When you cry with them, for them...

It was a normal Wednesday, doing the morning ward round with the consultant, and then we head down to Antenatal Clinic. The same every week, nothing ever changes...

This week, it was a little different. I came down to clinic, and was allocated a different consulting room. Argh... I'm a creature of habit. I like my normal room. I know where everything is, and I like the chair I normally sit on. Oh well, I thought to myself... "It's only going to be a couple of hours, doesn't really matter".

I called in my first patient, and did the usual questioning. She claims that baby's moving "different" and she's been feeling a little "hot and cold" - no obvious focus of infection, or a fever or anything.

I then proceeded to measure her blood pressure, which was pretty much unremarkable, and lied her down on the couch to feel her tummy and listen to baby's heart.

She started to tear... Before I could grab a tissue, she was already sobbing... She had lost one baby in the past... and today I COULD NOT HEAR A FETAL HEART!

I was like "Freaking hell! Please don't let it be an FDIU! Not after what she's been through. And her being my first patient for the day?!" I kept praying hard, while trying even harder to find the fetal heart.

"It's okay, sometimes they are quite cheeky, and likes to lie in difficult spots. Let me grab another machine". I ran to my consultant's room.

I got my consultant and told him I couldn't find a fetal heart. He tried, with no success as well. By this time, she was almost hysterical. We brought her to the scanning room immediately, and did a quick scan...

We found a fetal heart. And showed it to her. Her sobbing slowly stopped... We gave her a big hug. I let out a big sigh of relief.

Her hubby understandably, requested for a medical certificate to accompany her for the day, while we sent them upstairs to Fetal Monitoring for a CTG, just to be sure. MFM rang me to let me know it was fine :) Phew~!!! Relieved....

I had my first case of FDIU when I was a student. I cried like a baby then. I don't think anything's changed. I would still have cried with her, if she lost her second baby. It does not make me unprofessional. It does not make me week. It only makes me... human. Thank God it was a happy ending for her. But none the less, she didn't need the scare.

After her, the rest of the patients in clinic, seemed a little.... mundane.