Labour of love

IT’S late in the evening and over the loudspeaker a voice announces “MET call”, the ward and room number is announced, eight minutes later another announcement, “MET call”, same ward different room number, 12 minutes later, another announcement “MET call”, same ward and yet another room number.

Have you been in the hospital and wondered what a MET call is? What is happening?

There are so many things happening in a hospital, we plan and prepare, and yet so much happens outside of our planning and so often requiring immediate action.

A MET call is a call to the medical emergency team to respond immediately to a call for urgent medical help.

Last week, in the late hours of the day, our labour ward had three MET calls in 30 minutes.

Three women, three unborn children, in trouble and requiring immediate help, the lives of mother and baby hanging by a thread.

The labour ward staff are prepared but having three mothers requiring immediate attention at the same time is not something that is anticipated.

One mother and baby require immediate caesarean section, the obstetrician, the paediatrician and the rest of the team prepare for theatre. One mother and baby require immediate assistance to birth, the placenta has ruptured (a placental abruption is separation of a normally sited placenta from the uterine wall).

The baby is at risk because of hypoxia (lack of oxygen) following placental separation and premature delivery.

The mother is at risk of shock, clotting of the blood, and kidney failure (due to decreased blood getting to the kidneys).

Another mother is bleeding post birth of her child, while a small blood loss post-delivery is common, a major loss triggers emergency protocols. Childbirth is not without risks. Worldwide more than 500,000 mothers die in childbirth.

In the worst areas (sub-Saharan Africa) a woman has a one in 26 risk of not surviving childbirth.

As a pathologist, I have seen foetal as well as maternal deaths, I remember crying while reading the patient’s history before performing the post mortem, the lives that were full of hope for the future.

I remember the father who took home his new son, but buried his wife. I remember my own emergency with my first born son, the fear and trepidations.

On this night the Barwon Health labour ward staff, with the support of the wider hospital teams, worked together, to ensure the wellbeing of the mothers and the safe delivery of the three new children of Geelong.

Their dedication and love of what they do helped them through this difficult and stressful night.

Some two hours later, three beautiful babies were lying in the arms of three new mothers, in the wonderful surrounds of the maternity ward refurbished from the donation of Cotton On, a proud supporter of Barwon Health.

Maternity services in Geelong have a long and proud history.

Recently the Geelong Advertiser profiled the former home of Mary De Garis, adjacent to the Geelong Private facility previously known as Baxter House.

Dr De Garis made her home in Geelong as the city’s first female medical practitioner in 1919.

She spent the next decade lobbying for a maternity ward in Geelong, which became a reality after first establishing ante-natal and post-natal clinics.

Her work to grow this service was instrumental in reducing the maternal and infant mortality rate, and her skills as an obstetrician were renowned in a time when childbirth was a major risk.

Over the years our maternity services have expanded and most recently BH was elevated to a category 5 maternity service resulting in women coming from the Barwon South West region for their care.

Healthcare in Geelong is on the cusp of change. There is much work to be done in formulating a plan for population growth and our future, responding to opportunities and ensuring we make the most of them.

We look forward with anticipation to the opportunity that has arisen as a result of the Healthscope operated Geelong Private Hospital, our Baxter House where so many from Geelong were born, coming back under Barwon Health control.

With the dedication and skill of our maternity staff, the possibilities are endless. Professor Ruth Salom is Barwon Health CEO.