I like anesthesiologists, always have because when needed (or wanted) a good anesthesiologist can make all the difference at a birth. However, today I need to say thank you to one in particular and it is not for the reasons that anesthesiologists are often thanked. Furthermore,I don’t know his name, at least not his full name, but here is why he deserves a thank you, a hug and raise.
To properly appreciate what he did, I need to share a bit about what was happening when I met him. I was doula-ing for a couple who had a very traumatic Cesarean experience prior to this pregnancy. When they got pregnant again, they made plans to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after a Cesarean) and did everything they could to make that plan happen. Sometimes labor has a mind of its own though and we were not having the vaginal birth they had planned, we were moving to the OR for a Cesarean birth. There were tears happening as we prepped – from all of us. We were tired and we were frustrated that we had done everything and ultimately we could not change the outcome. We were not however frustrated with our care, nor the decision to move forward with a surgical delivery. It was the best course of action, just not Plan A and it is always OK to be sad when Plan A does not work out.
As the surgery started, I did my best to make the OR a happy place…a place for a BIRTH day! We talked and focused on the arrival of this much anticipated baby boy. Our anesthesiologist stood with us and joined in our banter. He is an attractive young man and we even suggested he exchange phone numbers with our equally attractive young and single midwife (though sadly he says he is spoken for). He asked my client if she wanted music and what type and tried his best to make that happen.
Then the joyful moment occurred where we heard a cry from the other side of the drape. Baby was here! Tears of frustration turned to tears of joy. Baby was held up over the curtain then he was whisked off to the waiting nursery staff on the other side of the room out of mom’s view at the warmer. Having attended many Cesareans at this hospital, I knew my client would be able to hold her baby once he was checked out and we talked about how she was looking forward to it while we waited. When it seemed the nursery staff were moving on beyond basics, I went to the warmer to let them know mom was so ready to meet her little one. The nurses were nice and said they would finish up doing stuff and bring him over in a while. While it is unusual for them to have my clients wait that long at this hospital, I respect what they needed to do and I knew it had been a complicated labor which can create more need for monitoring a new baby.
When I got back to my client to let her know it would be a bit longer, I saw our anesthesiologist step away briefly. He was back just moments later, carrying the baby to my client. I’ve never seen this before. The anesthesiologist presented my client with her baby and mother and son met for the first time. I don’t know if they teach about the golden hour or skin to skin or bonding in anesthesiologist school, nor do I know that he is even allowed to do what he did. However the human kindness shown in that gesture moves me to this day. Thank you Mr. Anesthesiologist!
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Maria Pokluda has been a doula serving expecting families in Dallas / Ft. Worth since 2007 and has helped hundreds of families have happy birth days. Maria was voted “Best Doula” by DFW Child the past three years and has a special passion for helping couples achieve VBACs. In 2011, Maria co-created the Birth Boot Camp program. You can find information about Maria’s services at greatexpectationsbirth.com