Maternity Course

[Happiness]

Well I was invited to do an Emergency Maternity course at our local hospital. Our hospital is not desiginated for labour and delivery so everyone either goes down island or they go off island.

In this course we learned alot of the nursing stuff as it really wasnt geared to the paramedic side of the issue, but still got alot of useful information and now I have to think How the hell will I ever transport a prolapse cord mother on her hands and knee's and hopefully my partners hand up there holding the baby in..........well if I ever come across it I will let you know how I did it.

The biggest thing though is that I learned in Canada Maturnity is not a big part of School practicums like they were 30 years ago. You would think that it would be drilled many times over. As I watched the younger nurses look like deers in head lamps and the thought of full labour comming through those doors was very disturbing. Just days before they actually turned a young girl away and said to go home with out even having a Dr look at her. Now this is to me wrong on many levels but I was not there and probably may not know the whole story. So why in the world would this part of nursing not be important in our schooling as when you think about it nurses deal with life from beginning to end.

just some thoughts

[Timmy]

I agree, in my LPN training we did maybe one lecture (3hours) on maternity. Even in my RN degree it doesn’t look like were going into great depth about delivering a baby. There’s a Graduate Diploma of Midwifery program here which runs over a year if you already have your Bachelor of Nursing and practising as an RN, this course entitles you to register as a Midwife.

Unfortunately I must admit I’d be one of those young nurses who stood there like a deer in headlights, it happened a few times while I was working at the rural hospital. We had a on call doctor who had no obstetrics experience and would pretty much refuse to deliver a baby because of insurance. We were also lucky if there was a midwife on the shift so generally they were whisked off by the ambulance to a larger facility. Generally we’d have a lot of people present with bleeding during their first or second trimester, we also had a lady unfortunately pass away due to an ectopic pregnancy but we never delivered a baby while I was on shift. Things like preeclampsia, breeching, postpartum haemorrhage and so on send me into a head spin because I really wouldn’t feel confident in dealing with said emergencies. I’m also not at all familiar with the pathophysiology or pharmacology behind obstetric emergencies.

Whilst midwifery and delivering kids is not my style at all I know I must ascertain at least some basic knowledge in the area because it’s enviable that one day the situation may arise.

[Kiwiology]

We spend a whopping three hours (two hours in class and an hour long DVD) on childirth, pregnancy and the newborn.

If you're in imminent labour it is desirable that somebody else besides me turns up.

Well that could be said for most patients now that I think of it.

[BlissEMT]

Wow... maybe it's just where I am, but when I took my LPN classes, we took a "Family and Community Nursing" class, that lasted for an entire semester (2 hours per week for 16 weeks), which was to prepare you for working at a place like Planned Parenthood and Unexpected Pregnancies. And at least one of the clinical/practicum specialties was OB... you could choose it for your "elective" specialty if you wanted to as well. There was 1/3 of a unit spent on it in my EMT class, too. Which isn't a whole lot, but sounds like a bit more than you guys are saying you got...

Like I said, maybe it's Minnesota. Maybe it's just plain American weirdness. I feel like I'm prepared for a call involving a woman in labor. Which doesn't mean a whole lot, cause being prepared and actually being able to do it are very different, I know, but I feel like I at least know some of the possibilities, and how to properly deal with them.

[Timmy]

I’ve just had a quick look over the website from a local college, it appears there is a course designed for LPNs who currently practise within a maternity unit or will be workplace supported to practise in such an area. Looks to run over 80 hours, plus clinicals covering - Anatomy and Physiology, Labour and Birth, Post Natal Care, Care of the Newborn, Breastfeeding, Discharge Planning - At Risk and an Overview.

We did have new borns and mums transferred back to us for a few days of observations, I use to go into a mild state of panic every time I had to check the new borns vitals, attend to it or even pick it up, I think just handling the baby was my greatest fear! It always amazed me how the Midwives could just handle it like it was second nature.

Who knows, maybe someday I’ll take the Midwifery course…

If you're in imminent labour it is desirable that somebody else besides me turns up.

Me too! Seriously, one night a lady came into ED with abdominal pains, I opened the door to let her in and her waters broke and I think mine did to!

[ERDoc]

Of all the things we do in medicine, delivery is probably the thing that should scare you the least. All that you really need to do is catch. As long as you don't drop the baby things are good. Women have been doing it for millenia without doctors/medics. It is always good to know what to do when things don't go as planned but those things are not very common. Knowing about pregnancy and the associated issues with it is much more important (compression of the vena cava, physiologic changes, etc).

[BushyFromOz]

Of all the things we do in medicine, delivery is probably the thing that should scare you the least. All that you really need to do is catch. As long as you don't drop the baby things are good. Women have been doing it for millenia without doctors/medics. It is always good to know what to do when things don't go as planned but those things are not very common. Knowing about pregnancy and the associated issues with it is much more important (compression of the vena cava, physiologic changes, etc).

Not scared of it but i hate it all the same. I hate the smell, the sounds, the look of it......... really wrecks your sex drive for a while.

[rock_shoes]

Well I was invited to do an Emergency Maternity course at our local hospital. Our hospital is not desiginated for labour and delivery so everyone either goes down island or they go off island.

In this course we learned alot of the nursing stuff as it really wasnt geared to the paramedic side of the issue, but still got alot of useful information and now I have to think How the hell will I ever transport a prolapse cord mother on her hands and knee's and hopefully my partners hand up there holding the baby in..........well if I ever come across it I will let you know how I did it.

...

just some thoughts

How long does it take ITT to get to you? Is there anywhere to land the leerjet on your particular island in the Queen Charlottes? Otherwise all I can say is pray women in your area have normal pregnancies/deliveries.

[Just Plain Ruff]

WEll I recently delivered a baby on the couch of a trailer home.

Uncomplicated delivery.

My last exposure to OB related education consisted of a 2.75 hour course on OB/Gyn complications and childbirth online.

It's amazing what you remember when the time comes to go big or go home.

Deliver head, suction

Deliver body, dry, stimulate, clamp, cut cord, put baby on mom's chest wrapped in warm blankets, put mom on cot, clean up mess you made after crapping yourself after determining that this baby aint waiting till the hospital and then drive to hospital slow and smooth and deliver child to a nice warmed up baby warmer and the OB Nurses.

Go back down to the ER/ambulance bay and get pats on the back for a job well done.

Clean shorts

Clean ambulance

Write report

Go home and get some sleep.

A condensed version of the events above.

[Happiness]

How long does it take ITT to get to you? Is there anywhere to land the leerjet on your particular island in the Queen Charlottes? Otherwise all I can say is pray women in your area have normal pregnancies/deliveries.

[/quote

Up to 2 hrs and all is weather depending. And trust me there is nothing ever just normal for me in this job