Day 12 - True appreciation of the fragility of life...
We had our last day of Obs and Gynae today and it was a busy one, we saw 4 babies be born all before 11am - and all little boys too!
The First baby was a case that I don't think any of us will ever forget, it was a breech delivery, in the UK mothers would be advised to have a cesarean however in Sri Lanka, if the pelvis is of adequate size a natural birth is preferred with doctor supervision and assistance. So a doctor was present along with a head nurse, several midwives and about 25 medical students around the bed. She started pushing and we were trying to work out what the presenting part of the baby was, it certainly wasn't a head but it wasn't the bottom either.. Puzzled faces all round.. It was the baby's scrotum and willy! It's a boy!! She continued to push and the breech came out and the doctor un hooked the legs however her contractions started to slow and the their strength decreased. The baby was stuck half in and half out for a long period of time, the mother was tiring and the shoulders appeared to be stuck. The doctor felt for the umbilical cord pulse and it was weak due to compression and he called for consultant help. Once the consultant took over it was evident that something was wrong, their faces were panicked, they needed to get he baby out quick, he was pulling on the baby (which was totally white). We were all thinking the worst as the Baby had been stuck for a long time. Eventually a midwife got onto the bed and gave one big push on the mothers pelvis and the baby popped out. Baby was whisked off and a consultant neonatologist was waiting.. He was lifeless. They had to do chest compressions to get his heart going but he was not breathing independently so had to be intubated. The mother could see all this happening. He was then put into an incubator and taken to the intensive care baby unit. The consultant who had delivered the baby was trembling himself, it was a very stressful situation. The mother was fine and we followed up the baby later in Intensive care, he was still on a ventilator and it is unsure whether there is any lasting brain damage due to oxygen deprivation during the traumatic birth. It was interesting to see how an emergency situation was handled but We all felt very emotional about the whole ordeal. Luckily we went onto watch 3 normal simple deliveries afterwards. One in particular was really lovely, she was a deaf mute lady so it was a very peaceful calm birth and she was just so happy when her baby was born, her smile was incredible, another emotional moment, a dramatic stark contrast to how the previous mother must have been feeling.
After hospital we headed back to our hostel where the owner had made us a big traditional curry lunch for all the guests, we all sat round a big table and had a range of homemade curries - Aubergine, cauliflower, pineapple, Dahl, jackfruit, tuna, chicken, green bean. It tasted great! Spent the afternoon digesting and reading. Needless to say we did not need dinner just popped out for an ice cream and then an early night! Heading to Colombo tomorrow to extend our visas so having a very early morning!