Today I saw my first birth. I say first not only because I will probably see another next Tuesday but because I hope to make it part of my career to see many more.
All births are messy. For nurses, there aren't many things that qualify as clean. It's part of our job to deal with the unsightly matters of the body (and mind). But up until now, nothing I have cleaned or patched or soothed has resolved with such an incredible event.
Someone I know who has been through a few of her own labor and deliveries recently called it an 'earthy experience.' I think this was her euphamism for all the bodily fluids and guttural screams. Even though I have become slightly immune to the former, I can't deny that scissoring through an umbilical cord and feeling a still-warm placenta have got to be about the most earthy experiences I've ever had. I am thoroughly impressed by them, but I'm drawn to labor and delivery for more practical reasons: two patients instead of eight; healthy young(ish) women instead of (mostly) older sick patients; one big moment to work toward that's not called lunch break.
And that's really what work comes down to. Almost everyone is required to find a job that consumes a significant portion of the viable hours in a day/week/year/lifetime. Very few of these jobs have anything to do with a passion we would have had otherwise, because even if you do say you love your work and you're passionate about it, you would probably have never done it in the first place if you didn't need to be there for the money. Well, like most everyone else, I need to be there for money...and to help a few mothers greet their babies for the first time.
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