October 13, 2007

Late last night, two midwifes, Amanda and Mrs. Vicki, were paged to attend a birth just a few minutes away. They arrived and labor had begun. The lady was an older lady who had already had 5 children. The mother had said that having her last children had taken a lot of time, so the midwives prepared to wait. They spent the night at the house, sleeping on the bamboo floor. Mr. Scott, Vicki’s husband checked in with them for any needs and then the ladies settled in for the night. The next day arrived and they continued their vigil. Mr. Scott continued to check in bringing snacks and water while they waited for the mother to deliver. Mrs. Vicki and Amanda didn’t want to leave the house because when the baby decided it would come, it would probably be fast since she had already had numerous children before and also they were concerned about the mother because she had been in labor for some time and she was at the age where pregnancy was more difficult. Throughout the day, I had been in class waiting for the text saying to come because the mother was about to deliver. The day continued on without the page. That afternoon, some of the other students and I went down to the beach for a swim. Sam, one of my classmates, brought his phone in case we received the page from Mrs. Vicki and Amanda. We enjoyed the calm waves and last bit of sun. We began walking back and Sam saw that we had received 7 pages! Words like “Baby coming” and other texts were there and so we paged Mr. Scott to meet up with us so he could pick me up to go to the birth. I thought maybe I had missed the delivery, but a returned text said I hadn’t. I was wet, still in my swimsuit, but I headed on like I was. I arrived to a neat little bamboo house down a small dirt road. The road revealed that not many people make it back there. When I arrived, the mother was less than half-way dilated, but her contractions were getting stronger. I slipped off my shoes at the door which is custom here and took a seat in a corner on the floor in the community room. The mother was a lady we had checked at the clinic throughout the weeks of her pregnancy and it seemed she was soon to be delivered. As I waited outside, Mrs. Vicki and Amanda stayed with the woman in her room. All was set up, but the contractions were more sporadic than regular. The afternoon and evening wore on. The woman’s five children waited in the community room with me and the youngest one, appearing to be around 3 years old, kept going to the door of her mother’s bedroom and peeking under the door just trying to see what her mom must be doing. Frequently the mother would take a break and come out of her room to walk or drink a little of water. I sat and prayed for her because her face showed exhaustion. During one of the trips to the kitchen, Amanda, Vicki, and I sat and talked with the members of the family and while we were doing this, we heard a faint cry out from the kitchen. Mrs. Vicki went in and the mother was on the cement floor and you could tell her pain was growing. I was given instructions for items and Mrs. Vicki and Amanda got into their positions and prepared for the delivery. My position was waiting for the baby so that I could hold it while they did their work. Amanda saw the head and was ready for the baby to come. The baby came down the birth canal and Amanda was there. The baby had the cord loosely draped around its neck and Amanda slid it off from around the neck and down its body. We had been monitoring the baby’s heartbeat so we knew that was normal and it was nice to see the little one that had taken so long to come out and see us! The baby let out a cry and I smiled. I was handed the baby and I began to dry her off. It was a girl, a "babae" in the Tagalog language and she had been born at 10:20 p.m. Mrs. Vicki told the mom she was just made for girls. Amanda waited for the placenta and Mrs. Vicki began and I.V. because the mom had lost enough blood that she felt dizzy. Liquids were given through the I.V. as well as by mouth. I was given the job of cutting the cord and I was honored to have this task. I was then given the task of helping the baby begin breastfeeding and this was hard for me because I had never really been involved this closely with a mom and her baby. Ideally, it is good if the baby begins breastfeeding within 30 minutes of delivery. Breastfeeding decreases uterine bleeding in the mother and begins the baby on nutritious milk that will protect the baby from various illnesses. Breast milk will be all the baby will need for the next six months and if given the chance, this milk will do many things for both the mother and the baby. After 28 minutes and positioning and repositioning the baby, the baby latched on and took its first sips. After that, the baby continued and I was so happy that the bond between mother and child had continued and the baby was feeding well. We took vitals and after the I.V. finished and the mother felt better, we moved her to her room. We got her comfortable and settled in and did the newborn exam of her baby. Because of her amount of blood loss, Mrs. Vicki wanted someone to stay with her and the baby for the night. Mrs. Vicki volunteered me and I was quite surprised and unprepared to stay the night. I was given instructions and I knew that I could handle the tasks, but I felt hesitant because I had never taken care of a newborn before. I returned to Mrs. Vicki’s to change clothes and to grab a snack and then Mr. Scott drove me back to the mother’s house. The father was waiting for me outside and I slid off my shoes and climbed into their hut. I started taking care of the mother and child, checking vitals, checking amount of continued bleeding of the mother, and offered fluids and comfort. I crawled on the mat in the community room and grabbed a short 2 hour nap until the next check on the mother and child. I did this throughout the night at 2 hour intervals and the mother was happy that we had all been there. We talked more about her delivery and the miracle I saw when her baby had been delivered. Around 6:30 a.m., Mr. Scott and Mrs. Vicki came to pick me up. Mrs. Vicki did another check and I had already given the mother her antibiotics. Instructions were given to the mother and father and we left. We have scheduled check-up for this family and on the check-up yesterday, mother and child were doing great. This was an awesome experience and to see a mother deliver in her house in her own comfort was awesome. To see God’s miracle come into this world and to be there as a witness was a gift to me!