The Human Factor: Invisible Labor

The unseen cognitive and emotional work behind obstetric decision-making

I once stood in a labor room at 3 a.m., watching the fetal monitor trace slow decelerations. The patient, a first-time mother, was exhausted. Her husband asked if everything was “okay.” Nurses shifted uneasily. On the surface, the room looked calm. But inside my head, a storm was raging: Is this true fetal distress or just variable decelerations? Should…