week twenty-one - antenatal/post natal

antenatal and post natal ward.
compared to the week before monday morning i was extremely bored! i spent the morning on the post natal side, twelve beds filled with triple the amount of women with their babies all needing their vitals checked. me and Emily started going through each women checking their blood pressure, pulse temperatures and making sure their fundal height was back properly. on the babies we checked pulse, temperature and resps. the first thing i noticed was one little guy had an extremely high heart rate. after checking his temp it was well above normal. he was given some medication and we tried to show the mom how to cool him down. the rest of the mamma’s were doing well, and one more baby had a fever as well. i was checking them every half hour but they were not getting better. the doctors were notified but no further action was being taken. the next day i was not working on post natal but was in with the doctors doing the check on mom’s who were in labour. checking them over and seeing how far along they were. that little baby though who i had first checked was still quite feverish. in fact the mom must have thought him dead because she wrapped him up in the khanga and placed him at the foot of her bed. on of us girls found him there, feverish and with a terribly slow heart beat. she and another girl rushed him to the labour room where they have oxygen for the babies and they began resuscitation and prayer of this little guy to whom they gave the name Samuel. i went to the mom who was weeping, laying on the bed. with nothing to say i simply sat next to her, rubbed her back and just prayed. our day had come to an end and the doctors told us they would take care of Samuel. it was hard to leave the situation but we knew that there was nothing more that could be done on our part.

the next morning, wednesday, it was found out that Samuel was transferred to the ICU and was supposed to be sent on to another hospital but before they could get him there, he died. our thoughts and prayer went out to the mama that day.

on thursday i had a lot of fun spending the day with one women in particular. she was seventeen years old and in very early stages of labour. the doctor wanted her to go for an ultrasound and to get her blood checked for anemia. so off we went to the ultrasound. i had been there once before earlier on in the week so i knew where it was but its such an awkward thing. let me explain. the door is closed... i knock... nothing. i attempt to open the door but something is in the way. so i wait... and wait... then the door opens and i hand in my paper saying what i need to one of the professionals in there. i continued waiting and then the ultrasound guy came out and told us to come back at one if it was not urgent. but with her being from the antenatal ward they usually are able to get in quite quickly.... so we kept waiting... then another doctor came out of that room and looked at me and said ‘don’t wait outside like your not a healthcare provider’ i was a little taken aback but went in. a little awkward because the room is really tiny and there were seven of us in there... with a different patient getting an ultrasound... after her, i was able to get my women in there and we discovered a healthy baby and all was good! ultrasounds are really neat to see the babies heart beating and then to see bubbles in the waters! so neat! next we were on to the lab... blood tests and things. while waiting she was confused why i would wait with her. when i told her i wanted to wait with her she smiled. its strange but there is such a line between the staff and patients. the care is very different, there seems to be a low value on patients. i liked that i can be there for the women through their experiences and show i care and just let them know there not alone. i think thats a really difficult thing i saw this past week, women struggling through hard times, alone. a few women with really high blood pressure being transferred for cesarians because there was no electricity for them to be able to do them there. (who would have thought, a hospital with no electricity and pretty much no running water, terrible) but these women have no family there because family is not allowed in. some family members wait outside. (literately outside, as the hospital is very open. its a maze of hallways with rooms on one side and a half wall on the other and its all outside.) but to be going through these experiences alone, i can’t even imagine.

friday i actually got to go to a c-section! me and Celia got suited up in our sterile scrubs and went in to the theatre (operating room) it was a great experience because the women we were going with spoke english. this was her third pregnancy but all her other babies had died. she and her husband had decided on a cesarian to help ensure the health of this baby. we met her husband and he spoke english too and was so excited that me and Celia were going in with her. it was a really neat thing to see them cut her open and dig around to pull out a beautiful, healthy baby boy! i was doing okay, but ended up feeling quite dizzy near the end but i was determined that i would not faint! and i wanted to see that baby come. so once he did, i went to the mom and smiled at her and told her everything was good and then we had to leave because we were late for our ride home. it was really neat to be with her before, and pray with her, she was muslim but wanted me to pray. and even thanked me afterward that i prayed for her. we saw her husband on our way out and told him he had a new son and him and her parents were so excited! we got to give him one of our little hats that each new baby gets when their born and a little congratulations note.

i’m really enjoying being in the hospital and taking care of the women when they can be so overlooked. its good learning more too from the doctors. we’ve met some really nice doctors and some not so nice ones but its encouraging that we’re so welcomed and they really want us there. they are looking forward to the day when we know more and can do more work for them because their so short staffed.

i had a good weekend just relaxing, sleeping and watching movies! its nice to have some down time to process all that i’ve seen and just to rest. next week i’ll be in labour ward again! so i defiantly needed my rest!

till next time....