heartbeat

for the last three thursday afternoons, i've been working with dr. m. in her women prisoner's clinic. dr. m. is one of my favorite ob/gyns. she's a mother of 4, happily married to another ob/gyn doc. she's very kind and warm-hearted. she is a popular invited speaker on campus. she's always energetic and gives excellent talks on balancing career and family and women's health in general.

so i went and saw our last patient for the day. she's due in the next couple of weeks. today was the third time i was seeing her. i asked the normal stuff we ask, any vaginal bleeding, contractions, leakage of fluid, baby moving ok, etc. then i tried to listen to the baby's heartbeat. i could not hear it. i assured the mom that i'm still learning so it's taking me awhile. dr. m finally walked into the room. she gives it a try and could not find it either. she asked me to get the portable ultrasound. i started to worry a little. but finally, she heard the baby's heartbeat. the baby just had an unusual lie or position.

the prisoner liaison asked me if i am going into OB/Gyn. my honest response was that i do believe that i will eventually get there. i just don't know when exactly :) while walking in between the clinic and the library, i tried to picture myself as an OB/Gyn doc. surprisingly, i do like that picture of me.