I recently was involved in the care of a women who was pregnant. Although she had not planned to be pregnant now, she and her significant other were planning on parenting. The client was hoping for an early ultrasound just to check on the pregnancy and make sure everything was as it should be. Her appointment was the last of the day on a Friday heading into the weekend. Her significant other did not attend the ultrasound.
Shortly after beginning the ultrasound, it was apparent that things were not as they should be. The nurse calmly and kindly conveyed that we were not seeing what we hoped to see, and we would contact our medical director to have the client’s ultrasound images read as soon as possible. The nurse checked in with the client every couple of hours throughout the evening until our medical director could read the ultrasound. At around 9:00 in the evening, our medical director returned to the nurse stating it was an ectopic pregnancy and to send the client to the ER immediately.
The nurse who had been touching base with the client every couple of hours to check in on her and see if any symptoms had started, conveyed the message to the client. The client called her doctor and got the practice’s on-call-doctor only to be told that she was fine and to wait until Monday at her regular scheduled appointment. Through the RETA staff nurse's urging, the client decided to go to the ER anyways at her choice of hospital.
While in the ER they did an additional ultrasound and immediately rushed the client to surgery for an ectopic pregnancy. The client’s fallopian tube had already ruptured, and she was beginning to bleed into her abdomen. As a side note, the early delivery of a baby due to an ectopic pregnancy, which is a medical emergency, is not an abortion. Abortion is the intentional destruction of a pre-born child.
When the nurse followed up with the client, the client was so thankful that we did an ultrasound and encouraged her to go into the ER despite not having many symptoms. The client relayed repeatedly that had it not been for RETA and the care she received that she may not have made it to Monday morning. We celebrate God’s provision of seeing this client early enough that her life was saved, while also mourning the loss of her little child and supporting her through that.
by Brittany, Clinic Director