The Doctors Who Came on the Day You Were Born Whispered Medical Terms (2)

“I’m going to check your BP. I’m putting the cuff on.”

I checked the blood pressure cuff wrapped around the mother’s arm, squeezed into the cramped helicopter cabin.

I had to rely solely on the numbers on the monitor.

[BP 140/90 mmHg]

[HR 105/min]

Her blood pressure was creeping up little by little.

Probably because of the contractions.

“Yes, her BP’s a little high for now, but… it looks like it’s from the labor. Nothing major so far. I’ll put in two lines. If she starts bleeding, we need to be ready to flood it in right away.”

I skillfully inserted an 18-gauge IV needle into the mother’s other arm.

“Yes… Doctor, it hurts… it hurts so much…”...