Wednesday, March 21, 2007


Today I worked in the prenatal clinic at Mercy Maternity Center. Prenatal days are exciting! We normally have anywhere from 50-80 women show up for prenatals on any given day. One by one the women make their way into our clinic and up into the waiting room where they wait for the events of the morning to start. We start at 8:00 am with a few songs of worship. This morning we started with a fun song that translates to say: I am a child of God, You are a child of God, We all are children of God, so lets wave our hands and shake our hips and turn around. We sing this song in partners which makes it very fun and interactive. After singing our pastora Bebing gives a morning devotional to the women, after that then we have a health teaching. Today I taught the women about postpartum care, or care they will recieve after the baby is born. It is really fun to teach and joke around with them. After the health teaching the women then are brought in in order to the prenatal room where the midwives are waiting. Then we go through a stack of charts 60 tall till all the women are seen. I really enjoy getting to interact with the pregnant women (aka buntis). It's another opportunity to show God's love to people who are really desperate for love. A prenatal visit consists of some dialog about how they are doing in there pregnancy and giving advice. We also access the size and position of the baby inside the womb. Normally I start by lifting up their shirt enough to expose their pooch then I gently rub my hand and over their abdomen and talk to the baby saying, "Good morning baby, how are you today?" The women love it! It is also empowering to show the women where their baby is laying inside of their abdomen. Finally when all the talking and examining is done then we finish with praying with each women. This in my opinion is the best part. Today praying for the women was very special. I asked each of them what they wanted prayer for. Normally I just pray for them, but today I felt that I needed to ask. I loved the look on these women's faces when I asked. The majority of them responded with a bright smile and lively eyes. I love getting to intercede for these women. I know that God touches their hearts when they come into the clinic and that is what I am here for.