Breech Taxi Birth

This last week while on shift we had a memorable birth. The four of us working, Lois, Medea, Jane, and I arrived on shift at 6:00am. We had our first birth just after 7am. Unfortunately the baby wasn't responding well to life on the outside and we had to transport him to the hospital for further care. While that was happening I heard some commotion outside the clinic but didn't really clue into what was going on until 3 women ran into the clinic screaming in pure panic. I realized that that probably meant that a women was delivering in a taxi outside of the clinic. I grabbed gloves and tools for a birth and headed out the door. When I got outside of the clinic I saw Laura in the back of the taxi assisting the mother. She had just gotten off of night shift and heard the taxi from our house and came over to help. I stuck my head in the taxi and was horrified to see that the baby was breech and the body was already delivered and the head was stuck inside. Laura was trying to deliver the head but wasn't able too. Susan (one of our filipina midwives) came down from the 3rd floor of the clinic to help. Laura and her were able to deliver the head. We resuscitated the baby in the taxi on the mother and he came around pretty quick. His first cry was loud and powerful as if he was saying, "I am ALIVE!!" By that point there was quite a crowd around the taxi. It seemed as if everyone at the same time sighed in relief when he started crying. We brought the mother and baby into the clinic to continue caring for them. Later the mother told us her birth story. She said she woke up that morning in pain but wasn't expecting the baby to come for another couple of weeks so she wasn't really convinced that she was in labor. Then in her bathroom her water broke and she could feel the baby coming down. At that point they hopped in a taxi and headed to our clinic. The baby started coming out on the way to the clinic. For those of you who know Davao she said that the body was already out by the time they passed fairlanes. Her friend who came with her also had a 2 month old baby which she brought with her. She said she was holding her baby in one arm and the half delivered baby in the other. Everyone involved was happy and relieved with the ending. This story could of been a devastating one, yet God protected this little boy. He even brought the extra hands we needed to help.
This picture is of Laura and the baby. He was born frank breech meaning that while still in utero his legs were straight up leaving his feet next to his face. After frank breech babies are born they are kind of awkward. They find it unnatural to bend there knees. Breech babies also have a swollen bruised bottom from the birth process. This little boy was most comfortable laying on his side with his legs straight out in a 90 degree angle. He was so cute. The next day Lois and I were mimicking him for fun laying in that position and saying, "Who am I?"

Oh the rain!

Over the past week we have had some substantial weather. The rains have come to Davao. A few days ago I was riding a motor bike to the store to buy groceries. It takes about 5 minutes on bike to get to the store from where we live. About halfway there the rain started pouring down and it came fast. My driver and I were stuck, the only thing we could do was to continue straight ahead. When we got to the store we were both soaked. I was very thankful I was wearing a black shirt cause I still needed to shop. When rain like this comes the city floods in a matter of minutes. Davao does not have good drainage. Our neighborhood in particular is one of the worst. It is very common to have standing water midway up to your knee after an evening down pour. It makes life a little more of an adventure here, especially if you are out stuck somewhere. Life most of the time gets put on hold until the rain stops cause transportation is very hard to find.

As far as clinic news goes, seasons are changing around here. We are having a midwifery class graduate at the end of this month. It is exciting seeing another class reach completion. Are other students who are now half way through their training are going on their 1 month break in the next couple of months. So many girls are leaving, some are coming back and a new school will be starting this August. During the summer months when we have so many girls leaving, we invite midwifery students from the states to come and intern at Mercy. We have 6 women coming to help out during the summer months. The first two will arrive at the end of this month.

I am also excited to update you about baby Kian. He came into the clinic for a check up this last week and he is already finished his corrective cast therapy. He only needed 2 casts to correct his foot. His doctor said the club foot was postural. This is great news. He should be fine from now on.