I was looking after a woman - let's call her Mary - who was having her first child. I'd attended her right from the beginning of her pregnancy but when she went into labour, I wasn't there. And by the time I came on duty, she was already fully dilated and ready to give birth. She had been encouraged to push, but nothing was happening. As a result, she had become very tired and her blood pressure was going up. Shortly after I arrived, the obstetrician looked in and recommended that she be given Syntocin. I knew that there were some other options that hadn't been explored yet and argued for more time. 'OK, you've got half an hour. If she hasn't delivered in that time, we're going to have to take control of the situation!'
Although Mary was close to exhaustion, I believed it was still quite possible for her to give birth normally. Because we already knew each other quite well, she was prepared to trust me when I suggested she kneel on all fours. However after a few minutes it was obvious that this, too, was going nowhere. 'Let's try a squatting position.' Still no good. She had now become very flushed and was obviously on the point of giving up. 'Are you willing to have one last try?' 'OK!' I helped her to get into a standing position and after only a few minutes the baby literally fell out into my arms.
