Having a Baby Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Having a Baby - Case Study Example Kathee's problems began with the anxiety of conception. The couple made numerous attempts at the old fashioned way. They tried timing the female cycle to no avail. They used a method called the lunar cycle that insists the woman is more fertile during the same lunar phase as her birth. In desperation they experimented with different positions that they had read about on the Internet. With no pregnancy they turned to the medical community for help. Acupuncture was inexpensive and painless but did not produce any results. A similar disappointment resulted from herbal aroma therapy. Kathee even endured the side effects of fertility drugs, but again no baby was produced. As a last desperate attempt, Kathee consented to invasive surgical techniques. Artificial insemination again yielded only disappointment. Gamete placement, a complicated medical procedure, resulted in only pain and mounting medical bills. As a last resort, Kathee tried in-vitro fertilization. After the years of attemptin g to conceive a child, the anxiety was temporarily lifted when the home pregnancy test read positive. Though the conception had been rough, the pregnancy would prove to be even more mired in anxiety. Kathee suffered from the routine sickness that all pregnant mothers-to-be are afflicted with. She had severe morning sickness. Insomnia kept her awake for endless days and nights. As the pregnancy progressed she found it harder and harder to breathe. In addition to these 'normal' symptoms, Kathee caught the flu in mid term. Her ultra high fever threatened the wellness of the unborn baby. She was unable to safely take any medicine to control her nausea. She was unable to eat and was losing weight when she should have been gaining. Just as it seemed she was out of the woods, a few weeks before the baby's scheduled arrival Kathee was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, a serious life threatening condition. Her doctor determined that she could only be treated with an experimental drug. The drug had to be administered by taking several shots per day. The condition required close medical supervis ion and Kathee was forced to make numerous trips to the doctor during these final weeks. Her symptoms of illness and difficulties, along with the anxiety, briefly subsided in the final days before her due date. Kathee was relieved when she went into labor with the realization that it would finally be over. However, she would face even greater anxiety at the hospital. Upon her arrival she found out that her doctor was called out on an emergency and they did not know when to expect him. Her anxiety increased as the on call doctor was unfamiliar with her case and did not want to make a decision. The nursing shortage had left the pediatrics ward short handed and anxiety filled the halls. Since this was her first baby, Kathee did not know what to expect and there was no one except her nervous husband to help her. After being in labor for what seemed like an eternity, her doctor arrived and more problems presented themselves. He prescribed a painkiller [Name] Page 3 Essay 2 that dropped Kathee's blood pressure dangerously low. As her blood pressure dropped, she needed to be connected to a respiration device. When her blood pressure recovered, she was given a labor-inducing drug which did not