Hello you all!
And welcome to the introduction of yet another internship. Yes I know my college course (nursing for those who didn't know) is very practical, which is just how I like it.
After my roller-coaster ride on the lung ward it is now time to do something else entirely. For this placement I've been put on the neonatology/ gynaecology ward. It's actually called the 'Mother and Child centre' and it's this fancy ward that is booming business in Dutch hospitals where they bundle all activities involving pregnancy, birthing, and maternity care after the birth. Which means I get to work with pregnant women, and not pregnant anymore women and their newborn babies.
At first I had no idea what to expect and was basically super scared that I would drop a baby. But care for babies befalls me much more naturally than I had thought it would. The first time my colleague asked me to pick up and hold a baby was so awkward. I picked it up and the mum was just looking at me, probably also fearing I would drop her child, and then my colleague had to come up and help me as I wasn't able to get the child in a comfortable position on my arm. Yes that was the most awkward thing that happened to me, involving a baby at least. Please don't make me think back to the time I tried to preform a vena puncture on a women but was so nervous I couldn't even fixate the needle as it was inside the vein. It was horrible and I hope I never have to face that woman again, even though she was super chill about it.
Anyway, my work as a nurse now basically includes washing babies, holding other woman's breasts, and just giving information on all aspects of motherhood (because I know all about that). I've been there for three weeks now and it's going really well by now. I'm able to take care of a baby mostly independently, and also the care for the mother and post pregnancy birthing things are going pretty well.
Right now you could say I would make an amazing mum, and I might even slightly agree with you. Secretly I'm also really happy with this placement as it does give me some idea on how to care for a newborn baby that has just been put on this amazingly dangerous planet with all these weird things happening. You would be surprised to see how many things can go wrong during the process of pregnancy and birthing, but also to see how complicated the physical state of a tiny little child can be. I still find it utterly amazing to see those babies sometimes, the way they look around the room and seem to be taking in every little detail and how they appear to be listening closely to what the adults in the room are discussing. Or how hard they have to work to keep their temperature up, how low a baby's sugar levels are, and just how amazingly complicated such a tiny little human can be.
At the moment I still really enjoy my internship, and can't wait to learn more about pregnancy, and watch a c-section and someone giving birth once. It is so much more complicated than you might think, and babies are so incredibly interesting. Pathologically I haven't really been challenged yet at this ward, as most women are healthy and their babies too most of the time. So there aren't that many diseases which I kind of find a pity in the most objectively nursing way possible. But there is so much more to the process of pregnancy and birth than I first thought and I can't wait to learn all about it!
If you would like me to keep you updated about my placement, the things I learn there, and the struggles I will probably start facing there as well, just let me know in the comments below!
Love you lots!
ThatDutchGirl96
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