The Birth of My Daughter :: Essays Papers

The Birth of My Daughter The moment to give birth to my daughter Anais came very quickly. My doctor, a young male wearing blue scrubs wheeled me to the delivery room with the assistance of a female nurse wearing green scrubs, and my husband, which was also wearing scrubs. The hospital delivery room felt very cold and very sterile. The walls were painted white with gray tile covering one half of the walls, and there was a smell of soap in the air. The delivery room was equipped with a gurney covered with white starchy linen, a large stainless steel lamp with a microscope sticking out of one side stood next to the gurney, a baby incubator that look like a large clear plastic rectangular box with two round holes on one side, and a table covered with very neatly placed stainless steel surgical instruments. In the delivery room, were four people, a male anesthesiologist and three female nurses wearing green scrubs, facemasks, and gloves. The anesthesiologist was seated next to the head of the gurney with an air tank and IV, in the event I had to undergo a cesarean due to having developed gestational diabetes during my pregnancy. One of the major problems a woman with gestational diabetes faces is a condition the baby may develop called "macrosomia." Macrosomia means "large body" and refers to a baby that is considerably larger than normal. All of the nutrients the fetus receives come directly from the mother's blood. If the mother’s blood has too much glucose (simple sugar), the pancreas of the fetus senses the high glucose levels and produces more insulin (a hormone regulating the glucose level in blood) in an attempt to use the glucose. The fetus converts the extra glucose to fat. Occasionally, the baby grows too large to be delivered through the vagina and a cesarean delivery becomes necessary. On the other side of the gurney stood one of the nurses checking the baby incubator, while the other two were standing next to the table with the surgical instruments. Immediately upon entering the delivery room, two of the nurses transferred me to the gurney in the delivery room, where the doctor checked me and said I had a ways to go but that I had already dilated to 7 centimeters (the amount the cervix has opened in preparation for childbirth).