I'm Back!

Hello everyone!
I am back to blogging after taking a long break, too long actually. I apologize for not keeping you updated on what has been going on in the Philippines. Below are various entrees that I have failed to post. Hope you enjoy!

Anita

In the past few months I have had the opportunity to catch a few babies. Anita though is a different story. I first met Anita in 2006 when I was her midwife with her first baby. We bonded through the birth and postpartum of her first baby Rexan. When I found out she was pregnant again and was having her prenatals at Mercy I jumped at the chance to be her midwife again. It was great to see her again and continue the relationship. One of my favorite things about being a midwife is getting to care for a woman through multiple pregnancies. Knowing a woman’s history helps in giving her excellent care. The challenging thing about committing to being with a woman when she delivers in being on-call. Especially in cases when she waits until the last minute to come into the clinic. This was the case with Anita. She came in and delivered within 5 minutes of arriving. And it just happened to be on a morning that I was out. My friend Laura and I were at a 5k fun run. Within 5 minutes of finishing the race I received a text saying Anita was in labor and to come fast. Then 2 minutes later I received another text saying that she already delivered. It was a bummer, but I was happy to have finished to race before getting the text. It would have been worse to have to quit the race and still not be there for the birth. Laura and I headed back to the clinic and I helped finish up the care after birth. Anita had a little girl this time around. She is so adorable!

Miracle Baby

Like Anita some women time their births perfectly, meaning come in with little time to spare before their babe emerges. Inday was the same way. She came in around 4 in the morning on one of the busier night shifts. We already had 3 deliveries that night making me next up to take care of the next women coming into the clinic in labor. She came in calm but hasty to make to a bed. I could tell that she was ready to deliver. In these cases you try to get as much information in the little time you have before the baby is born. I like to be a part of these births. It is exciting! Almost like a race. Well after a couple pushes she delivered a healthy baby boy. Startled by the cry of a new baby, one of the other midwives hallered from the other side of the birth room, “Jonna did you just have a birth?” I said yep! The other girls didn’t hear her come in. When the placenta came out I was shocked at what I saw. In rare cases the umbilical cord can connect into the membranes instead of the meaty part of the placenta.

This is very dangerous to the baby. When the bag of waters breaks it can tear into one of the blood vessels. If this happens the baby can bleed out in a matter of minutes and die. Luckily for this baby the membranes broke on the other side of the placenta. We thanked God for keeping this baby safe. He is a miracle baby!

Fabie Students

Over the past couple months we have had we have had Filipino midwifery students from a local college (Fabie Midwifery college) intern at Mercy. Monday through Saturday they would rotate working day and night shifts. We have had Fabie girls intern at our clinic in the past but it has been a couple of years. I wasn’t too excited about the idea of having them come. When I was a student we had some intern and I didn’t have the best experience with them. But to my surprise I really enjoyed having them with us the last couple of months. It is a great opportunity to give back to the Filipino midwifery community by teaching local students. Our clinic is different from the birth experience they get in the hospital.

Also by being a part of our team they are exposed too so much more then just midwifery. We regularly pray together as staff between shifts and have devotionals together before clinic. Also they have the opportunity to pray for patients or at least be present when patients are being prayed for. All the girls that came to intern seemed to really enjoy themselves.

Dead Shifts

When coming on shift in the birth room you really don’t know what to expect to what the 8 hours will hold. At times it starts out crazy then dies down mid-shift. Other times it’s the opposite. There are also times where you are endorsed an empty birth room and nothing happens for the 8 hours you work. What do you do? Well I guess there are a lot of things you can do to keep yourselves entertained for hours. On this swing shift we decided to have a book reading where we all took turns reading out loud to each other.

We read The House on Mango Street. It is a book of memoirs of a tweenage latino girl living in a latino community in Chicago. It is a quick read and was a great way to pass the evening hours on our swing shift

Baby Kian

When working a night shift you have to be mentally prepared for anything. It could mean that you will be running around all night or you might have the luxury of sleeping all night. You never know. A few weeks ago I was about ready to go on night shift. I felt pretty good, was in a pleasant mood, relaxed. Then one of the girls mentioned to me that there were 5 labors at the clinic. My eyes got real wide and my adrenals started pumping adrenaline into my veins. I though wow, it is going to be one of those kinds of nights. One thing that I fall back on to keep my sanity is chanting to myself, “It is only 8 hours. I can do anything for 8 hours.” So I headed over to the clinic ready to accept the challenge of the night. The first women delivered even before endorsements were over. Two more were transported for high blood pressure by midnight. Since there are only for midwives working and 5 women in labor I decided to watch 2 of them. Jean was one of the 2 ladies. She seemed close to having her baby, or at least I hoped she was close cause she was not able to handle the pain. She was in labor with her first baby and seemed terrified. Her husband was really great at encouraging her. Thankfully I was right with my assumption and she delivered not to long after that. She had a handsome little boy. Not to long after the birth we noticed that his left foot was clubbed. Jean was devastated. Babies who are born here with disabilities do not always get the care they need. Especially the women we serve are poor, and even though they want the best for their babies, it is not an option most of the time. I referred the baby to a pediatrician we work with for an evaluation. He referred the baby to an orthopedic surgeon. When Jean came in for her 1-week checkup I was shocked to see the baby with a full-leg cast. Baby’s bones are soft, by putting his foot in a cast they are able to manipulate the bones into a correct place. So for now Kian will be put in a new cast every week until his foot has been corrected.

We praise God for making a way to correct his foot. It is common to see adults here walking around on uncorrected club feet. I am thankful that Kian will not have to deal with this disability later in life. Another praise is that the casts are being put on for free at the government hospital here in Davao.