In a Lifeless Birth, a Midwife's Opened Eyes

1. A moving story by a new advanced-practice nurse and her first encounter with a tragedy.
   
   

   The case was straightforward. The mother was close to term with her first baby. One day she noticed that the baby wasn’t kicking as much as usual. She waited to call, thinking maybe she was worrying about nothing.
   
   The next day, the baby still wasn’t moving, so she came in for a routine evaluation. There was no heartbeat. Just a previously healthy baby who stopped kicking and died.
   
   I entered the room and greeted the patient, whom I’d never met. My job, as I saw it, was to cheer her up. The time dragged, the monitor spewed forth paper, and I kept chattering. I remember that I was proud of myself for coping with this difficult situation with diplomacy and tact. I was not afraid of birth, but I was afraid of death. Thus far in my career, it had stayed neatly out of sight.

   http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/he...olumns%2fCases

   Last edit by Anxious Patient on Jun 24, '09
2. 

   About Anxious Patient

   Joined: Mar '07; Posts: 1,101; Likes: 1,979
   housewife and mother; from US

   8 Comments

   Topic Closed
3. 
   Jun 23, '09

   Occupation: RN, BSN Specialty: 6 year(s) of experience in Primary Care ; From: US ; Joined: Feb '08; Posts: 292; Likes: 73

   Wow... That sure was a powerful experience this midwife went through. Thank You for sharing!!! Sort of wakes you up to realize that not everything goes the way planned....
4. 
   Jun 24, '09

   From: US ; Joined: Apr '09; Posts: 143; Likes: 126

   Sad, but beautifully written.
5. 
   Jun 24, '09

   Occupation: RN - ICU Specialty: 5 year(s) of experience in ICU ; From: US ; Joined: Sep '06; Posts: 1,643; Likes: 1,907

   The same thing (knotted umbilical cord leading to fetal death) happened to my wife's boss. She had had a son about 10 years before, but was then unable to conceive. After MULTIPLE rounds of unsuccessful in vitro fertilization, she finally got pregnant.
   
   She carried the baby to near-term, but the week before the baby was due, she noticed that the baby was no longer moving. Talk about a heartbreak!
   
   This was about 6 years ago. A couple years later, she and her husband adopted a little girl from China. That little girl attends the same daycare as me & my wife's son (hatched "the good old fashioned way") and our little girl (also adopted from China, about 3 years ago).
   
   It happens...
6. 
   Jun 24, '09

   Joined: Nov '06; Posts: 20,715; Likes: 23,952

   Never ever gets easy. Thanks for sharing, AP.
7. 
   Jun 24, '09

   Occupation: returned nurse Joined: Nov '98; Posts: 7,097; Likes: 5,234

   I had a friend that experienced an inexplicable intrauterine fetal death. It is most awful thing.

   Last edit by oramar on Jun 28, '09
8. 
   Jun 24, '09

   Joined: May '09; Posts: 85; Likes: 29

   my sister had a routine dr appointment when they realized something was wrong rushed her straight from there to the or. my nephew was born in a rush and also had a true knot. he survived but my sister was about to cancel her appointment because it was on July 5th and she was tired from entertaining guests.
9. 
   Jun 24, '09

   Occupation: Pediatric/NICU RN Specialty: 4 year(s) of experience in NICU PEDS ; From: US ; Joined: Nov '07; Posts: 24; Likes: 5

   Thank you for sharing this powerful and moving article.
10. 
    Jun 24, '09

    Occupation: ED RN Specialty: ED ; From: US ; Joined: Jan '05; Posts: 1,299; Likes: 1,069

    What a beautiful story
    
    I remember my last child, I tryed to have a vbac. Ended in abruption, uterine rupture, and the next day, found out he had a true knot in his cord. He came out stronger than any of my other children and fed for hours. That story makes me thankful to God for such a wonderful child, although the birth was challenging.

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