Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
then it is like this, we see I shall just put a cross here, can you see that it
is a cross here?
LENA:
Uhum (…)
MIDWIFE:
Your bladder isn't very full, you don't need to go to the toilet
[laughter]
LENA:
No, not much
MIDWIFE:
[laughter] But it should be here somewhere but one can't see
it very well, this is the uterus then, and in the front one can see the
placenta, that's the slightly thicker wall that (L
ENA
: yes) is placed like
this. Oh dear what a speed it has, can you see the legs moving down
here? (L
ENA
: yes) [laughter] yes it is the knees here (L
ENA
: yes) and
then you can see that the feet far out in that direction are kicking, it is
kicking a lot now
LENA:
Mm maybe they can feel that
MIDWIFE:
Do you?
LENA:
No but he or she
MIDWIFE:
Right [laughter] it might.
During this part of the examination the midwife also changes her way
of using the computer-arrow on the screen. She now starts to apply it as a
pointer, instead of as a measuring apparatus. As the midwife has the command
of the computer-arrow, she can to some extent decide what the parents
should look at and what images should be commented on. In this sense, the
use of the computer-arrow also works as a way to guide the parents' vision.
However, the midwife obviously cannot avoid that the parents might choose
to comment on something completely different from what she tries to point
out, and maybe in that way change the perspective on what is being seen on
the screen.
The midwife's comments are largely focused on the image on the screen.
Her interpretations of the image are primarily explanations of what the
image shows, something that becomes evident in the way she phrases her
comments. She frequently uses expressions such as 'this is', 'here one can
see' and 'then you can see', as is demonstrated in the following example.
Example 7
MIDWIFE:
Yes, exactly look at the cross here now so we can have a little
look at the baby [quietly] so this is the chin here and then up towards
the mouth and nose. There's a nice profi le here (M
ARIA
: [giggles])
and then the forehead, back towards the neck, here the back is in this
direction, the bottom upwards and then we have the legs here, though
we can't see them properly right now (M
ARIA
: right) and then this is
the stomach, right then I'll turn this one on again so that it becomes
mobile again [the image has been 'frozen'] right, then here we see that
the heart beats.
