Operating Room

I had ONE-OF-THE coolest experiences on Sunday. I observed a C-section at the public hospital with a very compassionate, generous obstetrician. Here's the background and story.
One of the helpers at the house we lived in up until a few months ago (remember Fancy Nancy's house?) became pregnant last year. She and her husband were very excited as they really wanted another child (they have a 9 year old daughter who also has been asking about a sibling). I too was excited and offered to deliver her baby at Glory Reborn, if she was interested in that. She was and so she began prenatal care at the clinic at the end of last year.
A few weeks later she started having some bleeding. I accompanied her to our obstetrician who has agreed to see our patients. Now, a quick note regarding the obstetrician: She has agreed to see our patients and Hilary pays her some small monthly fee but she basically does it out of the kindness of her heart. That way, our patients don't have to pay anything for the actual doctor visit. Meds and hospital services however, if needed must be covered by the patient. So this doc has been working with Glory Reborn for a while now and she says things like, "I'm always happy to help" and "You do such great work at the clinic." She is a real blessing to us and especially to our patients who can't afford the consult of a doctor. She is a devoted catholic woman and is always super nice and accommodating.
So back to my pregnant friend. It turned out she was experiencing subchorionic hemorrhaging which is caused by incomplete attachment of the placenta to the uterus. In her case it is likely caused by the D&Cs she had from 2 past miscarriages. A D&C (Dilation and Curatage) is a procedure done to remove the remaining products of conception left in the uterus after an incomplete miscarriage has taken place. This is also the method used in early abortions. At any rate, it can cause scarring to the inside lining of the uterus so when a subsequent pregnancy takes place, there is a risk of incomplete attachment by the placenta if implanted over the portion that is scarred. It seems this was her situation. It was also discovered that she had a septated bicordinate uterus (A uterus with two cavities with a membrane separating the two portions). With these two things this made her pregnancy high-risk and she was not longer advised to give birth at the clinic. She would have to give birth with our OB at the public hospital.
Long story short the subchorionic hemorrhage was treated and stopped and never returned and so my friend went on to carry her baby to term.
I had asked the OB if she would allow me to attend my friend's birth at the hospital to which the doctor agreed. At the hospital no one is allowed in the delivery room, not even the husband so both my friend and I were happy that I'd get to be there to provide labor support.
About 3 weeks ago her baby turned breech (head up position). After several unsuccessful attempts to get the baby to rotate into the ideal head-down position my friend was advised that she would likely have to have a C-section.
On Sunday I got a call that my friend's water had broken and that she was experiencing painful contractions. The doctor was called and I was given permission to observe the birth in the OR. I was elated. So I went, I saw, I held my friend's hand, I tried to stay out of anyone's way and I tried not to miss anything. So on my tippy toes I watched the entire procedure - from the cutting open, to the pulling the baby out butt-first, to the suturing. And just like on TV the baby was immediately handed to the pediatrician who whisked it away to do APGAR scoring (assess the baby's well-being) and to wipe her dry and wrap her up. They brought the baby in for just a few seconds and let my friend see her and kiss her new baby on the cheek before the baby was brought to the nursery.
The coolest part (besides the healthy baby girl that was extracted, and the tears in my friend's eyes when she saw her baby) was when the doc brought the top of the uterus into view so that we could see it's heart-shape as opposed to the normal, dome-shape of the uterus. So cool!
Praise God for a healthy and happy mom and a very happy dad and sister to welcome such a cute and healthy baby girl! I was so privileged to witness it.
Hilary told me later that the OB doc texted her and told her that I would be welcome back any time and that maybe next time I could scrub in and assist. Can you believe that??
Prior to the operation, I walked by the OB ward in the hospital with the doc and she said, "This is our OB ward. It is very dirty. Your clinic is so much cleaner."