Baby June 12th

June 12, 2012

Today was an amazing today. It started out pretty normal, I woke up around 7am, debated on taking a freezing cold shower, dragged myself to breakfast (after deciding against the shower), and then traveled to the clinic via bus and foot. Once at the clinic I took several pregnant women’s blood pressure and preformed a few prenatal checkups. Then it got interesting!!!! A nurse came into my room saying a woman just came into the clinic in labor. Immediately I ran over the maternity ward not wanting to miss a second. I arrived expecting to see a women screaming in pain, nope, she was sitting there very calm almost as if she was waiting for me… and she was. Angle, a nurse, and myself were all in the delivery room. The nurse asked me if this was my first birth. What she meant by this was is this my first delivery, and yes it was, this stuff DOES NOT happen back in the U.S. With Angle as my translation and the nurse as my direction I got ready for delivery. They tied a gown around me (as if I was a doctor) and I double gloved. First step get the lady in the stirrups. Taking it like a champ and without meds she laid there as I examined here and broke her water. I mean this with the most compassion possible but breaking her water was pretty gross. Not going back she was ready to have a baby, and I was there to deliver it, oh god! I had a brief moment where I was like there is no way I can do this. That feeling quickly disappeared when I realized I was the only one there to help her. I stood at the foot of the bed and with each contraction instructed her to push down and out. A lot of graphic/bloody stuff happened, but for the sake of her privacy I will not share, but she was amazing. Within 10 minutes of starting to push, the baby came out. First the head (with a full head of hair), then the nurse instructed me to grab it by head and pull. I was trying to be gentle but the nurse yelled at me, I guess there is no room for being gentle when you are trying to get a baby out. I basically wrestled that kid out of there until I was able to clap the cord and pull the rest of it out. Once the baby came out I cut the cord and put the baby on his moms belly. I know she must have been in pain but she just smiled looking at her new baby boy. The baby stopped crying once he heard his mom, how sweet.

In the heat of the moment I was not thinking about what was happening, but once I took the baby back from the mom is when I realized how amazing this experience was. I would have cried if it were not for Angle standing at the head of the bed in disgust, hands over her mouth, saying how she was never going to have a baby. In all honestly though I have never been so proud and amazed at myself or life. I had just witnessed a miracle, and I had brought that miracle into the world.

After the mom delivered the placenta and I got her clean up, she got herself out of the stirrups and walked into the next room. Amazing right, she makes women in the U.S. look pathetic. I followed her with the baby and as she settled down I handed her, her little boy. All the other new mothers swarmed her and myself. I knew they were talking about me, but for the first time I felt like they were saying something good… not the usual, stupid mazungoo. Still in my battle attire and blood all over me, they looked at me and smiled. The baby was healthy and mom was happy. I would say my day was pretty incredible.