Leaving "the world where they pay no tax"

Well, it happened. We witnessed a birth. And three more. Two of which I "delivered". By "delivered", I mean I was the first hands on the slippery child as it emerged. I clamped the cord, snipped the cord, and persuaded placenta to follow child. I know, it sounds incredible, and it was. Chelsea and I spent most of monday in the Mengo hospital maternity ward. We shadowed the doctor in the morning, examining the pre- and post-birth mothers and babies. We felt uteruses (uteri?), and learned how to track the progress, in both growth and recession, of this organ. We listed to fetal hearts through fetoscopes, felt for the head (ususally just above the pubic symphisis), learned the formula for calculating expected day of birth, discussed ceserian sections, talked about the intreguing melanocyte migration during pregnancy (creating the darkened line through the naval on mum's belly), learned about the types of fluids that should and should not be coming out, and at what time. We talked about fetal distress, obstructed pregancies, false labor, true labor, induction, cervical dilation.... it went on and on. The nurses, midwives, and doctors were eager to teach, and then thanked us for coming! The young lad here is only 4 minutes old. The squishy object is the placenta. Capital!





The fourth baby (in case you have been counting) was born by ceserian section. We had met the mother that morning in the waiting area. Once dilated to 4cm, she was admitted into the labor ward. As she was a "prime gravida" (first pregnancy), labor was expected to be especially painful and protracted. She was there all day, in varying stages of discomfort. At one point, Chelsea and I were holding hands, being squeezed, and rubbing sore backs in adjacent beds occupied by writhing, vocal, young women. By evening, the doctor decided that she wasn't progessing (dilation, contractions) sufficently, and that the baby might be in jepordy. By 2030, she was taken into the theatre for the ceserian section. Again, fasincating. Baby was removed uneventfully, and mother seemed to do just fine.





There is so, so much more to the experience, as one can imagine.