Labor and delivery and the event of a new baby is normally considered to be a happy moment. It's a milestone, a family event, and hopefully a celebration of a new addition. Yet, nobody expects the medical complications, the unexpected, and the scary moments that can occur during the birth of a child.
Yet, the unexpected had occurred for a couple who were first-time parents. The patient had Marfan's Syndrome and was under the care of Barnes Jewish / Washington University Physicians. With the added stress on the heart that a pregnancy brings, it was an easy decision for the couple to seek out Barnes as their hospital of choice for their delivery and care. Their Cardiologist and care team were already familiar with her care, and the continuity was something that they felt very comfortable with. During the labor process, the patient had some complications and had an emergency C-section. During her C-section, an ACT was called, and the patient was started on pressors for acute hypotension and with her complex care, she was transferred to the ICU quickly.
The patient was still recovering from anesthesia when she arrived. The ACT nurse, several team members from Labor & Delivery and an anesthesia provider all accompanied her to the bedside. A bedside report was given, and the ICU team and Gayla assumed care. The patient was terrified, but more so was so upset she didn't have a chance to see or even hold her brand new baby. She informed Gayla of all of her "firsts" she had planned with her husband. She also quickly informed Gayla that her husband was an acute care nurse practitioner, and her father-in-law was a physician's assistant who were both a nervous wreck because of her acute transfer. However, they decided to stay with the baby. The patient's parents were in the waiting room to be with her. She made sure to tell Gayla that one of the plans for their "firsts" was to tell both his and her parents the sex of the baby after the birth. She made sure that Gayla was in agreement to keep their baby boy a secret. The patient and Gayla exchanged many hugs and congratulations, and Gayla promised she would keep her baby's sex a secret.
Without further ado, Gayla brought the patient's parents back to see her immediately. Obviously, they were worried as Gayla updated them. Gayla slowly weaned the patient off of pressors and after a couple of hours, the patient appeared to be hemodynamically stable. In the meantime, the patient informed Gayla she had wanted to breastfeed. However, the acute event prevented the baby from being placed on the breast or for her to even see the baby. Gayla quickly started making all the appropriate calls to get the ball rolling. She was able to obtain a breast pump, contacted the nursery about the patient's desire to breastfeed and was able to help her set up to pump for the first time. There was enough to feed the baby and Gayla continued to help the patient pump throughout the day. The baby was able to strictly breastfeed because of this effort, which was the goal of the patient. With all of this, the patient's husband appeared at the bedside and requested both that both sets of grandparents be able to visit at the same time to announce their baby's sex. Gayla and the hospital were able to make this wish come true and they announced they had a baby boy.
The patient's husband and first-time dad asked to speak with Gayla privately. He hugged Gayla so tight, and he and his father both thanked her. The patient's husband said it was the hardest decision of his life to make. He said, "I was faced with a helpless newborn baby that needed me and the love of my life being transferred to critical care, knowing she was so sick. I had to choose and didn't know what to do. The husband's father-in-law looked him in the eyes and said, "You go to be with your baby and I will go with mine." Then the father-in-law who hadn't left his daughter's side told Gayla, "You must be selfless when you are a parent, and even though my daughter is 30 years old, she will always be my baby." The other grandfather said to Gayla, "We are grateful for your attention to detail, your kindness and your sensitivity in this matter. You made us all take care of our babies with a bit of relief today and everyone is now stable and thriving." He then informed Gayla that since they are both healthcare professionals it meant the world to them to arrive at the bedside and everything was under control. They were able to take a deep breath and enjoy the moment of being new parents and grandparents without being providers. The best part was that Gayla was able to coordinate with the nursery and ICU team to move her out of critical care and to the Mother/Baby unit.