How do they do it?

I do not see how people in the medical field, I think they are called residents, can go 24 hours working a shift.

As a lot of you already know, I'm a doula, helping moms physically, emotionally, mentally through the labor and delivery of their baby's. I'm also a volunteer doula (meaning I'm do not get paid for services) for a program called Operation Special Delivery. It's a wonderful program for military expecting mom's to get free labor support while their husbands are deployed. Another doula and I have been working together with this mom who was expecting their first baby (dad is currently on the east coast). Her due date was the 17th so we've just been playing the waiting game. Saturday morning just before 7am I get a call from my partner saying the mom's water had broken a few hours earlier and that they were going to be heading into the hospital within the next hour or so. Of course, I had things planned for that day so my partner, Patty, was so kind to go in first and let me get some things done since the mom wasn't really having regular contractions yet. So I went and worked out with my friends Marissa and Kellie, came home and showered then went to the movies with my mom, Marissa and her mom. We went and saw Mama Mia. LOVED IT!!!! My parents used to play all the ABBA records so I knew all the songs, sorry Marissa if I annoyed you with my humming along. After the movie I called to see how things were going and it was still real slow so I was able to go clean my grandparents half of the house (mom and dad take care of their side while I clean for my grandparents). I checked in with Patty again and we decided I'd go to the hospital to relieve her about 7pm.

When I get there, Patty fills me in with the details. Not much progress. The contractions are only about 5-7 minutes apart, mom is handling them well. So, we walk the halls, sit on the birth ball, sit on the toilet, taking one contraction at a time. During each and every contraction, all night, mom needed her back rubbed (by me) while either her mom or cousin held her hand. She was finally checked around midnight and she was only dialated to 1cm and baby was still really high. It was decided to give her some morophine/phenergan to help her get some rest. It didn't work. She was given pit. to help speed up the contractions which made it harder for her to cope with the pain. In the end, she got an epidural (all of which she was really hoping to avoid). Two hours after the epi they checked her and she was at 4cm. About three hours after that she was fully dialated. By this time Patty had arrived back at the hospital with a good nights sleep. I didn't go home since I knew it wasn't going to be too much longer. Just after 11:30am the baby was born.

I had my phone on vibrate during the time I was there and about a half hour after all the excitement, I heard my phone vibrate. It's my other client, she had called twice in the past hour and a half. Oh boy, I thought. I gave her a call and she tells me that she thinks her water broke. We talked for a few minutes and it was decided that she should talk to her care provider since it was around 2 in the morning when it broke and it was now 12:30 in the afternoon. She really didn't want to go to the hospital since she wasn't really having that strong of contractions so she said she'd call me after she talked to her doctor. I go back to Patty and the mom and tell them I need to get home, congratulated mom and headed home. Of course the dr. told my new mom she needed to get to the hospital right away because of the risk of infection, yada,yada but she told me they were going to take their time, walk the dog and get there when they get there. That's great, it gives me some time to get home, eat something, take a shower and hopefully get a nap in. I do end up getting a four hour, albeit interrupted, nap. It was decided to meet this mom at the hospital at 7pm, the first mom delivered at SWWMC, and this new one was up at the Salmon Creek one. We get there at the same time and her brother and sister-in-law are already there in the waiting room. Mom gets a room, is given a swab of her cervix to check and see if her water actually broke and then is strapped to the monitors. After getting all her vitals, medical history and the rest of that stuff, the results are in. Mom's water did not break but she's having regular contractions about 2-4 minutes apart. They decided to check her. Only 1cm, 70% effaced and baby it -3 station, which means way up there still. They tell her to walk the halls for an hour and come back for another check, if there is no progress, she'll get to go home. During this time, nine more members of her family show up, making that a total of 14 people out walking the halls with her including dad and I. We get back to the room, she's checked again, no progress. They monitor her about 20 more minutes and tell her to go home. Mom is frustrated, and I think a little embarassed, but I'm actually very greatful since I'm so exhausted. I get home around 10:30 and go right to bed. I'm still not fully rested but at least if I'm called in tonight I'll be able to think more clearly.

So, as to my first statement, I don't see how anyone in the medical field can function working such long hours. I love what I do and I can understand the adrenaline rush you get from the excitement that helps keep you awake but still, that rush doesn't last long and the brain stops functioning properly. Okay I'm babbling now so off to bed I go. Wow, this was longer than I thought. Kudos to you if you stuck to reading this.