"I am happy when I hear the first cry of a baby"
There are 3 more doctors working in the Department of Neonatal Pathology. They care for babies who need examination, treatment and supervision. Some babies with extremely low body weight are in the department for several months, and doctors become their second mothers. Our best doctors do everything possible so that the baby is discharged home with recovery as soon as possible.
Many mothers face various difficulties and need support, including breastfeeding issues. Therefore, our neonatologists work under the WHO-UNICEF program "Child-Friendly Hospital". They help women to put the baby to the breast in the maternity hospital, talk about the benefits of breast milk, and also support women after discharge. On the eve of the professional holiday, we talked to the neonatologist of the Perinatal Center of the Children's City Hospital Zilya Aukhadieva about the fears of young mothers, pathologies of newborns, home births and miracles. The young doctor has been working for the fourth year, but despite her relatively little experience, Zilya Minnerifatovna spoke in great detail about her work and gave the expectant mothers some important tips - why it is important to trust the doctors, tune in to a good outcome and not worry about trifles.
About me
"I always imagined myself only as a doctor, although there was not a single doctor in the family. As a child, I went to vaccinations without fear and never expected aggression from medical workers. I saw that people who are ill are helped in the hospital, and since then I have associated white coats with the desire to help.
And when I went to study in a medical school. I knew that I would work with children, but I did not see myself in a specific occupational specialty. By the end of the training, I realized that I like working with newborns, probably because they can't explain what hurts, but they still need to be understood and helped. Although the baby does not talk, but if you ask where it hurts, he shows, for example, he can somehow breathe wrong and already many things become clear."
About the work
"In the delivery room, a woman is looked after by midwives and an obstetrician-gynecologist, and a large medical team works during the process of childbirth, including us, neonatologists, as well as anesthesiologists-intensivists. We have to help the baby if something goes wrong. When a healthy baby is born, we put it on the mother's stomach and cover him with swaddling clothes. At the request of the woman we can put on a cap and socks. Without taking the baby anywhere, right on the mother's stomach, we conduct the first examination – we listen to the newborn's breathing, heartbeat, check the skin and muscle tone, check whether everything is in a place. The baby hears the mother's heart, feels her smell, gets microflora and keeps warm, and the mother also has positive emotions – she has passed a hard period and now a small baby lies on her chest.
For two hours, the mother and child are in the delivery room – they need to be monitored so that everything is fine. Then they are transferred to the Post-Natal Department, where we observe the baby every day. We see how he adapts, how he eats. We assess the color of the skin, weight, temperature, and breathing. Here the babies are vaccinated with the consent of the mother.
If the newborn has any disorders, we provide him with resuscitation assistance - we transfer the baby to a pre-prepared table under radiant heat and, if necessary, support breathing, heartbeat, look at the oxygen content in the blood, and if necessary, inject drugs through the umbilical vein. And later, our most experienced intensive care nurses quickly find veins.
In such situations, many mothers do not understand what is happening, because they were waiting for the baby to be put to their breast. We give them all the information available at the moment. We call a provisional diagnosis and tell them where we are taking the baby. Usually moms ask what will happen to her baby and whether everything will be fine."
About the age of mothers
The age of mothers varies. Today’s young women have their first child at the age at 27-28 years.
The trend came from the West - women try to live for themselves, get an education, a stable job, and provide themselves with housing.
It is believed that after 35 years, genetic breakdowns accumulate in the body, which can lead to various chromosomal pathologies. Of course, this does not happen in 100% of cases, but we pay attention to the age. In addition, the older a person is the more chronic diseases he has that need to be monitored. I can give two tips to women over 30 – do not worry and see your doctor. It is not necessary to worry too much on this issue; otherwise everything will lead to unnecessary stress."
About the attitude of the mother
"The attitude of the woman is very important. If she comes to the hospital with the confidence that qualified specialists and good people work here, that they will teach her everything, help her, and that everything will be fine, then this is usually the case - the woman is relaxed and the child is also calm, because it depends on the mood of the mother. If the hormonal state of the mother is not stable, then this is transmitted with breast milk to the child, who will be restless. Everything is interconnected here. Therefore, life should be treated more easily and with humor, and if there are any problems, then you need to solve them with a therapist, gynecologist or endocrinologist.
About the fears of moms
"Most often, women are afraid to touch the child, because they are afraid to harm them. Babies are born with a bluish skin color, mothers worry about this too. Not all babies start screaming right after they are born. We put the baby on the mother's stomach, and she asks: "Why is he blue and not screaming? Why don't you do anything?" We calm down, explain that you need to give time – from 30 seconds to a minute, of course, all this time we monitor the child. No one in the maternity hospital spanks children, these are remnants of the past, but to wake up the reflexes, we can pat the baby on the back or feet."
About home births
"Home birth is always a risk. Despite the fact that the child has not yet been born, the woman is already a mother, and she is responsible not only for herself, but also for the life and health of her unborn baby. In Russia, home birth is not legal, and if something happens to a woman or a baby, the doctor will be responsible, even though the mother did not seek medical help. I wish, if everything ends well, and we find out about the child only when the parents come to the registry office for a birth certificate. Once a woman was brought to us who could not give birth for a week. Another woman lost a lot of blood during childbirth and was in a state of shock. Several times women came to the maternity hospital with blue, dead children in their arms. Of course, it is hard to hear from them the phrase "Revive my child".
In our Perinatal Center, the most experienced medical personnel work, there is special equipment and medicines, comfortable conditions are created, and here we can do everything possible to save both mother and child. There are different cases – the baby is premature, or baby can be born with an umbilical cord entwined, or swallowed amniotic fluid, and so on. The score in these cases goes by seconds.
I do not want to frighten anyone, I just ask you to adequately assess the possibility of providing assistance to the child and mother. I am for the maternity hospital – everything will be monitored here, and if something goes wrong, we can provide emergency assistance."
About children's pathologies
"Most often, babies have respiratory disorders – the lungs are immature, or they do not open completely, or there is fluid stuck in them, which the baby must push out with the first cry. Then there are metabolic disorders with a delay in intrauterine development, when the baby is born very small, thin, without a muscle and fat layer. There are metabolic disorders when babies have low blood sugar levels.
Of course, there are more healthy babies, thank God. During the rounds, we examine them, discuss some issues with mother, and meet the next day. And if the baby is not in very good condition, then you spend much more time with him, so they are so memorable."
About the medical dream
"There are several of them - so that medicine keeps pace with the times, so that all medical institutions are provided with personnel and equipment, and so that babies are born desirable, healthy and bring joy to their mothers and fathers."
About the miracle
"Of course, I am happy when I hear the first cry of a baby and see how he is put on his mother's chest, and she hugs and kisses him. We congratulate, try to make a joke to help mother to relieve tension. It happened that the medical personnel cried in the delivery room – the mother hugged the baby to her chest and told how much she was waiting for him, how they tried for 8 years and failed, and even did not think that she could give birth. This is a miracle, and these are the best moments in my work."