Patient Stories
Sutter Women's Services
Jennifer - Great Care Turns Fear to Delight
Jennifer’s doctor, David Lin, M.D., decided to induce labor when she was five days overdue and her baby was clearly ready to be born. But as luck would have it, her scheduled appointment came right after a total eclipse of the moon when the birthing center at Sutter Memorial was a very busy place. “Every pregnant woman seemed to go into labor that day,” says Jennifer, “But even though it was a busy time, everyone was very nice to us.”
Jennifer spent a few hours in the triage room before being transferred to her labor and delivery suite. Her water broke naturally right after the move transfer, even before labor was induced and before her own doctor could get there. Debra Ramsey, R.N., started Jennifer a IV of pitocin to get her labor started and an anesthesiologist gave her an epidural to block the pain. A few hours into the labor, husband Matt noticed the baby’s heart rate dropping, but before he could say anything a nurse appeared to check on Jennifer and reassure them both. Debra stopped the pitocin, contacted Dr. Therese Rosellini, the on-call obstetrician, and moved Jennifer back and forth to help relieve the baby’s distress.
“Debbie was amazing. As soon as his heart rate dropped, she came in regularly to check on Cash and see how I was doing,” says Jennifer. “After a while, she gave her other patients to different nurses and stayed with me for the rest of my labor.”
After six hours of induced labor, Jennifer had only dilated one centimeter and the baby’s heart rate continued to drop with each contraction. “Dr. Rosellini was wonderful to us,” says Jennifer, “she monitored me carefully and warned us that the falling heart rate could be caused by the cord being wrapped around the baby’s neck. She also let us know that there was no reason for concern, but that she thought a C-section may be necessary.”
Dr. Lin arrived and immediately agreed with Dr. Rossellini’s assessment. During the C-section, Drs. Rossellini and Lin found that the baby was facing up instead of down and that the cord was indeed wrapped around his neck—twice. A very healthy Cash was born weighing in at 7 lbs. and 11 ounces. “He was perfect,” Jennifer says. “He didn’t even show any short-term effects.”
While child birth has come a long way in the past several years, there is no way to prevent an umbilical cord from wrapping around a baby’s neck. “In spite of the situation, I have positive memories,” says Jennifer. “Debbie stayed with me for several hours after surgery and didn’t leave my side until I was in my room. And every single person we saw was so friendly and light-hearted that it made us feel comfortable and confident during a very scary situation.”
Jennifer adds, “When we moved onto the maternity floor the excellent experience only continued. We left the hospital feeling like we were baby pros and we still rave about Sutter Memorial and our experience there.”
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