Now don’t get me wrong, I love my job, but I promised I’d always just tell it how it is.

Let’s just say that yes being there for the birth of a baby is the most incredible part of my job, but I’ll be honest, when I first started attending deliveries every moment leading up to the gorgeous crying baby coming out felt like a cruel lesson on birth control.

At this stage I actually wasn’t entirely sure if it was Paediatrics (kids) or Obstetrics (women) I wanted to practice in long term. It’s not that surprising, I was an early 20 something year old Medical student, I barely knew what I wanted to wear let alone my career choice. Nonetheless I always felt in my heart working with children was for me but the nerdy med student in me loved the medicine in Obstetrics. I loved learning about pregnancy, deliveries, women’s health and all the things it entailed. So momentarily I thought it could be for me.

Until I started going to deliveries.

Now sure for the parents it’s the most incredible moment in their lives (the mums perhaps don’t remember the start of the delivery as being that incredible and I don’t blame them) and I’m not taking anything away from the miracle that is child birth. But as a naive, innocent, deprived student every child birth I witnessed was a miracle of a different kind – a miracle I didn’t faint.

…It was the first delivery I ever attended. We had lectures on it, studied about it, even watched videos on it. But nothing compared to being there in person. It looks like a scene from a horror movie. Blood and fluid everywhere. Forceps and scissors on the sterile table. Stinks like blood and poo. Grandma trying to offer water but getting in the way, she can’t hold back her tears. She’s wailing louder than mum. Mum’s sweating and screaming, grabbing dad’s hand so tight he looks like he’s about the cry from the pain of her nails digging in while at the same time trying so hard not to pass out watching the baby’s head sit there slowly turning a shade of purple. Midwife and Obstetrician screaming at mum to push and “channel her energy” down in to her pelvis. Suddenly mum lets out a blood curdling scream and yells “GET THIS THING OUT OF ME”…

Forget the pill, this is birth control for Medical students 101.

Be healthy. Be happy. Be kind.
Dr. Nelu x

(Photo credit: http://thestir.cafemom.com/pregnancy/183393/20_craziest_things_moms_have)

Tag: medical student

Forget the pill – birth control at its best