Pondering life

-or- Eight weeks to learn it all?

Published on May 3, 2004 By BlueDev In Health & Medicine

Of course I would never pretend to actually be able to learn all about life in eight weeks. But starting today I have eight weeks to learn all I can about the miracle that is the creation and formation of a new life. Wow, eight weeks. Should be fast, could be fun.

And I am scared.

Today I began my eight week OB/Gyn rotation. Certainly I won't become an expert by any stretch of the imagination in that time. In fact I will probably have no choice but to learn just enough to do well on the wards and the boards (ooh, I rhymed!). But there is a part of me that thinks this could be a really great experience.

Make no mistake, I have no intentions of going into OB/Gyn. Not because I have anything against it, but because I think I have found where I fit, and it lies elsewhere. But having the opportunity to partake in the miracle that is the birth of an infant is exciting. I have been there for our two. I made sure I was involved, went to all the appointments, went to the Lamaze classes, was my wife's labor coach through it all (she rocks, did them both completely without anesthetic! She amazes me on a daily basis!) and just had a wonderful experience.

Unfortunately many of my classmates don't feel the same way. In fact, one of them mentioned that "[he was] a guy, so [he] can't go into OB". Did I miss something there? Others mentioned how horrible they thought it would be. Sure, the hours are rough, you have to give lots of pelvic exams, and have cranky residents. But you get to be one little cog in the wheel of new life. Families will be formed there in the room, and they will be kind enough to let me put my hands in there. How can I not appreciate that?

So I plan to.

Comments

dharmagrl

on May 03, 2004

I have always thought that it is quite a privilege to be able to be there at the start of a new life. So far the only ones I've been at were those of my own children...but if anyone ever offers to let me observe their birth, I'm there. Without a doubt.

Kudos to your wife, btw. I birthed my middle kid, my son Davey unmedicated...all 9lbs 2oz of him. My last child, Jake, was medicated; I was too chicken to do it with none again.

Sherye Hanson

on May 03, 2004

Anyone with your attitude will make a good doctor. No matter how difficult something is we can always learn from it. The joy of seeing a baby born will be incredible.

BlueDev

on May 03, 2004

dharmagrl-Isn't it just an amazing experience? One of my classmates today said they thought it would be great when it was your own, but nothing special when it wasn't. Huh? I can't help but think that any of the lives we will see begin will have some spark of magic. I suppose we just have to look for them. And, yeah, my wife is pretty cool.

Sherye-Thanks for your kind words. There are just so many things out there to learn from and grow from I hope I can remember that when it hits hour 36 of being awake!

Dusk411

on May 17, 2004

Re: your male classmates statements: I think society has put into guys' heads that only women feel comfortable getting examined by women doctors. However, if you can find a male doctor you can trust, there's nothing to worry about. Good luck and I hope you're able to help with a birth!

trina_p

on May 17, 2004

Reply BlueDev 27April
"With the concerns about the asthma (I won't toss out my own personal opinions about that one at this time)"

At the time you commented I wasn't aware you were a doctor (just a dad) - but what ARE your personal opinions on the asthma thing?

BlueDev

on May 17, 2004

Well, just to make sure my opinion doesn't carry too much wieght, I am only a medical student.

That aside trina, I just haven't seen any good evidence that links increased allergies and things like asthma (basically an hyper allergic reaction) to earlier exposure to solid foods. To my knowledge (which is admittedly lacking) there just doesn't appear to be anything more than incidental and anecdotal evidence to suggest there is a link. I think that there are simply some doctors who have been told that and never bothered to look up the data (or lack thereof) to really investigate. Now, I do concede that breastfeeding does seem to decrease the incidence of those sorts of problems, but exposure to solid foods just doesn't really seem to be convincing.

I can see the idea behind it-not exposing children to too many antigens and allergens while their immune system is still developing. But I really think it is more likely that our sanitized lives and lack of exposure to numerous allergens and antigens at an early age (so that appropriate immune responses may be mounted at that early age) are actually leading to the increase in allergies and asthma.

Just the opinion of a lowly med student though, one who would welcome some solid evidence to contradict my opinion. Not asking you for that, just saying that while I feel the way I do I would certainly still be open to evidence to sway me.

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