Business As Usual

It was a GREAT day in the ward last weekend. Several students were working with their instructors, the doctors were making their rounds and my friend and I were supporting in a full ward so it was crowded! Here's a list of several surprising things that took place:

~ My first task of the morning was to dry up a chair-full of rain water that had leaked from the ceiling. As soon as I was finished, a woman, very relieved and great-with-child, rushed over and sat down.

~My friend and I found two ladies laboring in a back hallway as there were no open beds.

~There was a power outage in the middle of the day. It didn't cause any problems and almost everyone seemed not to notice.

~There were no gloves to be found right as a mama was crowning so I took off my left hand glove and gave it to a student - a glaring reminder of the lack of general "conveniences" that we enjoy in the States.

~A midwife put on a family planning video for the mamas who were waiting for beds. The video dramatizes a village woman dying from a complicated labor. It's pretty depressing and the LAST thing I'd want to see right before or after delivering my own child.

~It was a pleasure observing and talking with the students. They were so gentle and calm and seemed to have genuine hearts toward the mamas. I think their presence added a peaceful element to the ward rather than a chaotic one.

~Towards the end of the day, a midwife turned on her favorite music for all the ward to hear. What was it, you ask? Why bluegrass and country, of course! It was a strange sensation to be in a place so far from home and hear the familiar. It made me homesick.

~I spent hours squatting next to a mama in a space no bigger that 3 ft. wide. Only second to the birth of a healthy baby, that type of support is the most rewarding to me. I want to be right down next to them, in the midst of their pain and fear, speaking truth and comfort and massaging aching muscles.

~I am proud to report that I recognized and followed the changes in stages in one mama's labor. The looks, the sounds and the postures were accurate to what I've been learning outside the ward. So exciting to apply my new knowledge practically!  

~I have another namesake! It is such a pleasure and so fulfilling to walk through labor with these women. I love this work!