Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
Go to the hospital, where the patient may require surgery.
This is the real-life decision Anne Sommers would make. Sommers
says she has had to transport a mother to the hospital several times.
"Sometimes a mother gets exhausted [from the lengthy labor], or will not
dilate and needs to go in for a c-section. Sometimes the pelvis is too small
or the wrong shape. This year, I had a mother who was bleeding very heavily
when she was in labor and I went with her to the hospital," she says.
The patient's health and that of her child always come first. Sommers
adds that "trust is an important issue. For a client to trust you to monitor
her birth, she must open up and reveal much about herself. To set the stage
for that, the midwife does have to be open also."
If you have managed to build up this trust relationship with the mother,
then she will understand that you decided she should go to the hospital because
you truly believe it is the best thing for her and her child.
If things turn around and dilation continues, you will still be at your
patient's side as someone she knows and trusts. Although the surroundings
aren't what they visualized when they planned this birth, you can remind
them that it is the safety of their child that comes first.
If it turns into an emergency situation where the mother is too exhausted
to continue the labor naturally, the hospital has all the necessary people
and equipment available.
Midwives must be decisive. Kathy Wethy is a midwife. She says good decision-making
skills are crucial in her field. A decision can mean life or death in her
field, she says. "Obviously, you have to be able to assess a situation, and
within your parameters and guidelines, make a decision," she says.