Having a Baby Isn't as Easy as It Looks - Case Study Example

Artificial insemination again yielded only disappointment. Gamete placement, a complicated medical procedure, resulted in only pain and mounting medical bills. As a last resort, Kathee tried in-vitro fertilization. After the years of attempting to conceive a child, the anxiety was temporarily lifted when the home pregnancy test read positive.Though the conception had been rough, the pregnancy would prove to be even more mired in anxiety. Kathee suffered from the routine sickness that all pregnant mothers-to-be are afflicted with.

She had severe morning sickness. Insomnia kept her awake for endless days and nights. As the pregnancy progressed she found it harder and harder to breathe. In addition to these 'normal' symptoms, Kathee caught the flu in the midterm. Her ultra high fever threatened the wellness of the unborn baby. She was unable to safely take any medicine to control her nausea. She was unable to eat and was losing weight when she should have been gaining. Just as it seemed she was out of the woods, a few weeks before the baby's scheduled arrival Kathee was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, a serious life-threatening condition.

Her doctor determined that she could only be treated with an experimental drug. The drug had to be administered by taking several shots per day. The condition required close medical supervision and Kathee was forced to make numerous trips to the doctor during these final weeks. Her symptoms of illness and difficulties, along with the anxiety, briefly subsided in the final days before her due date.Kathee was relieved when she went into labor with the realization that it would finally be over. However, she would face even greater anxiety at the hospital.

Upon her arrival, she found out that her doctor was called out on an emergency and they did not know when to expect him. Her anxiety increased as the on-call doctor was unfamiliar with her case and did not want to make a decision. The nursing shortage had left the pediatrics ward short-handed and anxiety filled the halls. Since this was her first baby, Kathee did not know what to expect and there was no one except her nervous husband to help her. After being in labor for what seemed like an eternity, her doctor arrived and more problems presented themselves.

He prescribed a painkiller [Name] Page 3