Patient Stories
Sutter Women's Services
Sandra - Rough Beginning with a Happy Ending
Sutter Roseville Medical Center Nurse
When Sandra was getting close to her due date, she fully expected everything to go as effortlessly as her pregnancy. “I felt great throughout my pregnancy,” said Sandra. “In fact, I felt so good; I didn’t mind that he was overdue.”
After arriving at Sutter Roseville Medical Center for an induced labor, she soon realized that not all would go as smoothly as those first nine months. As Reilly made his way down the birth canal, her doctor, David Scates, M.D., realized the baby was facing up instead of down and that his head was tilted and lodged on Sandra’s pelvis.
Dr. Scates tried to turn the baby’s head and lower it past the pelvic bone, but it would not come free. “I had been in labor 22 hours and was wearing out,” said Sandra. “I also developed a fever during labor and had to take antibiotics, so when the baby’s heart rate dropped, they took me right in and gave me a C-section.
Sandra added. “Dr. Scates was wonderful through it all. He made me feel confident and so well cared for. When we went into the operating room, he even held my hand while my husband changed into hospital scrubs.”
Reilly was born a healthy 7 lbs., 13 ounces, but Sandra was not out of the woods yet. The next day, she got sick and started vomiting, which was especially painful after her C-section and burned her throat so that she couldn’t eat. Reilly’s body temperature had also dropped so that he was put on antibiotics and kept in the nursery for three days,
“I was miserable,” said Sandra. “But the staff was so incredibly caring. They took such great care of Reilly in the nursery and they were very concerned about how I was feeling. At that point, I didn’t even want to try nursing, but the lactation specialist was very patient and encouraging.”
Five days after Reilly was born, mother and baby were well enough to be reunited. “They moved us into a pediatrics room so that we could be together,” said Sandra. “I can’t say enough about my doctor or the hospital. During the whole ordeal, being at Sutter Roseville was the one bright light. It’s a beautiful facility and the nurses are fabulous. If we had to go through that experience, I’m so glad we went through it there.”
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