is amazing. She was someone who had chosen a very challenging stressful career - I asked her why she had chosen something so stressful, she said 'its because I can't let this condition beat me, I need to live my life how I want to'. For someone so positive she seemed kind of detached from her pregnancy, saying that she didn't know what she would do once the baby was born, she wasn't the least bit maternal. For the next couple of weeks she was pretty much a permanent resident on the ward,always upbeat and positivedespite her condition steadily worsening, and willing to share her knowledge about her medical issues with anyone - until she had an emergency caesarean during a night I wasn't working. After the birth of her baby, I didn't see K on the ward very much - she spent most of her time with her new baby on SCBU. She was losing her oedema - one day she had lost a kilogram (in 24 hours!) and we joked about her patenting her new weight loss plan! Her conditions continued, but she got on with the business of getting to know her baby, and doing as much for him as was feasible while he was in SCBU.
The last time I saw her was during her last night in hospital - her baby had been discharged from SCBU and was rooming in with her in the postnatal ward. She was providing all the care for herself and her baby, who she was fully breastfeeding on demand. She was an intuitive, instinctive mother, and completely bowled over by her baby. In retrospect I believe that she was detached during her pregnancy because she had never really believed she would be going home with a healthy baby, but here she was, from befuddled denial to earth mother in such a short time, exhausted, but absolutely glowing.
I never got to say goodbye to K - she was sleeping when I left and had gone home when I returned to work, but her strength, and the change in her in such a short time is something that I'll always remember. Women are amazing.
I have recently had the privilege of looking after a woman over several weeks on the ward, I thought I'd write a bit about her. K was admitted to the antenatal ward at about 30 weeks pregnant. She had many medical issues going on prior to and during her pregnancy, and having a baby was never really in her plans, partly because of her conditions. When she was admitted she had the worst leg oedema I've ever seen, and was worried about the skin on her feet splitting - I spent an hour one night rubbing handful after handful of cream into her feet and chatting, this woman is amazing. She was someone who had chosen a very challenging stressful career - I asked her why she had chosen something so stressful, she said 'its because I can't let this condition beat me, I need to live my life how I want to'. For someone so positive she seemed kind of detached from her pregnancy, saying that she didn't know what she would do once the baby was born, she wasn't the least bit maternal. For the next couple of weeks she was pretty much a permanent resident on the ward,always upbeat and positivedespite her condition steadily worsening, and willing to share her knowledge about her medical issues with anyone - until she had an emergency caesarean during a night I wasn't working. After the birth of her baby, I didn't see K on the ward very much - she spent most of her time with her new baby on SCBU. She was losing her oedema - one day she had lost a kilogram (in 24 hours!) and we joked about her patenting her new weight loss plan! Her conditions continued, but she got on with the business of getting to know her baby, and doing as much for him as was feasible while he was in SCBU.
The last time I saw her was during her last night in hospital - her baby had been discharged from SCBU and was rooming in with her in the postnatal ward. She was providing all the care for herself and her baby, who she was fully breastfeeding on demand. She was an intuitive, instinctive mother, and completely bowled over by her baby. In retrospect I believe that she was detached during her pregnancy because she had never really believed she would be going home with a healthy baby, but here she was, from befuddled denial to earth mother in such a short time, exhausted, but absolutely glowing.
I never got to say goodbye to K - she was sleeping when I left and had gone home when I returned to work, but her strength, and the change in her in such a short time is something that I'll always remember. Women are amazing.
Total Comments 8
Comments
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What a lovely lady K sounds, I am so pleased she got to bond so well with her baby, and they were both able to go home together, that makes such a difference.
This is yet another lovely post Dory, and I always look forward to reading them. xxPosted 17-Jul-2008 at 21:56 by midwifemissy
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That's the thing with us women - you never know what you're going to end up with, it's fabulous! What a woman - she sounds amazing! Big well done to her for being so positive and strong!
I agree with missy, I love reading your posts D. You can really feel the emotion in them... Oooh, look at me getting all soppy - I need to sleep!Posted 17-Jul-2008 at 22:19 by KarrierBag 
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Awww that is a lovely post, such a heartwarming tale. She sounds like a truly amazing lady.Posted 17-Jul-2008 at 22:49 by RainbowGoddess
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great Blog, D. She sounds a great lady and it makes me happy she and baby were ok in the end and happy together!Posted 18-Jul-2008 at 09:10 by smwife
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What a lovely blog post - she sounds amazing
xxxPosted 18-Jul-2008 at 12:09 by upsy daisy
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getting the baby to feed don't make interesting reading- but they do make you want to dance down the corridor when you've spent all day breaking your back- and then they feed like a dream!
great blog Dory, i am often awed by the strength of women...
Posted 18-Jul-2008 at 17:58 by Butterfly
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Lovely post, the strength and determination in some women never ceases to amaze me, what a woman, great blog |Dory.Posted 22-Jul-2008 at 10:10 by tracyb
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A lovely read thank you, funny how some people touch our lives and really surprise us isn't itPosted 06-Aug-2008 at 13:29 by Juliy
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