Laboring patients came to the 10th floor and they were admitted to “the laundry” . Never knew why the admitting area was called “the laundry” but that was no more peculiar than other goings on at Big C .
A lady admitted to “the laundry” had been having contractions for a while but was not dilating, so as was the custom, she was told to come back when she was REALLY in labor. Nine years later, in late 1956 or early 1957, she returned to clinic complaining of abdominal pain. Examination revealed a mass which turned out to be an calcified fetus of about 6 months gestation. As our instructor had told us, in an abdominal pregnancy, the patient will experience labor pains, even though the fetus is not in the uterus. That mother REALLY was in labor nine years before, only the delivery room staff did not know it.
I took care of her in the recovery room after her surgery to “end the pregnancy”.
