# Emergency Child Birth



## buttery (May 9, 2010)

Hey guys, this is my first post, so i'm hoping that it is in the correct place. I have come across this board quite a few times and it really seems like you guys have a ton of knowledge! With that being said, I am testing with Care ambulance in Anaheim, Ca, and from what i've told their skills tests are based on NREMT. The question I had was on NREMT doesn't list emergency child birth as a skill, but it was a skill test in my class so i'm just wondering if this is something that an ambulance company would test on. I'd appreciate all the help I can get and thank you to all the mod's for providing a great site!


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## LucidResq (May 9, 2010)

Yes, it is a possibility you will be tested on it. I know of some people that run hiring process skills tests who actually love to test on OB/GYN stuff because people don't train on it that much, but it's important to be competent in. 

Because the NREMT skills don't include childbirth, the EMT program I attended made their own skill sheet which you can find here.  

Here are more detailed notes.


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## buttery (May 9, 2010)

Thank you for the reply! Sorry but what does GYN stand for?


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## LucidResq (May 9, 2010)

Gynecology - the study of the female reproductive system. When I think of Gyn issues an EMS provider might see, I think of sexual assault victims, ovarian torsion, acute pelvic pain, abnormal vaginal bleeding or discharge....


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## EMSLaw (May 9, 2010)

I think Luid got you there.  I would note that while it's not an NREMT skill station, childbirth is certainly in the EMT's expected scope.


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## Trayos (May 9, 2010)

*Slightly off topic, but*

How often do you run into emergency childbirth situations? (if in an urban/suburban environment)


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## buttery (May 9, 2010)

Thank you guys i appreciate it! I just wasn't sure because there isn't too much talk about companies testing birth but i just wasn't sure. Rare to never will you have to deliver a baby in the pre-hospital setting especially as an emt.


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## EMSLaw (May 9, 2010)

Trayos said:


> How often do you run into emergency childbirth situations? (if in an urban/suburban environment)





buttery said:


> Thank you guys i appreciate it! I just wasn't sure because there isn't too much talk about companies testing birth but i just wasn't sure. Rare to never will you have to deliver a baby in the pre-hospital setting especially as an emt.



Buttery, you aren't running in the right areas.   Trayos, I haven't delivered a baby, but our service usually gets a few childbirths a year.  Given the numbers, my rather unscientific ratio appears to be approximately 1:900 calls. 

I think in an urban area, with higher call volume, you're likely to run into it more.  And then things like bad weather enter into it.  One blizzard, "back in the day", my dad, a NYC EMT at the time, delivered four babies in two days.


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## buttery (May 9, 2010)

hahaha NO, i'm running in the right areas and avoiding child birth!! lol As an emt though you are delivering babies are assisting?


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## EMSLaw (May 9, 2010)

buttery said:


> hahaha NO, i'm running in the right areas and avoiding child birth!! lol As an emt though you are delivering babies are assisting?



NJ has a tiered response system, and a routine childbirth call is EMT-B all the way.  

Doesn't everyone assist?  The mother is delivering, I just catch.   Most of the time we make it to the hospital, though.  Makes a hell of a mess in the back of the rig.


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## buttery (May 9, 2010)

Haha sorry assisting was the wrong word.. I meant assisting a medic or a nurse. I stand corrected though; I didn't think it was very common for an EMT to actually deliver a baby even though it is in our scope of practice.


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## LucidResq (May 9, 2010)

Trayos said:


> How often do you run into emergency childbirth situations? (if in an urban/suburban environment)



It's funny, in talking to people who have worked in the field for a long time in the same area or even the same service... you'll find some who have been medics for years and never delivered a baby, and then others who have lost count and delivered multiple in a single day. 

Seems like cops do a lot of baby catching.


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## reaper (May 9, 2010)

First thought! Childbirth is not an emergency! It is natural and will happen with or without you.

I have delivered abround 23 babies in my time, two of them were emergency childbirths.


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## Aerin-Sol (May 9, 2010)

EMSLaw said:


> NJ has a tiered response system, and a routine childbirth call is EMT-B all the way.
> 
> Doesn't everyone assist?  The mother is delivering, I just catch.   Most of the time we make it to the hospital, though.  Makes a hell of a mess in the back of the rig.



Wow. My class did 1 hour on ob-gyn, and I don't think it was on the NREMT. I know more because of my own personal reading, but I think it's crazy that EMT-Bs are regularly dispatched for 911 childbirth calls yet there's such a big hoopla over midwives, who have much more medical training, being able to attend routine childbirth calls.


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## EMSLaw (May 9, 2010)

reaper said:


> First thought! Childbirth is not an emergency! It is natural and will happen with or without you.
> 
> I have delivered abround 23 babies in my time, two of them were emergency childbirths.



I agree.  I think in this case, though "emergency" just means that it's going to happen before reaching the hospital.


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## LucidResq (May 10, 2010)

Aerin-Sol said:


> Wow. My class did 1 hour on ob-gyn, and I don't think it was on the NREMT. I know more because of my own personal reading, but I think it's crazy that EMT-Bs are regularly dispatched for 911 childbirth calls yet there's such a big hoopla over midwives, who have much more medical training, being able to attend routine childbirth calls.



What's more profitable for the powers-that-be? Ridiculously high rates of unnecessary surgery (c-sections), lots of pharmaceuticals and fancy fetal monitoring technology (which usually just gives MDs a reason for "emergency c-sections"), hospital admissions, etc..... or well-trained nurses delivering babies at home or in simple birthing centers without the use of drugs or super high tech monitoring? 

Although in the past there have been issues with education, training and regulation of midwives, the CNM of today is pretty well-educated and competent. Some studies have even shown specific benefits of using a CNM in a normal uncomplicated pregnancy/delivery. The hoopla is mostly territorial doctors and greedy health care companies...


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## MonkeySquasher (May 10, 2010)

EMSLaw said:


> I agree.  I think in this case, though "emergency" just means that it's going to happen before reaching the hospital.




I've always taken "Emergency" to mean "Abnormal".  This could be breech/cord prolapse, etc, or maybe a pre-mature/low APGAR who needs a little PALS work.  (Inverted pyramid anyone?)


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## usafmedic45 (May 10, 2010)

I had to deliver babies 4 times in about 10 years in a moderately rural county (nearest hospitals are in bordering counties).  Total, I think there were 15 or 20 field deliveries in that time frame.  I've delivered my godson (delivered before I graduated high school) and a baby on my birthday a few years back who is named after me (the parents were expecting a girl).



> Childbirth is not an emergency! It is natural and will happen with or without you.



It's not an emergency, unless something goes wrong. That said, it still makes me far more nervous than almost anything else I've experienced.


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## Veneficus (May 10, 2010)

usafmedic45 said:


> I had to deliver babies 4 times in about 10 years in a moderately rural county (nearest hospitals are in bordering counties).  Total, I think there were 15 or 20 field deliveries in that time frame.  I've delivered my godson (delivered before I graduated high school) and a baby on my birthday a few years back who is named after me (the parents were expecting a girl).
> 
> 
> 
> It's not an emergency, unless something goes wrong. That said, it still makes me far more nervous than almost anything else I've experienced.



Most of my deliveries were crack babies.

I have never been involved in one where something didn't go wrong, including my own child.


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## Trayos (May 10, 2010)

Veneficus said:


> Most of my deliveries were crack babies.
> 
> I have never been involved in one where something didn't go wrong, including my own child.



You delivered your own child?


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## Veneficus (May 10, 2010)

Trayos said:


> You delivered your own child?



No, I was there being supportive, but my little black cloud somehow caused my wife to rupture a uterine artery. 

For some reason when it comes to deliveries, if I am there, something goes wrong it seems.


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