AMA VICDOC Autumn 2024 - Magazine - Page 27
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s a paediatrician, I've
seen a lot of pregnant
women in my time, so
I definitely had an idea
of what to expect when I fell
pregnant the first time. But I
didn't realise how tough it would
be working long hours and being
pregnant, and how that would
impact me.
I remember going into the
obstetrician's office at around
14 weeks and he told me I had
high blood pressure. I was like,
what? I've looked after women
with high blood and I knew all of
the risk factors but it was quite a
shock. I was working so hard at
the hospital, I didn't realise
that it had impacted on my
blood pressure.
I really had to take a step back
after that. The team supported
me and I didn’t have to do super
long hours or late shifts, which
really did help. But I had to stop
and think, ‘I have to take care of
this baby because no one else is
going to’.
I was working in the hospital
doing lots of walking and I was
on my feet a lot in a busy ward.
There was a lot of illnesses and I
got the flu. It was terrible, I was
in bed for a week and I couldn't
breathe properly and had really
bad chest pain. I went to the
hospital and because have asthma,
I was wiped out for a whole week.
And because I was pregnant
it was worse. My coworkers said
I needed to take time off, but
I felt so guilty about that. In
pregnancy, you don't realise how
compromised you actually are and
that you're more prone to picking
up other infections.
Later on in the pregnancy, I
was offered a job but I turned it
down because I didn't want to
come back to work at six months
postpartum. I wanted to spend
more time with the baby.
At around 30 weeks, I pushed a
really heavy IV trolley and I didn't
think about it. The next day I
was in hospital with pelvic pain
and had to have an ultrasound
because they worried that I'd been
bleeding. Luckily it was all fine,
but these are things that I never
thought about.
The other issue with being a
doctor is you know too much; you
know about all the complications
that could happen, like preterm
delivery. I don't think it’s normal
but a lot of doctors do think
like that.
I had all these unnecessary
fears based on what I've seen.
I’ve looked after babies in NICU,
I've resuscitated babies. You see
the worst side.
When I had my first son, I
had an emergency C-section and
that was probably what took me
the most by surprise. I've been on
the other end of that procedure
and when babies are born, I'm
the doctor that they hand the
baby to so I've seen the procedure
hundreds of times. But it's so
different when you are the one
lying on the table.
The weird thing was
afterwards, I didn't expect the
pain. I remember saying to the
obstetrician, ‘I felt like I was cut
open with a knife’. And he goes,
‘Yes you were’.
I didn’t expect to feel so
isolated in that situation, even
though there were doctors and
nurses doing what they needed to
do around me. It was a weekend
too, so I had to wait in recovery
and I was separated from my
son for almost an hour or maybe
longer. I was shivering and I
didn't have the baby with me.
Even for me as a paediatrician,
I never saw that side. I'd get the
baby, the mum would be closed up
and then we'd focus on the baby.
You do think about the mum,
but I focus more on the baby so
I didn’t expect it.
You grow this human being
inside of you for so long and you
have this imagination of what
birth is going to be like. And
then when it's different, it's really
hard to comprehend. I think a lot
of women feel like something was
almost taken away from them.
Then for my second
pregnancy, I actually started
bleeding from 24 weeks
which was unexpected. I had
to limit my activity and I got
hospitalised for a week at
around 30 weeks. I just had to
do bed rest in the hospital for
a whole week because I was
bleeding.
For that birth I had to do
a caesarean again, but the best
thing was I had an elective
caesarean and I knew what it
was going to be like. I had my
hair done, I had my nails done,
I had everything done and I was
ready so it was much better.
Yes, it was painful, I knew
it was painful, but I was more
prepared for it. My son was put
on my chest straight away and
I was able to breastfeed him
straight away. I think the first
experience definitely shaped
the second and I made better
choices the second time around.
My experience as a doctor
was different to a lot of other
women and that really shaped
my pregnancy. There was a lot
of fear but there was also a lot
of joy as well. The kicks and
the kicking and feeling that
something is alive inside of you,
that was amazing. I loved that
all the beautiful things about
being pregnant.
The best piece of advice
I can give is to be prepared.
Talk to your friends, talk to
women who have had
different experiences.
Everybody knows someone
who's had a C-section. And
don't think that your birth
plan will go perfectly, you can
have a hope for something,
but then you need to have a
backup plan if it doesn't work.
Have a support network and
know where you can go for help.”
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