apparently I don't know how to put a website link in my blog... so for the post below you can just copy and paste those links into your URL in a new window and that will pull up the pictures... sorry for the trouble.
slept in the clinic again last night because we had a woman dilated to 6cm and we were waiting for her to progress. it was her first baby so we were expecting it to be pretty slow. the small room we sleep in at the clinic has three tiny beds... last night 7 of us slept in that room. two women on the one separate bed, then four of us across the other two that are pushed together, and one laying at our feet. talk about a snuggle fest! Filipinas are very touchy, affectionate people, so it is very natural to be that close... in fact, even if it's just the two of them sleeping in that room, they often share a bed. it's also a way to stay warm because the AC in that room is always freezing when it's on. I seriously had perma-goosebumps last night, which is rare here. i hate being cold.
around 1am we got the update that the mom-to-be was dilated and ready to start pushing. no need to rush this time, the first-timers are always slow. I'm not sure how much time had passed, but the woman had been having contractions for quite a while, and with each contraction the baby's heart is monitored to ensure that the BPMs are normal and that the baby isn't under too much stress. the first count we took for FHT was normal, rapid, as is expected with babies, probably around 140. At the next contraction I noticed that the heart had slowed some, usually it accelerates with a contraction, sometimes it will slow slightly later on in the labor... but this trend of deceleration went on, contraction after contraction, the heart rate getting slower and slower. the BPM was about 80 or 90 when it should be 120 at the low end of normal. then, during one contraction, the baby's heart was beating less than one beat per second for the 15 second count, less than 60 beat per minute - not good! in fact, really bad. jumbled in with the cebuano we kept hearing "heartbeat sa baby" and "transport"... but this mother was too far along in the labor to transport. stressful... very stressful situation. there was such tension in the room as everyone fought to remain calm though the baby was in severe stress...
After one of her final contractions I looked at Lo and told her I was betting two more contractions and the baby would be out. Sure enough, one contraction, "sige sige!!" they all say at once, more enthusiastically as the baby gets closer, another contraction and the head was out!! the very blue, compressed head, and then... no body. I mean, there was a body, it was just stuck. and this made the already compromised delivery even more complicated. the baby somehow had it's hands wedged up next to it's ears, and it was making it nearly impossible for the body to slide out. total panic!! the head compression had been what was causing the deceleration, from the pressure on the cranial nerves. one of the midwives was pressing with all her strength to hyperflex the mom's legs, while two of the others were pulling the baby by its head, reaching in to grab at the arms in hopes of pulling them out. it seemed to last forever, the frantic efforts to dislodge the body.... and finally, success! then it was electric fan off (that's how you know it's serious), suction the mouth, oxygen mask, full body rub... the baby didn't look very good at first, no muscle tension and not crying, but finally, there was a little whimper, that evolved into a cry, and the baby was in the clear.
From what we can tell today, after running a few tests, the baby is doing well. The midwives and nurses were incredible last night and it was good to have a happy ending to a very scary delivery.
alright, I think I'm all caught up with blogging. A few days of being busy and I get so far behind. Hope all is well back in the states or where ever you're reading from and I'll try to update more soon!!
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