ECV

My final task before going home this evening was to turn a naughty baby from breech to head down. This particular technique (called 'external cephalic version' or ECV) is recommended in the UK in order to decrease the risks of a breech delivery for the baby without subjected the mother to the risks of a caesarean section. I have found it particularly satisfying to do here in Africa because it seems to work so much better (smaller babies and mothers who have had lots of kids before...). Unfortunately, it seems not to be practiced much in Kenya - and the first time Sara and I suggested an ECV our nurses were fairly horrified.

Now, however, they have seen that it does work most of the time, and this afternoon I had a group of enthusiastic student nurses come to watch Martha (our new resident - who had never seen an ECV before and was terribly eager to be involved) and me turn the baby. Our very tolerant patient agreed to the audience because she thought it would be a good thing for more people in Kenya to become familiar with the concept of ECV. She was highly satisfied at the end of the procedure when we could show her the fetal head down at the bottom where it belongs.

More often than not it's fun to be an obstetrician.