My First Delivery

I got to help with my first delivery last night! Around 10:45 (i had just fallen asleep), Sabet came to our room to get Sheena because a woman had come to give birth in the clinic. Sheena is the acting midwife since there is no one else to do it. I followed Sheena to see if I could help. The mom was dilated at 10, but her water had not broken. Finally around 12:00, she told us (and John-Paul, the doctor) that we should get some rest and she'll call us when her water breaks.

Around 1:30am, the night guard came and got us to say her water had broken. We ran out and moved her to the birthing room. She was in so much pain. There are no epidurals so she was feeling everything. I just held her hands and tried to keep her on the bed. She kept trying to slide off. During all this, bats were zooming by our heads and bugs were all around us. I was told Sudanese women are very quiet during birth, but this one was a screamer! She was also a biter! After she bit my hand for the first time, I decided to put on gloves. It wasn't long before she was ready to push. After two pushes we had a beautiful baby girl!!!!

I kept holding the mom's hand while Sheena and John-Paul took care of the baby and finished with the mom's "stuff." The baby was about 3 kilos and was very cute. Huggins (a girl from Kenya who helps on the compound) was also helping with the birth and she made sure the baby was wrapped up tight. After a bit, I held the baby and then we got attacked by bugs. I have no idea what type they were, but apparently, the blood attracts them. I panicked a little and took the baby out into the hallway. Around 2:30, the mom was cleaned up and we moved her to a bed where she would stay with the baby for the night.

Then we all headed to bed. It was very exciting and a little nerve wracking. The biting threw me a bit and the bugs freaked me out! Although I didn't do much, it was cool to be there. Sheena, John-Paul and Huggins did a great job.