During every prenatal assessment, there is a checkbox as a reminder for the midwives to pray with their patients. I was in the labor room twice today, and both times there came a point when the mothers were getting so exhausted they couldn’t push any longer, so everyone in the room stopped and prayed. PRAYER WORKS! If you believe it will happen and pray in Jesus’ name, miracles will happen if it’s in line with God’s will.
Yesterday, a 16 year old came to the clinic in labor. 25 hours later, the baby came. We all thought the baby would come last night, so I was drinking coffee and was planning on staying up late. However, she was still at 6cm so they said she would probably deliver in the morning. Sure enough, I got a knock on my door at 0655 this morning saying that she was ready to push. I debated whether or not I should brush my teeth or just run down stairs… I was a bit excited. (Don’t worry- I brushed my teeth. Filipinos always smell good and look nice. It’s annoying. HOWEVER, they don’t shave their legs. I don’t need an excuse now not to shave;). Back to the story… where were we… ah yes. Baby!
The baby was coming! So I ran downstairs and right when I entered into the delivery room, I was handed a chart. Let’s remember that I still had blurry eyes from the night and woke up a few minutes before. Now they wanted me to chart? Okay, why not.
We are either barefoot or in flipflops sweating in a small room leaning over this tiny young girl on a stool about to push. All of a sudden I hear a chorus of encouragements and realize that every person in the room was saying “Wooow” “Great job” “You’re doing it” “Keep pushing” “Almost there” all at the same time. It was such a sight! These midwives are amazing!!
Sure enough, the baby finally came! Because she was in labor for such a long time, they needed to resuscitate the baby. It took a few minutes for him to start crying, but once he did it was a beautiful sound. Tears may or may not have been pricking my eyes.
I’m learning all about prenatal care and postnatal care, along with how to care for the baby once delivered. When the mom was taking a shower, I had the chance to measure and assess the baby and then hold him. An hour old baby in my hands…. It doesn’t get much better than that (maybe unless it’s your own child ?). Regardless, it was such a happy moment. God created this baby. His 10 fingers and toes. His little nose. His soft spot on his head. I love my old people, but I’m starting to love these babies, too. Oh no, what is happening!
Here are some other highlights from the past couple of days:
· Riding a tricey to the market. It’s a motorcycle with a sidecar next to it and it is so much fun! We fit four girls + the driver in one. (Mom, it’s safe! Don’t have a heart attack, please).
· This afternoon during swing shift, I did a complete prenatal assessment on my own successfully! This includes taking vitals, figuring out the gestational age (GA) using a cool spinney chart (great medical term, huh), weighing the patient and then proceeding to the back room to assess the baby. I remember learning how to do this in the Dominican Republic years ago and am amazed that it all came back to me. Thanks, Jesus. I measured the fetal height and then tried to figure out where the head, butt, and back was positioned… and then came my favorite part… listening to the baby’s heart tones (FHT). IT IS ONE OF THE BEST SOUNDS IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE LAND.
· As I was pressing on a patient’s stomach, the baby girl kicked back against my hands. She didn’t like that very much : ) hehe but I did! The mom and I smiled at each other.
· Tabuk is such a beautiful place. It reminds me a lot of the Dominican Republic! I found a great place to run that leads to a river.
· The foreigner students took Ange and I to their “hang out” at a gas station. It has air con (what they call air conditioning) and a weird Filipino ice-cream called Halo-Halo. It has corn, beans, some purple yam something, ice, milk, and mangos plus more. Sound gross? Yup.
There are many midwives who work here and I am still trying to remember names to faces and get to know them. It is out of my comfort zone at times, so please be praying for courage for us as we get to know these sisters.
Love you guys,
Li