By the time the doctor arrived, Pristine had already been taken to the prepared delivery room. The familiar screaming and wailing was the first thing Dr Faras heard as he stepped inside with Joan following behind him.
Without going into much detail, from From the beginning of active labour until the placenta was delivered, nearly two hours passed, which Joan didn't play a sufficient role in, except replacing basins of water, handing over clean towels, and carrying out small tasks as instructed.Thankfully though, it was an easy birth, with both mother and daughter healthy.
"Congratulations, it's a girl. The mother will be out in a while " a nurse named Narasia conveyed her blessings to the mother and son pair waiting outside, with the infant resting in her embrace.
Though she was met with an unenthusiastic reaction, she wasn't surprised, as sons were still generally preferred. It's a natural response, still the grandmother distributed the candy from her purse to the near standing nurses with a happy smile on her face.
Before following the nurse carrying her granddaughter, when her son was waiting for his wife.
Vera and Joan naturally followed Pristine to the postpartum ward to take care of her as the primary nurse and her trainee. After spending less than an hour helping with minor issues, they were excused to go back to their dormitory, after handing Pristine and her infant to the nurse responsible for the night shift .
-Grrrr••••••grrrrrrrr
By the end of the day Joan was both exhausted and hungry. Thankfully, she has a couple of slices of pound cake to tide over her hunger.
The moment she hit the bed with her wet hair she felt the tiredness wash over her. For the first time After a long time, She felt quite rustic, is it because she didn't hear many miserable cries from the general ward, like the emergency room she used to work with, and now the maternity ward resurrected her memories.
After some contemplation, she sat up from her bed, applied her glycerin cream, then began to eat her cake with slightly warm tea. She started a small version of her night routine, including learning French and writing articles or corresponding with the few doctors she made acquaintance with , although their exchange has slowed down recently, as buffer time after the common resistance to their last published article challenging another long-established treatment.
The night went on uneventfully, even without her usual French course with Elise as she didn't want to bother her today.
The next day, Joan started applying what she learned from Vera in the postpubertal ward, although carefully and under supervision.
Throughout her time here, she felt more of a personal nurse than a general one. With four to five nearly empty beds assigned to each nurse with their trainees and the patient being disturbed to their assigned beds in rotation, there was not much to be done.
"Aaaaaa...Aaaa" the newly born girl has such tremendous energy, and that showed clearly through her mother's exhaustion.
Vera taught Joan the steps of helping the mother breastfeed her baby or changing its diaper, it wasn't anything hard, and she continued to offer help as needed.
Things went smoothly until lunchtime, after providing the usual meal, Joan offered Vera to go have lunch first, which she agreed. Coincidentally, after she left, Madia started crying again although she was already fed less than half an hour ago. Seeing the exhausted mother taking a nap, after a long night, Joan allowed herself to carry the baby, after confirming it didn't wet itself, she began to rock it gently in her arms, while patting its back.
After a while, Joan felt the familiar sensation she felt when comforting the pained ones like Laura and others. This time, however, what answered her was not merely the quiet relief she had felt from countless patients before, but the tiny fingers of a newborn curling weakly around one of hers.
–It feels so peaceful
Madia calmed down fast enough, with her mother still fast asleep. While holding the happy little bundle, Joan continued to observe the other patients who were about to be discharged today or tomorrow and their assigned nurses including Helen and the finally arrived Elise.
-We will catch up at lunch, no need to attract criticism.
They were both waiting for her. She wondered if the rest will be there.
How will Joan contribute to the maternity? Share your thoughts on the comments 💭