So yesterday started early (for this formerly night-shift nurse)...
Out of the house by 8:20am, took my 10cent ride by public trans (a truck with benches in the back) to the birth center. Got there by 9am, and started measuring pregnant bellies and listening to fetal heart rates within the hour. Now-- about that, seeing "patients". As some of you may know, while doing my midwifery program in the US, I had serious concerns as to whether or not I would enjoy being a "provider" rather than a nurse-- which I thought meant spending less time with patients and more time charting. BUT, I have re-discovered my love for patient education and found that doing prenatal & postpartum visits means time with patients=time for patient education. And here I have all the time I want to answer questions about labor signs (does throwing up mean your water will break?) and assess a new mom's bathing skills (Me: How do you bathe your newborn?, Mom: In water with laundry detergent). Of course, all of this is done with the help of a translator.... and let me say here, I am VERY eager to learn creole. Armen and I started lessons yesterday, and we both reeeeeeally want to be competent in creole. Imagine trying to ask (in creole) how much for a motorcycle ride home, and getting an answer (in creole), and then trying to decide if you can bargain (in creole) for that ride home. It is not easy not speaking the language. It's a good lesson to learn.
Anyway, it was an interesting morning of prenatal & postpartum visits. But it didn't end there... got the chance to do a well-baby visit where the baby had lost over 300grams in weight over 4 days, looked very dehydrated and wasn't breastfeeding well, and when I listened to the baby's heart rate, realized she had a very pronounced heart murmur. One thing led to another and we we're referring her to the hospital for an echocardiogram, which hopefully she will get soon as she is only 4 days old and loosing weight rapidly.
Next thing you know, we have a mom in labor. One thing that has been really wonderful about being in a birth center is that it really has taken the fear factor our of labor. Yes-- skills in birth are VERY important when things go awry, but intervention is rarely necessary for most births. Most of the time you can just be there to support a mom having her baby, just getting the chance to "catch" her baby and re-unite them. So I got the chance to do just that, and even with thick meconium, the baby girl was born easily and I got to plop her on her mom's belly... with some drying and stimulation she perked up, and we didn't even cut the cord till the placenta delivered. To get to be with a mom who has the choice to labor as she wishes, either standing, walking, in the bathroom, or on a bed... and deliver her babe on a birthing stool, that is what is incredible to be a part of... especially in Haiti, a place where mothers are rarely offered this type of labor support. Clearly, I love what is happening here.
Shortly after the delivery, a mom who had been throwing up all day came in and needed an IV, and my nursing skills got good use. And once she was re-hydrated and felt better we sent her home, to come back soon when she had labor pains.
So finally around 6:30 I got to head home, opting for a motorcycle ride home that would cost me 75cents. It was a quick ride home, and after a long day I was happy to get back to a meal and people who would hear my stories from the day.
All this to say.... I feel so blessed to get to be a part of the incredible work that MamaBaby Haiti is doing in their community. Working with the Haitian midwifes has been such a great experience, seeing from their compassion for laboring mothers and observing their skills in action. I have also been incredibly overwhelmed by the dedication of program directors and NGO's here, seeking to serve Haitians in unique and innovative ways.
There really is so much to be thankful for.
Love,
Leah
Out of the house by 8:20am, took my 10cent ride by public trans (a truck with benches in the back) to the birth center. Got there by 9am, and started measuring pregnant bellies and listening to fetal heart rates within the hour. Now-- about that, seeing "patients". As some of you may know, while doing my midwifery program in the US, I had serious concerns as to whether or not I would enjoy being a "provider" rather than a nurse-- which I thought meant spending less time with patients and more time charting. BUT, I have re-discovered my love for patient education and found that doing prenatal & postpartum visits means time with patients=time for patient education. And here I have all the time I want to answer questions about labor signs (does throwing up mean your water will break?) and assess a new mom's bathing skills (Me: How do you bathe your newborn?, Mom: In water with laundry detergent). Of course, all of this is done with the help of a translator.... and let me say here, I am VERY eager to learn creole. Armen and I started lessons yesterday, and we both reeeeeeally want to be competent in creole. Imagine trying to ask (in creole) how much for a motorcycle ride home, and getting an answer (in creole), and then trying to decide if you can bargain (in creole) for that ride home. It is not easy not speaking the language. It's a good lesson to learn.
Anyway, it was an interesting morning of prenatal & postpartum visits. But it didn't end there... got the chance to do a well-baby visit where the baby had lost over 300grams in weight over 4 days, looked very dehydrated and wasn't breastfeeding well, and when I listened to the baby's heart rate, realized she had a very pronounced heart murmur. One thing led to another and we we're referring her to the hospital for an echocardiogram, which hopefully she will get soon as she is only 4 days old and loosing weight rapidly.
Next thing you know, we have a mom in labor. One thing that has been really wonderful about being in a birth center is that it really has taken the fear factor our of labor. Yes-- skills in birth are VERY important when things go awry, but intervention is rarely necessary for most births. Most of the time you can just be there to support a mom having her baby, just getting the chance to "catch" her baby and re-unite them. So I got the chance to do just that, and even with thick meconium, the baby girl was born easily and I got to plop her on her mom's belly... with some drying and stimulation she perked up, and we didn't even cut the cord till the placenta delivered. To get to be with a mom who has the choice to labor as she wishes, either standing, walking, in the bathroom, or on a bed... and deliver her babe on a birthing stool, that is what is incredible to be a part of... especially in Haiti, a place where mothers are rarely offered this type of labor support. Clearly, I love what is happening here.
Shortly after the delivery, a mom who had been throwing up all day came in and needed an IV, and my nursing skills got good use. And once she was re-hydrated and felt better we sent her home, to come back soon when she had labor pains.
So finally around 6:30 I got to head home, opting for a motorcycle ride home that would cost me 75cents. It was a quick ride home, and after a long day I was happy to get back to a meal and people who would hear my stories from the day.
All this to say.... I feel so blessed to get to be a part of the incredible work that MamaBaby Haiti is doing in their community. Working with the Haitian midwifes has been such a great experience, seeing from their compassion for laboring mothers and observing their skills in action. I have also been incredibly overwhelmed by the dedication of program directors and NGO's here, seeking to serve Haitians in unique and innovative ways.
There really is so much to be thankful for.
Love,
Leah
Love it! Keep the posts coming!!
ReplyDelete