A truly amazing day

I have had many amazing experiences in Kenya, but today tops them all.

Let me start from the beginning. I have been working really closely with the nurse midwifes at my clinic and learning the ropes of conducting a delivery.  Since I previously worked at a veteran’s hospital, mother and child care was the farthest thing from my repertoire.  It seems each delivery I have assisted with has been interesting in its own way.

My first delivery I was a bit bewildered as I was being clung to by the 15 year old girl delivering her first baby. It would be putting it modestly if I said this girl was grabbing onto me like the Jaws of Life.

Another delivery I was standing next to the woman who was so silent through her labor that we weren’t sure how soon the baby would come. The next thing we know, this woman laying on her side, lifted her leg and simultaneously gave birth while her water broke.

I spent another long night as one of the nurses from the clinic gave birth to her first child. The whole staff was there until the birth around 2:30 in the morning and I felt like a real birth attendant helping her with her contractions and staying by her side through the whole thing.

I suppose there have been a few relatively non-eventful births at our clinic and today seemed like any other day. I was packing my bag to go visit my friend Julianne for lunch when a woman came in to the clinic. I asked how many centimeters she was dilated and nurse Phoebe said she was fully dilated and could deliver any minute. I decided to postpone my lunch and stick around. About an hour later Phoebe was telling me to just go and come back later, this woman was not progressing and it could be many more hours before the baby came. Again, I told her I was patient enough and would wait, just in case she needed my help. This woman was only 20 years old and giving birth to her fourth child, so nothing indicated this would be anything other than a normal delivery. However, she was having trouble pushing and the baby was not advancing for a dangerously long time. When the baby boy finally came out he was not breathing and the color of an ash tray. While Phoebe cut the cord and attended to the mother, I took the newborn baby and tried to clear his airway and use a resuscitation bag to get some air into him. Eventually he was able to take a few weak breaths but it wasn’t until an hour later that we heard his first cry.

I have been in emergency situations before in my nursing career, but it was comfortable knowing I could just call a code if any of my patients were struggling. Being in a remote clinic with just nurse Phoebe and myself, it was a bit terrifying yet exhilarating to know we pulled together to save this little ones’ life.  I couldn’t ask for anything more right now and I’m so glad I postponed my lunch date.