My Birth Story By Kim Brooks

Hi I am Kim and this is my birth story! This is my Dad Les!

This is my mom Tami.

Kimberly Jeanne Brooks was born September 20th 1978 at 2:03 PM at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was my mom’s second baby. She says she was grateful that I was not her first delivery. My older brother was a much easier delivery for her.

Prenatal

Prenatal care started in the 3rd month and was very routine Prenatal care started in the 3rd month and was very routine. My mom always had significant morning sickness, but nothing she felt was unusual. She became concerned when as a Nurse she had cared for a patient who had Cesium implants during her first trimester, before finding out she was pregnant with me. “Radiation injury during the period of major organogenesis (2-8 weeks) can result in developmental abnormalities, primarily small head circumference and growth retardation.” (Kim Wiebeck, 2009) Thankfully she had been very cautious and limited her exposure time. All was well in the end. (photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brachytherapy.jpeg)

My mom got very large in the last trimester and was told her baby would be big. No procedures or screenings were done except for one high blood sugar reading that didn’t amount to anything. Protocol now is for mothers who fail the one hour glucose test during pregnancy perform a follow up 3 hour glucose test. Dietary changes, insulin and possibly early induction or scheduled C-section of the fetus may be indicated as treatment dependent on FSBS levels, the size of the fetus and the safety of the mother.

Intrapartum

Mom went into labor in the middle of the night somewhere between midnight and 2:00AM. After arriving at the hospital she was given an epidural which worked well. (photo: oasis.oasisob.com)

A Medical professional was on the unit and approached my Mom about a study he was doing on a new device that would monitor my vitals and well being internally while my Mom was laboring. He placed probes on my head during labor and at the time my mom was unaware of the importance of the study. “In 1972, Hon introduced an invasive yet accurate FHR measuring device called the fetal scalp electrode (FSE). FSE method includes the insertion of an electrode through the birth canal and attaching it to the fetal scalp. It is a dangerous technique as it may cause injuries in the fetal scalp and/or uterine infection.” (Enas W. Abdulhay1). This idea turned into the current IFM used today. Mom says if she knew how hard the labor was going to be she would have probably refused to participate in the study. After 12-14 hours of labor Mom became totally exhausted. She told the Doctor that she was done and couldn’t do anymore. (Photo1: www.illustratedverdict.com Photo2: www.medicinetoday.com.au

She had become extremely weak and told them to get the baby out however they could. My grandfather had waited until the very last minute to leave for work so he could be there when I was born but had to leave so he wouldn’t be late and half an hour later my mom had a normal vaginal delivery. I had a very large head and wide shoulders. I was very angry and had sores on my head from the probes used during the study. I yelled loud and my grandmother who was still in the waiting room asked is that our baby? She doesn’t sound like a newborn.

Postpartum

Mom was transferred to her room where she slept, and slept, and slept until her nurse came in to check on her. Mom started to feel sick and vomited so hard that she sprayed the curtains drawn around her with blood. Her doctor was paged overhead and she knew she was in trouble. She kept asking the medical staff in her room if she was going to be alright but no one would talk to her. Next thing she knew she was being pushed down the hall in her bed to meet her Doctor in the OR. She was given gas anesthesia that sent her on a very terrifying adventure. Mom knew she was dying. She was glad her baby was out and safe but felt very sorry for her mother and husband waiting outside in the waiting room. She later found out that the Doctor asked my father to come to the OR to see my mom for what he felt would be the last time he would see her alive. He wanted to give my dad a chance to say goodbye. After working on my mom for some time they were able to control the bleeding. The doctor later said he was unable to find a reason for what caused the hemorrhage. He said he believed her muscles just quit working and she stopped contracting. They believe that if the nurse would have not come in to check on my mom or had not woken her up she would have bled to death.

2. Phonetics. lack of stress accent. atony [at-n-ee] Word Origin noun 1. Pathology. lack of tone or energy; muscular weakness, especially in a contractile organ. 2. Phonetics. lack of stress accent. . Current OB practices keep this from happening by including a postpartum protocol to crude the uterus every 15 min to ensure that the uterus is contracting and that the patient is not having excessive bleeding. Pitocin is also administered to all postpartum patients in an effort to decrease the mothers risk of postpartum hemorrhage. “Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) remains the leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide and the main component of severe maternal morbidity in western countries. (severity, 2011) Most PPHs are due to uterine atony. Although pharmacological prevention of uterine atony in the third stage of labor significantly decreases the incidence of PPH and is now recommended in international and national guidelines.” (severity, 2011) My mom received a transfusion consisting of quite a few units of PRBCs to bring her blood counts back to a safe level. (Photo: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/atony)

Newborn

I was 9lbs and 21. 5 inches long I was 9lbs and 21.5 inches long. After delivery I was admitted to the NBICU for a few days due to a fever. My mom says it was pretty interesting to see her 9lb baby laying between all of the tiny premature babies. Mom was able to go home but I had to stay behind. After a few days an IV in my head and numerous heel sticks they decided my fever was due to dehydration. Mom says I was an easy baby to nurse but that only lasted about 3 months. She had a hard time making enough milk to keep up with my demands.

Mom says I became a very healthy and wonderful baby girl Mom says I became a very healthy and wonderful baby girl. I was the only baby girl out of all four of her deliveries.

References www.medicinetoday.com.au oasis.oasisob.com Enas W. Abdulhay1, R. J. (n.d.). Review Article: Non-Invasive Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring Techniques. Science and Education Publishing from Scientific Research to Knowledge. Kim Wiebeck, R. S.-7. (2009, January). NURSING PROCEDURES FOR RADIATION THERAPY PATIENTS. Retrieved from http://www.uams.edu/campusop/depts/ohs/docs/Manuals/Nursing_Proc_Rad_Therapy.pdf severity, P. h. (2011, January). PMC US National Library of Medicine National Institutes Of Health. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3319503/ Photographs: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/atony www.illustratedverdict.com www.medicinetoday.com.au oasis.oasisob.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brachytherapy.jpeg