I saw my first delivery today while shadowing an Ob/Gyn

[shemarty]

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I've watched many open surgeries, and I've never seen *that* much blood. And gloop.

Despite that, it was really amazing - I think because it went so smoothly. There wasn't any screaming, and the baby cried a second after she came out.

I still have no interest in going into obstetrics, but that was one of the most awesome things I have ever witnessed.

That's all I had to say 😀

If you have the opportunity to, go shadow in Labor and Delivery.

 

[p30doc]

I've never seen *that* much blood. And gloop.

@ gloop

 

[chitownGpremed]

yes, I second that. when i was in bolivia 2 summers ago, i was in the maternity ward and saw several deliveries. i was a little ambivalent before i went there, being a guy and having little experience in a medical setting, but i really have to say it was pretty amazing.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I've watched many open surgeries, and I've never seen *that* much blood. And gloop.

Despite that, it was really amazing - I think because it went so smoothly. There wasn't any screaming, and the baby cried a second after she came out.

I still have no interest in going into obstetrics, but that was one of the most awesome things I have ever witnessed.

That's all I had to say 😀

If you have the opportunity to, go shadow in Labor and Delivery.

I understand...I was in the back of an ambulance helping a paramedic deliver a baby...I swear it took me an hour to clean up afterwards.

 

[amph119]

I understand...I was in the back of an ambulance helping a paramedic deliver a baby...I swear it took me an hour to clean up afterwards.

I synthesized stem cells in a lab and grew them into a baby. Beat that.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I synthesized stem cells in a lab and grew them into a baby. Beat that.

I would have rather not have done it....It was one of the few things that has actually grossed me out. If my wife ever has children, I dont plan on being in the room haha.

 

[iduwanna]

I've watched many open surgeries, and I've never seen *that* much blood. And gloop.

Despite that, it was really amazing - I think because it went so smoothly. There wasn't any screaming, and the baby cried a second after she came out.

I still have no interest in going into obstetrics, but that was one of the most awesome things I have ever witnessed.

That's all I had to say 😀

If you have the opportunity to, go shadow in Labor and Delivery.

That's awesome. You should probably create an online timeline of everything that you see and experience so that everyone has the opportunity to bask in the glory. That would be sweet.

 

[amph119]

I would have rather not have done it....It was one of the few things that has actually grossed me out. If my wife ever has children, I dont plan on being in the room haha.

Now that right there is love, folks.

 

[chitownGpremed]

That's awesome. You should probably create an online timeline of everything that you see and experience so that everyone has the opportunity to bask in the glory. That would be sweet.

you aint right for that ...

 

[iduwanna]

you aint right for that ...

BTW, do you mind if we rename this "2008-2009 I saw a baby come out?"

 

[shemarty]

I synthesized stem cells in a lab and grew them into a baby. Beat that.

👍

 

[shemarty]

BTW, do you mind if we rename this "2008-2009 I saw a baby come out?"

That's so true. I think 99% of the threads I start begin with 2008-2009.
I bet I can type "2008-2009" faster than you can.

 

[iduwanna]

I bet I can type "2008-2009" faster than you can.

You probably could.

 

[shemarty]

You probably could.

2008-2009 👍

 

[JaggerPlate]

I've watched many open surgeries, and I've never seen *that* much blood. And gloop.

Despite that, it was really amazing - I think because it went so smoothly. There wasn't any screaming, and the baby cried a second after she came out.

I still have no interest in going into obstetrics, but that was one of the most awesome things I have ever witnessed.

That's all I had to say 😀

If you have the opportunity to, go shadow in Labor and Delivery.

I did a volunteer rotation in a Labor and Delivery department for a few months ... wild experience. A few things to note:

-The attending OB/GYN was hands down the most unhappy and unpleasant person I have ever met in my life. He honestly treated the nurses like crap and they hated him/spent sooo much time talking about him.
-I was able to witness a lot of cool procedures while working there: the c-sections were the coolest (saw 5-10), also saw some procedures to prevent premature labor (some stitches placed in various areas), AND one live birth. LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING ... the live birth was the craziest thing I have ever seen and I will NEVER forget it.
-I also worked in NICU (Neonatal) after this rotation and that was an amazing experience that overlapped a lot with L&D.

I still recommend ER for anyone looking to do some volunteering, but L&D was awesome too. My only beef was downtime. The department was either non-stop with c-sections and early labors or it was hours of stocking blankets and such. ER was pretty constant, always something to see.

 

[shemarty]

The attending I was shadowing was one of the nicest bubbliest women I've ever met. 🙂

I had to leave before they did this....but there was one patient where the stitches to stop her pre-term were not holding. So they were going to go in, remove the stitches, and induce her to deliver the fetus (which was still too young to survive). It was a sad reality - there was nothing they could have done 🙁

I agree with the downtime thing. I was sitting in the residents lounge checking my e-mail for awhile before she came over and said "Lets go! They're having a baby in room such and such"

 

[Ubergeek]

I synthesized stem cells in a lab and grew them into a baby. Beat that.

You want me to beat your cell-culture baby?? What kind of monster are you?!?

 

[rjpark2]

man, you guys were lucky. I volunteered in L&D for a year and job shadowed an OB but i was only allowed to shadow in the clinic due to the rules of the hospital. i would give anything to see a live birth or c-section (i want to go into ob)

 

[olemissbabydoc]

I loved shadowing OB/gyn. vag births are fairly insane. I was honestly expecting a lot more blood and guts than I saw, both in the vags and the c-sections.

NICU is my favorite though. I'm definitely looking at neonatology.

 

[engineeredout]

Damn this sounds awesome. I'm gonna have to call up some OBs and try my luck.

 

[beachblonde]

-The attending OB/GYN was hands down the most unhappy and unpleasant person I have ever met in my life. He honestly treated the nurses like crap and they hated him/spent sooo much time talking about him.

Whenever I think of ob/gyn attendings & residents, I always remember this: http://www.theunderweardrawer.org/obgyn1.html

 

[TehDoc]

Could you smell the iron in the air?

 

[GoldShadow]

You want me to beat your cell-culture baby?? What kind of monster are you?!?

Best to start disciplining 'em while they're young!

 

[EpiPEN]

You want me to beat your cell-culture baby?? What kind of monster are you?!?

no he doesn't want you to beat the baby, he wants you to beat...

🙂

 

[lord_jeebus]

The first time I saw a delivery, some sort of innate paternal reflex was triggered - it was a genuinely emotional experience

After that, it was mainly a lot of smelly fluids and trying not to get peed on

 

[shemarty]

The first time I saw a delivery, some sort of innate paternal reflex was triggered - it was a genuinely emotional experience

After that, it was mainly a lot of smelly fluids and trying not to get peed on

I know, me too! (Maternal, not paternal, obviously)
I sorta started to tear up a little. 😳

 

[Nanon]

I synthesized stem cells in a lab and grew them into a baby. Beat that.

I synthesized stem cells in my body and grew them into a baby. Hah.

S.

 

[bcat85]

I synthesized stem cells in a lab and grew them into a baby. Beat that.

Using antibiotic treatment and spontaneous mutation, I was able to coax an E. coli cell into evolving into a baby in a matter of weeks.

 

[amph119]

using Antibiotic Treatment And Spontaneous Mutation, I Was Able To Coax An E. Coli Cell Into Evolving Into A Baby In A Matter Of Weeks.

Winner!

 

[EpiPEN]

I understand...I was in the back of an ambulance helping a paramedic deliver a baby...I swear it took me an hour to clean up afterwards.

They don't call it a bloody show for nothing

 

[metalgearHMN]

I synthesized stem cells in my body and grew them into a baby. Hah.

S.

Schwerbert has been one-upped. Anyone can grow a baby in a lab, but only 50% can grow one their own body.

 

[marianne12]

The attending I was shadowing was one of the nicest bubbliest women I've ever met. 🙂

I had to leave before they did this....but there was one patient where the stitches to stop her pre-term were not holding. So they were going to go in, remove the stitches, and induce her to deliver the fetus (which was still too young to survive). It was a sad reality - there was nothing they could have done 🙁

If I had been the above patient, I would have been appalled, humiliated, saddened, outraged (all of the above?) to learn that a pre-med rushed to describe my personal tragedy to an on-line discussion site. If someone is going to shadow, shouldn't they have a sense of discretion and sensitivity, not to mention confidentiality, about what they are privileged to witness or hear discussed? Does the attending you are shadowing know you are posting these anecdotes for the public to read?🙁

 

[EpiPEN]

If I had been the above patient, I would have been appalled, humiliated, saddened, outraged (all of the above?) to learn that a pre-med rushed to describe my personal tragedy to an on-line discussion site. If someone is going to shadow, shouldn't they have a sense of discretion and sensitivity, not to mention confidentiality, about what they are privileged to witness or hear discussed? Does the attending you are shadowing know you are posting these anecdotes for the public to read?🙁

Well there was no names or personal identifiers mentioned, so I'm guessing it's going to pass the HIPAA requipements.🙄

*EDIT*
but yeah, the patient probably might not have liked this so much🙁

 

[shemarty]

If I had been the above patient, I would have been appalled, humiliated, saddened, outraged (all of the above?) to learn that a pre-med rushed to describe my personal tragedy to an on-line discussion site. If someone is going to shadow, shouldn't they have a sense of discretion and sensitivity, not to mention confidentiality, about what they are privileged to witness or hear discussed? Does the attending you are shadowing know you are posting these anecdotes for the public to read?🙁

I didn't reveal any identifying information about the patient. That's the basis of HIPAA. It was just an interesting medical case that I thought I would share with other SDN readers.


I can edit my post to remove it if you're offended, though.

 

[HumidBeing]

There's no identifying information in her description of a routine procedure. So, it's not violating any privacy rules.

The description was made in matter-of-fact terms, and showed no disrespect for the patient.

 

[chitownGpremed]

i noticed that people give shemarty a lot of crap for some reason.

 

[MsKrispyKreme]

That's awesome. You should probably create an online timeline of everything that you see and experience so that everyone has the opportunity to bask in the glory. That would be sweet.

BTW, do you mind if we rename this "2008-2009 I saw a baby come out?"

 

[Gut Shot]

If I had been the above patient, I would have been appalled, humiliated, saddened, outraged (all of the above?) to learn that a pre-med rushed to describe my personal tragedy to an on-line discussion site. If someone is going to shadow, shouldn't they have a sense of discretion and sensitivity, not to mention confidentiality, about what they are privileged to witness or hear discussed? Does the attending you are shadowing know you are posting these anecdotes for the public to read?🙁

Newsflash: bad things happen. Really bad things. All the time. Adults sometimes discuss these things. No harm done.

 

[Gut Shot]

I can edit my post to remove it if you're offended, though.

Please don't. There is nothing wrong with your story.

 

[shemarty]

Thanks for the support, guys.

Yea, I was fairly certain that I had been compliant with all privacy and confidentiality regulations. In my experiences interacting with individuals in the medical field, I had never witnessed anybody being criticized for discussing a patient's condition so long that it was done respectfully and in a manner which preserved their anonymity.

I really did not intend to offend anybody, but I also do not appreciate being accused of lacking sensitivity and discretion.

- Shemarty

 

[GoldShadow]

If there's no personally identifiable information, there is absolutely no problem with it.

I mean, unless she's the only person to have given birth, ever. That would make her easier to find. Somehow, I doubt that's the case though.

 

[atalkinghead]

Hey Shemarty,

I've shadowed many Ob/Gyn residents. I was so excited when I first saw a baby born. I even cried. The woman asked me to hold her leg up, so I got a very close view. Another time one of the residents let me put my hands above hers as the baby came out. Seeing a birth is an amazing experience, and I encourage everyone to at least see it once!!

🙂 🙂