Maddening Obstetrics

I thought that the 2 rupture uterus patients had given us enough trouble for the next 24 hours. 

I was terribly wrong. 

At 2 am early morning today, came a lady nearing term in very early labour. Thankfully, she had come 2 months back at around 32 weeks to us. And she had our documents. 

Documents . . . which made me shudder. 

G3P2D2, the first one a still birth and the second one a late neonatal death, with a hemoglobin of 4 gm% at 32 weeks whom we had referred to Ranchi as the pregnancy was so so precious. The second delivery was a Cesarian section. 

Clinically, the hemoglobin did not look any better. Her conjunctiva was papery white. 

The family did not take her to Ranchi when we had referred them to a higher centre 2 months back. They had gone home. 

The family wanted me to do whatever I could. With hemoglobin of 4 gm% and the rules on blood transfusion making UDBT totally illegal, I had to refer them. 

I wonder where they have gone. They are from a nearby village. Therefore, I will be able to find out if they really went. Or if they went home and she had a miracle delivery or ended up as another maternal death. 

The tamasha continued later in the day too. 

I just came back from Labour Room after admitting a 21 year old G2P1L1 at term who had a previous LSCS for eclampsia. She was in the ventilator for quite some time and she lost her baby too later. 

This lady had her antenatal care elsewhere. She had consistent values of hemoglobin values less than 6 throughout her antenatal period. The family appeared to have no clue. Or did they want to convince me that they had no clue. 

When I did per-vaginal examination, the situation turned for the worse. She had ruptured her membranes and the liquor was heavily meconium stained. And she had a badly contracted pelvis. 

Shivnath, our lab tech, called me and told that the hemoglobin was only 4.6 gm%. 

The relatives were so poor to take her elsewhere. 

I've send them to Daltonganj for at least 2 pints of blood. 

I wonder if I would get a healthy baby. I can only pray. 

By the way, thanks for remembering KD in your prayers. She held on with a pre-operative hemoglobin of 7 gm%, in spite of periods of shock, till her relatives turned up with one pint of blood late in the afternoon.