yesterday's child

My patient’s wife: You know who you remind me of?

Me: ??

Her: Flo! You know from the commercials?

Me: Really? Thanks! Funny story, I was in theatre when I was younger and when I saw her on TV i was like, MAN that could have been me! 

Lady totally stole my gig. 

notatthedinnertable:

I often see posts on tumblr asking what expectant mothers should take to the hospital with them. I’m posting my own list based on personal experience as a student midwife to help you guys out.

This is going under a read more because it is huge. Areas I am covering include:

• Essentials for mum

• Essentials for baby

• Additional essentials

• Birth partner’s hospital bag

• Optional extras

cranquis:

There are two automatic “reflexes” which must be suppressed when working with a patient who has scabies.

The first is scratching your skin while talking with them. Avoid this to protect your patient’s self-esteem.

The second is shaking hands with them. Avoid this to protect yourself from spending the next 3 minutes nonchalantly boiling your hands in the sink while you keep talking to the patient, acting like it ain’t no thing to have invisible bugs on your hands.

beachyogamama:

I plan to have a natural birth in a hospital setting. Although a hospital is not my first choice, my group of midwives only deliver at the hospital. Because I trust them, and because I did not want to switch caregivers throughout my pregnancy, I needed to open my mind a little bit about the whole birthing process. Here are some things that I put in place that should make me successful in a natural birth.

Working with a Midwife:

Midwives are specifically trained in natural birth. It is what they do, and support. I know that even though we will be in a hospital, I have my midwife on my side to keep my beliefs in mind, while doing what is best for my baby.

Working with a Doula:

Doulas are also great, especially in a hospital. Having a support system who can help you navigate, and advocate for yourself, can help you keep to the plan that you want.

Keeping it Natural:

I am going to be relying on breathing and relaxation techniques. Once we start to numb out our bodies with an epidural, we begin to give up a little bit of our own power. The epidural will often slow contractions. Once the contractions are slowing down, sometimes a doctor will want to give pitocin, to “help things along”, causing very strong contractions. This stress can put the baby in distress, and that can lead to a very different birth experience. This is not to say I am completely against getting an epidural, or any other woman getting an epidural. But it is my plan to work with my own body to work through labor.

Staying healthy: 

The more fit and healthy you are, the easier this whole process will be. Staying within healthy weight limits, keeping good blood pressure, and exercising all will help to facilitate a natural birth.

Taking a birth class:

I wanted to take a fancy class at a yoga studio, but it was just too much money to spend right now, before the baby comes! So, my hubby and I opted for the class at the hospital, as a more affordable option. The woman who taught the class was pro-natural birth, and pro-breastfeeding, which was very encouraging. However, she also talked about complications very honestly. I think that this is equally important. It is great to have the birth that you want planned out step-by-step, but things can happen…and sometimes plans change. It’s nice to know what you might be expecting, if things don’t go as expected.

Yoga:

Yoga is awesome, whether you are pregnant or not! But especially in pregnancy, it can serve as a wonderful low-impact exercise. It is also a way to learn how to breathe, relax, and bond with your baby.

Keeping an open mind, if any interventions are needed:

I know I want a natural birth, and I have done everything in my power to prepare for that experience. However, I know part of my job as a mom is to take the best care of myself, and my baby, even if things start go go astray from my preferences. I trust my body, and my caregivers. I know all that is meant to be, will be.

(via yogabeachandbaby-deactivated201)

housewifeswag:

we obviously need these everywhere. 

omg. necessary

(via dorasnursing)

wayfaringmd:

One morning on psych I went to see my favorite aphasic patient, Gus. 

Usually he was pleasantly confused and was always alert and interacting (as best he could) with other patients. That morning I found him slumped over in his chair, face almost in his plate of eggs. 

I called his name and tapped his shoulder, but he wouldn’t respond verbally. Eventually he turned his eyes up and looked at me with a pained expression. He was very lethargic and stiff. His right arm was drawn up and his hand was in a fist. When I tried to sit him up in his chair, he wouldn’t straighten up.

Something was clearly not right, so I went to the orderly.

“Did you notice Gus? He’s not acting like his usual self. How long has he been like this?” 

“I don’t know. He does that sometimes. He’ll get all quiet and mad looking for twenty minutes or so and then he’ll go back to normal. He’ll be fine.”

I still didn’t like it, so I went and got my attending. I told him about Gus’s rigidity and the fact that the orderly said this happens occasionally. He examined Gus and then turned to the orderly.

“How often does he do this?”

“Couple times a day. He’s fine though.”

“NO, he’s not. He’s freaking having seizures! And no one here thought it was important to report it?”

“We thought he was just tired and being moody.”

“This is PSYCHIATRY. Change in mood is not something you can just dismiss! Next time if someone is not acting like their usual self, call me!” 

A minute or two later, Gus relaxed. He was already on seizure medication, but obviously it was not fully covering him. His meds got adjusted, the orderly got quite the tongue lashing, and Gus got better. 

Moral of the story: any change from baseline could be clinically relevant. Examine your patients. Also, most seizures are not tonic-clonic. Don’t be fooled by what you see on TV. 

Reblogging this partly for the excellent use of gifs.. and the relevancy to anyone in a health profession! :)