Tag: Midwifery. Anaesthetics

Anaesthetics, Antenatal education, Birth, Breastfeeding, Caesarean section, Change management, Communication, Compassion, Helping others, Hospital, Human kindness, Human rights, Intra-operative care, Labour , birth, Labour and birth, MatExp, Midwife, Midwifery, Midwifery and birth, New parents, Newborn, NHS, Nursing, Obstetrics, Paediatrics, Patient care, Respect, Skin to skin contact

The operating theatre tea party – read on to find out more 

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This week I was lucky enough to be in the multi-disciplinary team involved in the care of women pre peri and post – Caesarean section . 

Lucky you say ? Aren’t midwives supposed to only be focused on PHYSIOLOGICAL  birth ? well yes that’s one of our roles but we also care for women in the antenatal period – we run triage clinics with the fab support of a skilled maternity support worker – running tests on women then contacting the Dr for advice with the results – pure team work . We also care for women in labour who have complex medical needs , complex mental health issues and we work WITH the obstetric team to find the best plan of care – we do this together with the woman’s input . I am proud of everyone I work with – they give me hope . We also work on birth centres and attend pool births . We are community midwives we attend home births , we support women who have safeguarding issues , women who live under the threat of Domestic violence and women who have disabilities. We manage wards , units , we are heads of midwifery , we are ward midwives , labour ward midwives , specialist midwives  and we are mothers , fathers ,single women/men  , gay women/men  , straight women/men  , married men/women , we are spinsters / bachelors but most of all we are HUMAN BEINGS .  

Each birth I see means a lot to me as a woman, a midwife and a human . I don’t judge a woman because she has a more complex or simple birth than the births I had – I’m in MIDWIFERY because I want women to feel positive about their birth experience and EVEN after this weeks news I am still determined to try my best to promote physiology in all birth settings . 

Anyway back to the operating theatre . 

The team in the operating theatre where I work are so together with the families they meet . They all know the importance of #SkinToSkin contact and how utterly important it is for the woman involved to hold her newborn asap . So the ODP makes sure that the woman tucks one sleeve of her theatre gown under her arm , places the ECG electrodes on the woman’s back and adds a mini – extension to the top of the theatre table so as to give the woman a greater sense of space to hold her newborn . The scrub nurse prepares a sterile space on the cot for the obstetrician to place the baby onto AFTER delayed cord clamping has taken place . The baby is dried on the theatre table and then placed on a sterile sheet on a cot with wheels – the Midwife assesses the baby’s condition at the side of the parents – so they feel involved and the baby is not weighed – we aim for skin to skin contact prior to 5 minutes of age – unless there are concerns with the baby’s health – both parents see the baby immediately and one of them cuts the cord . The other parent is then helped with placing the newborn on the mothers upper chest safely in a prone position and the midwife STAYS next to the woman and her newborn supporting them so that skin to skin can continue for as long as possible , I have piloted this and women who are supported hold their babies for longer – so I leave my records until we go into recovery area . Photographs are encouraged (as many as the family want to take) and also music . This week we asked a woman which music she’d like – we don’t yet have a Bluetooth speaker in  theatre just yet (watch this space)  so I put my phone on as Coldplay was requested . The consultant anaesthetist (Dr Richard Cross ) left the senior registrar in anaesthetics in charge whilst he was away for two minutes . When he returned he was holding a metal NHS supply teapot – we all looked puzzled 😕 . Then he carefully placed my phone into the empty teapot – this acted like a mini speaker and it was just the right volume for the family – but not too loud to disturb the surgeons and the safety in the theatre . 

What I’m trying to say is that this kind gesture was all for the family – especially the woman – we were making memories for her – she’ll always remember that she held her newborn , whilst listening to Coldplay from a teapot – what could be better than that 

Once safely in recovery (transfer to recovery area takes place with skin to skin ongoing ) we encourage birthcrawl by the newborn and praise the infants behaviour as this helps with the maternal connection . The woman is offered water quite soon after (unless she has had a general anaesthetic- in which case we wait until she is safe to tolerate water ) and then a cup of tea ( two half cups so none has the potential to spill onto the newborn ) and some toast which helps with enhanced recovery – we try to take our time with being in recovery as the woman needs more time to bond with her child due to restrictions on movement due to theatre drapes & position . 

Thank you Richard Cross and all the team in theatre for your kindness , laughter , compassion and care 
I hope you enjoyed reading this latest blog 

P.S what I didn’t mention was that there was a language barrier , but kindness , compassion and communication still took place – and the music connected us all ❤️

Happy Saturday -with love  Jenny xx 

Anaesthetics, Antenatal education, Anxiety, Being busy as a midwife, Birth, Change management, Communication, Compassion, Fear of Birth, Giving information, Helping others, Hospital, Human kindness, Kindness, Labour , birth, Labour and birth, MatExp, Midwife, Midwifery, Midwifery and birth, Newborn, NHS, NHS Systems and processes, Obstetrics, Paediatrics, Psychology, PTSD, Respect, Women's health, Women's rights, Young mothers, Young women

Loss of control – a reason for fear of birth ? 

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When any of us are admitted to hospital we lose control . We are unable to get a hot drink when we want one , eat what we want when we want to ,take simple pain relief , go to the toilet , sleep as well as we would at home , get up in the night or stay in bed longer . We are also unable to control what we hear , what we see . We lose our safe place of home and being surrounded by friends and family – it feels lonely and alien to us . This doesn’t mean that we are not able to adapt to new situations it’s just that more than a few things change and this throws a curveball towards us .  The fear we feel is because we feel we are handing ourselves and our bodies , our routines and home comforts over to others, they are dismissed  – this has quite a destabilising effect on our psyche . 

A key part of NICE CG190 guidelines for care in labour encourages midwives to set the scene for women. The section I am going to focus on is COMMUNICATION – which is part of 1.2 Care throughout labour (click on the following numbers to be taken to the site)  CG190 

I have copied and pasted the exact words and written the key words in CAPITALS below to help highlight their impact – does it make you think about them differently ? 

COMMUNICATION 

1.2.1 Treat ALL women in labour with RESPECT . Ensure that the woman is in CONTROL of and involved in what is happening to her, and recognise that the way in which care is given is key to this. To FACILITATE this, ESTABLISH a RAPPORT with the woman, ASK her about her WANTS  and EXPECTATIONS for labour, and be AWARE of the importance of TONE and DEMEANOUR , and of the ACTUAL WORDS used. Use this information to SUPPORT and GUIDE her through her labour.

1.2.2 To ESTABLISH communication with the woman:

GREET the woman with a SMILE and a personal WELCOME, establish her LANGUAGE NEEDS , INTRODUCE yourself   “#HelloMyNameIs”

explain your ROLE in her CARE .
Maintain a CALM and CONFIDENT approach so that your demeanour REASSURES the woman that all is going well.

KNOCK and WAIT before entering the WOMAN’S ROOM , respecting it as her PERSONAL SPACE , and ask others to do the same.

ASK how the woman is FEELING and whether there is anything in particular she is WORRIED about.
If the woman has a written BIRTH PLAN , READ  and DISCUSS it with her.

ASSESS the woman’s KNOWLEDGE of strategies for coping with pain –PROVIDE  BALANCED INFORMATION to find out which available approaches are ACCEPTABLE to her.

ENCOURAGE the woman to ADAPT to the environment to meet her INDIVIDUAL needs.
Ask her PERMISSION before all PROCEDURES and OBSERVATIONS, FOCUSING  on the WOMAN  rather than the TECHNOLOGY or the DOCUMENTATION .

SHOW the woman and her birth companion(s) how to summon HELP and REASSURE her that she may do so WHENEVER  and as OFTEN  as SHE NEEDS to. When LEAVING  the ROOM, LET her know when you WILL return.

INVOLVE the woman in any HANDOVER OF CARE  to another professional, EITHER when ADDITIONAL EXPERTISE has been brought in or at THE END OF THE SHIFT. 

Every person who cares for (no matter how short a time ) a woman in labour should follow this guidance and I feel there should be posters up on maternity units in all languages which emphasise that this will happen . 

There are many barriers to communication and one that most midwives, student midwives , maternity health care assistants , obstetricians and anaesthetists agree on is that time, pressure and NHS systems restricts our practice. I want to have laminated cards that go with the analgesia cards to explain why kindness and compassion will also help ease women’s pain . Fear is a huge factor in the perception of pain and if we try to reduce fear we might help reduce not only  pain but also anxiety and then by this we will gain trust and build on positive care. 

As the  midwifery workforce we must start to say to ourselves “how would I feel ? ” another question which is used on the Nye Bevan leadership module is this …. 

Lets keep sharing our ideas and thoughts and if you have any more relating to CG190 – tweet using #CG190 or why not write a blog or design a poster ? 
Thank you for reading and please leave comments , I always value them and they help me to reflect and grow . 


Yours in midwifery love 

Jenny ❤️

Against the odds, Anaesthetics, Antenatal education, Babies, Birth, Breastfeeding, Caesarean section, Change management, Children, Compassion, Courage, Giving information, Helping others, Hospital, Human kindness, Human rights, Intra-operative care, Kindness, Labour , birth, Labour and birth, MatExp, Midwife, Midwifery, Midwifery and birth, Motherhood, New parents, Newborn, Newborn attachment, NHS, NHS Systems and processes, Obstetrics, Paediatrics, Patient care, Postnatal care, Respect, Skin to skin contact, Student Midwives, Teaching, Women's health, Women's rights, Working from the heart

The Caesarean experience 

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How good is the approach to women who have a caesarean to birth their babies ? Do all NHS trusts routinely give the same care to each woman and newborn or is it tailored to each individual ? 

I am passionate that the caesarean procedure is also a positive uplifting experience for the woman her partner and their newborn . 

I get upset when I hear stories from different midwives at various NHS Trusts that skin to skin contact at Caesarean section isn’t routine or perhaps not discussed antenatally . From today I’m championing that skin to skin contact should be a priority for ALL WOMEN AND BABIES in the operating theatre and I’m doing this for several groups of women including those who

1. Were totally unaware that  skin to skin contact at caesarean was possible . 

2. Hear stories of women who held their baby skin to skin perioperatively when own their babies are older and they missed out on it which leaves them feeling robbed and upset. 

3. See photographs of babies in skin to skin contact during caesarean and they didn’t know they could take photographs 

4. Realised that skin to skin is possible but they weren’t given the choice 

5. Feel sad that the baby’s other parent wasn’t encouraged to hold their baby skin to skin during the caesarean operation . 

And this blog post is also for any woman who has an assisted birth in an operating theatre – I’m going to help you challenge NHS systems and change the birth discrimination between normal birth and birth in theatre . 

Why am I calling this BIRTH DISCRIMINATION ? 

In my opinion every woman who gives birth should have the chance to hold her newborn in skin to skin contact even if only for a few minutes perhaps because the newborn requires transfer to neonatal unit or the woman feels unwell peri-operatively . 

Women who have a normal vaginal birth are more likely to hold their newborn for longer and separation from their newborns during the ‘golden skin to skin  hour’ will be less likely to happen. However, if a child is born in the operating theatre separation will occur within half an hour because of risk assessments meaning that the baby is moved as well as that within some NHS Trusts phones or cameras are not allowed in theatre and here are my thoughts on this matter which is close to my heart . 
We can no longer ignore the birth discrimination that exists between normal birth – where the woman has prolonged uninterrupted skin to skin contact – and assisted birth . It’s the role of everyone who is involved with birth in the operating theatre to work together to reduce and / or eliminate this birth discrimination.  I’m talking about midwives , anaesthetists , paediatricians , obstetricians , neonatal nurses , ODPs , maternity support workers coming together to form multi-disciplinary teams to plan how skin to skin contact length and opportunity can me maximised and separation minimised . 

We are all aware that skin to skin contact is beneficial in numerous evidence based ways (just go onto google scholar and search “skin to skin contact at birth”  to both mother and baby. It is NOW time to take action and assess each woman and baby individually instead of adhering to a ‘one size fits all’ approach . Of course there are women who may have to have a general anaesthetic – so consider this from the baby’s point of view – and work out a way that the other parent might be able to provide skin to skin for the newborn . 

We are in 2017 and now is the time to make change happen – talk about this to your MSLCs , the labour ward forum meetings , MDT meetings and be pro-active – together we can all make a difference 

Thank you for reading – jenny ❤️

To be continued ….. 

NHS

An update -Skin to Skin in the Operating Theatre 

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On Thursday I was working and looking at statistics for skin to skin contact – I check these at the end or towards the end of every month 

My dream is 100% skin to skin but reality bites and that’s not always possible – however I see the positive in the fact that women and families are more aware of skin to skin and that every day all health care professionals across the NHS are making a difference one woman and one newborn at a time . Their care and love spread the effect and importance of skin to skin on a global level.

Onto Dr Nils Bergman the man who almost 10  years ago taught me the word “Paradigm” -so as Nils would probably say ” instead of celebrating the high percentage of skin to skin lets flip the paradigm and ‘question  , dig , investigate’ the babies and mothers that didn’t get skin to skin contact”   – what happened ? “Maternal choice” “Theatre too cold ” or were there undocumented reasons like “pressure of work” “staff unaware” “mother not sure of benefits” “wants to bottle feed”  “paperwork too important” 

Skin to skin contact for women who have a caesarean is easy to implement yet difficult to monitor. It’s all a bit “retrospective” when what’s needed is a pro-active approach – women should be well – informed about all the new benefits that skin to skin brings such as “an increased ability to parent ” “acidosis correction ”  “reduction of pph” “reduced pain of mother & newborn” 

Theatre staff should be debriefed on the immeasurable ‘stuff’ like the woman’s heart overflowing with love , the tenderness that is shown , the noise in theatre turning into silence for the mother and child as they provide a two way comfort for each other . These things  slip away unnoticed by some  staff and it’s so sad that some are impervious to what’s actually happening . A life is beginning -a relationship is starting –  a caesarean birth is not a ‘procedure’ but an amazing event bringing a child into this world to be protected valued and rejoiced. 

So I’ll say this – let us all  talk about love and birth as a partnership – let’s know why skin to skin must happen and promote it more , let’s be ready for it ,prepare women for skin to skin , stand by them , give women the ability to believe in what skin to skin does by enabling women and newborns to experience skin to skin at birth by caesarean. 

My key pointers to start skin to skin at a birth by caesarean are 

1.The baby belongs with its own mother – & cannot be owned by the staff that are present – the newborn is not a hindrance to our work in the operating theatre we are there because of it – we work for the newborn 

2. Prepare the woman by keeping one of her arms out of her theatre gown and tucking it under her arm – an off the shoulder look which has a special purpose = gives space to the newborn . Place the stickers for the ECG connectors on the woman’s back – ask the anaesthetist for support and explain why. 

3. Explain to the woman and her partner that their baby must be prone to maximise full skin to skin contact which will maintain their child’s blood sugar,  prevent the mobilisation of brown fat and assist thermoregulation  

4. Explain thoroughly that skin to skin at Caesarean section is not always fabulously comfortable , that the woman might not be able to see her newborn but that YOU and the rest of the TEAM are there to support her and that her child is gaining so much from the contact that she will look back on it and be happy that it did take place 

5. Skin to skin in the operating theatre is everyone’s role – if it’s not happening and you are standing idly by then you are as responsible as the other staff on theatre . Women and their partners do not want to cause a fuss and 80% will not ask for  skin to skin contact , so as health professional we must mention skin to skin contact 

💡Your role is to teach others and help others to teach others – women , staff , families💡 

Start by looking at reasons why skin to skin did not take place – then move forwards – we can all improve what we do every day by our own approach and also by collaboration and communication within the TEAM and by including the WOMAN and her PARTNER and / or FAMILY MEMBER – #KeepGoing