All in a day's work...

First day on the ward in Mbale. It ended up being an 11 hour work day.

In the morning, Sarah did a beautiful catch, but the baby wouldn't breathe on his own. We resuscitated the baby for an hour, and finally he started breathing, but he's still not 100% -- he's in the special care nursery, receiving oxygen, which is about all that can be done for him. While we were busy with the resuscitation, we missed a twin birth, but we got to see the beautiful twins later on.

Our afternoon saw a mini-shoulder-dystocia followed by a PPH, while simultaneously a woman delivered a hand-presentation (hand first!) while waiting for an emergency cesarean. She ended up needing a manual removal of her placenta. It certainly kept us on our toes as we ran back and forth between the two ladies; fortunately both of their babies are thriving, and both ladies were stable.

Just a short post today; there's a thunderstorm and I'm not sure how much longer the electricity will last.

-Lyanne and Sarah

Let's face it! If it's not direct OP, it's not coming out.

A baby died today...a few hours after delivery. I wasn't there when he died, and I wish I could have said goodbye. She was the first catch of the morning and super interesting as she was born face first. This is a very unusual presentation and it is very rare to deliver vaginally. Mom had been in labor for 3 days so it's likely the baby had an infection, especially because it was doing well at first. 25 years old, one child alive, the other now dead.

It's also possible that the 2nd baby I caught will die too. Similar story: long, long labor, meconium, tired mom, and a baby who has problems breathing.  Aside from antibiotics, glucose and oxygen, there is not much that can be done for those babies. This is the life of women in Uganda: seeiing your babies die after spending days in labor because you live in a village far away, because there are no resources and poor nutrition and water.

This is depressing of course, and yet the midwives, doctors, and nurses who work here regularly are an inspiration as are the stories of women who birth lusty big babies like the baby Alix caught today. Big lusty baby girl who cried right away and wanted to breastfeed. Also an interesting birth as the shoulders were stuck and Alix had to deliver the posterior arm first to catch the baby. The placenta afterwards was huge!

It's nice to be able to walk home after work. It's a pleasant walk with beautiful trees and most  of it is on a back road. We are unbelievably thankful for that as walking and crossing the road in Uganda is probably the scariest experience with traffic in any country than we have ever had!

June 1st tomorrow. Wow! Time flies. 

PS- we just realized that in 4 days we have seen:

• face presentation
• neonatal death
• shoulder dystocia
• cord prolapse
• PPH (postpartum hemorrhage)
• resuscitation
• twins/breech
• ectopic pregnancy
• stillbirth
• D&C (incomplete miscarriage)
• retained placenta/placenta accretta
• normal deliveries with intact perineums
• premature births

P.P.S. Carolyn had a baby named after her.

• 

  First catch of the day

  
  

  

  This is baby nmber 8 for this mama.

  
  

  

  Meet baby Carolyn

  
  

  

  Alix on our way home.

  
  

  

  Our way home.

Mbale

Sunday was our last day in Kampala for a while. It was another quiet day on Ward 14 (only 3 births) but one was intense to watch -- the Ugandan midwife decided an episiotomy was necessary, and she performed it with a razor blade (which, to be fair, was her only available tool) with no anesthetic -- once again, I was reminded how lucky we are in Canada to have access to so much equipment for birth, even though we rarely end up using much of it. After that, Angela taught us all an old-school midwifery trick to speed up the last little bit of pushing when necessary. Fortunately the rest of the birth went very smoothly, and the mother was absolutely overjoyed to meet her beautiful little boy. Not only that, the woman's husband was allowed on the ward a couple hours later to say hello and meet his son, in spite of the "no guests allowed" signs, and he took the time to thank me and Sarah for assisting with the birth. We certainly encounter a lot of things in the hospitals that are done very differently from in Canada, which can make the environment a difficult one to negotiate.

During a quiet moment, we also visited the special care nursery at Lower Mulago hospital. One of the babies from Ward 14 had been transferred over at the beginning of our shift the day before, so we went to check on him. To enter the nursery, we all had to take off our shoes and socks, and go in barefoot -- another new experience. We were able to spot the baby because we recognized his little knitted hat, donated by some wonderful ladies from Saskatchewan. Fortunately, he was doing much better -- it's always a relief when a visit like that ends in good news.

In the evening, we stopped by the market for our first "Rolex" -- a Ugandan treat, basically an omelette on a chapati, that makes for a very affordable dinner at the equivalent of fifty cents.

Today (Monday) was our "day off," so we were on the road at 7:00 am to try to catch the "Elgon Flyer" bus to Mbale, which was scheduled to leave at 8:00. It left at seven, so we waited on the sidewalk, with our many suitcases full of medical supplies, to catch the 10:00 bus -- which left at 11:00. :) The ride itself had lots of beautiful scenery, and we shared the bus with three pallets of chicks -- their cheeping made a charming soundtrack for the beautiful scenery. Whenever we would stop for passengers to get on or off, the bus was swarmed with people selling matooke, soft drinks, and meat-on-a-stick, passing the food up through the bus windows.

Our dormitory-style accomodations in Mbale are slightly more rustic,  but this is balanced somewhat by the widespread availability of fresh mangoes and avocadoes that only cost about 10 cents each. Sarah and I also enjoyed some mango juice with dinner -- we didn't realize when we ordered it that it would be prepared to order from fresh mangoes! What a treat!

The air quality is certainly nicer on the hospital grounds here than at our guest house in Kampala, and we have a stunning view of Mount Elgon from just outside our door. Because the hospital dormitories aren't too busy, we each have our own double room for at least the next few days, which is an added bonus!  Tomorrow we start on the wards -- should bring a whole new set of adventures!

Posted by Lyanne

Nalongo - one who births twins

The twins

Alix has caught her first set of twins with some help from Cathy! The first twin flew out head first, Alix thought the second twin was head first too (that's what the ultrasound said) but Cathy found it was actually breech. We ruptured the waters and the second twin flew out before we could had a chance to prepare for a breech delivery.  It was very exciting to see a twin delivery for the first time, and to see a breech delivery for the first time. The twins were non-identical and a pretty good size for twins. 



The nurses said that Alix can now be called Nalongo- one who births twins!Here in Uganda, having twins is such an honor that the whole family legally changes their names to signify that they are either the mother or father of twins, or the twins themselves. Unfortunately, Carolyn delivered her first stillbirth, and one who had been dead in utero for several days.

Word is that the suspected Ebola case in the Luwero district was a misdiagnosis- we know none of the girl's contacts have become sick.  We can now look back and laugh at the time we took some time to study the signs/symptoms and risk factors for ebola-as published on posters throughout the hospital.  The posters warn that we are not to eat monkeys or linger/feast at funerals- good to know!

Day Off

Today we had a much needed day off! We both managed to sleep until 8am!

After a breakfast of pineapple, watermelon, eggs, toast and matoke (plantainish things) stewed with veggies we set off for town. The guide book wasn't kidding when it said there was nothing to see in Masaka and whlie there is no great tourist attraction that doesn't mean that it isn't a beautiful and fascinating place- especially to foreigners. We walked the whole town from our hotel to the Mosque, up to the hospital and back again. We noticed large yellow banners advertising a back to school dance last night- that explained the drumming and music lulled us to sleep- wish we had known! Walking though the town I noticed banks, insurance companies, gas stations, schools, internet cafes, restaraunts, a gaming room, medical clinics, shoe repair shops. The greetings we received varied, one man walked up to us and shook our hands, but a man kicked an empty water bottle at us several times and a third yelled at us. The children greet us warmly shouting 'Mazungo' (foreigner). Birds and flowers and people here are beautiful and we spotted a few lovely butterflies today too. Hopefully we can upload a few of  Mickey's avian photographs- Mickey, Angela and Cathy are avid Ugandan bird watchers and can identify many of the birds.

There is not the same street food culture here as in South East Asia- but the fruit is delicious and varied (papaya, guava, avocado, pineapple, mini bananas, mango). Unfortunately vegetables are scare. I enhaled the 1/4 cup of cooked spinach that was a garnish with my rice and g-nut (like peanut) sauce lunch today and savoured another strawberry smoothie and carrot/raisin/pineapple salad and the Danish NGO yesterday (thanks Cathy)!  We have spent the afternoon reading. We plan to take Sat/Sun off in future so we can travel to meet Lyanne and Sarah in some other cities. Back to the ward tomorrow.

Alix and Carolyn

The coca cola distribution center. Sigh...

Maribou storks

The view from our hotel

Mazungu = white tribe

     I’m feeling my whiteness today. Theoretically I knew we blinding white folk would be quite the stand-outs in Uganda, but it is hard to get used to the attention our (lack of) colour earns. Little children wave enthusiastically or run up and hug us, adults blurt out “mazungu!” seemingly without meaning to, and everywhere we walk we have dozens of eyes on us.     
     Today was our last day on Ward 14 for a while. It’s been an interesting three days – although we have only made it to six births since we’ve been here, we’ve had quite the range of experiences. As Lyanne posted, we stepped onto the high risk ward yesterday for an orientation and to follow up with two women who had been sent there from Ward 14 earlier in the day. Immediately to our right as we walked in, there was a midwife calmly drying a newborn at the resuscitation table. We don’t know when this baby was born, but it was immediately clear that it needed a lot more help than just drying. Angela stepped in and began ventilating the baby, while we checked heart rate and air entry into this little babe’s lungs. Heart rate continued to decrease, despite our best efforts, and when it went below 60 beats per minute I began chest compressions. Lyanne took over the ventilating. Although we did everything we could, by Ugandan standards (there is no intubation or epinephrine here for neonatal resuscitation), unfortunately the baby continued to decline and eventually its heart stopped beating. This is the first death of a term infant Lyanne or I have been present at. Both of us seem to be coping well with the outcome, but I can’t know if that is more or less healthy than if we were very upset by it. Neonatal death is by no means rare in Uganda, and I feel confident that we took every action available to save that baby. The most upsetting thing for me in this process has actually been that we have no idea who the mother of this baby is, and had no way to inform her of her baby’s death (the midwife who had been there initially had disappeared somewhere while we did the resuscitation). Of course, even if we had known who the mother was, there is no guarantee she would have spoken English, but it felt very disconnected to wrap up this beautiful lifeless baby and not be able to offer anything to it’s mother.
     Following this experience, we walked back to Ward 14. I went in to assess a second-time mom in labour, and was about to take her blood pressure when her water broke. Lyanne was by my side, and cleverly suggested we check her cervical dilatation prior to blood pressure – turned out there was no need as her baby’s head was visible with the next contraction. We all scurried around getting on aprons, goggles and two pairs of gloves (our protocol for every birth in Uganda, regardless of HIV status), and baby was born 10 minutes later. There was a tight cord around the neck and I got to try out the somersault maneuver for the first time, which worked like a charm. After unwinding baby I passed him right up to his mama. He was crying, healthy and gorgeous, and his mom transitioned into her postpartum beautifully.
     Yesterday was Lyanne’s birthday (Happy Birthday Lyanne!!) and coincidently my half-birthday. It seemed fitting, in some way, to see both ends of the spectrum: a death which likely could have been prevented had the resources and technology been available, and a life which would have slid easily into this world with or without our help.
     Tomorrow we move on to Mbale, a five hour drive by bus, and we begin our work in the hospitals there on Tuesday.

Posted by Sarah

Kampala

Sarah and Lyanne arrived in Kampala on Thursday.

Friday and Saturday, we went to Ward 14, the "low-risk" ward at Mulago hospital. The walk between the hospital the guest house is always exciting, with giant ant hills, busy streets filled with cars and boda-bodas, and the occasional cow hanging out on the narrow sidewalk. The soil is red, and a fine, red dust ends up covering everything, including the white scrubs and shoes that we wear every day at the hospital.

The hospital corridors are all outside, and women use the surrounding fields to do laundry by hand. The ward itself is very well organized, by local standards. There are about 12 beds, divided into four "rooms" by pink curtains, so that there is some semblance of privacy, though women can certainly see, and hear, one another in labour. Women on the low-risk ward have to have been to at least a couple of antenatal visits, and women with any risk factors (high blood pressure, breech baby, slow progress) are transferred to the high-risk unit.

We've had quiet days so far, with a total of only three births, all of which went very well. Most of our work has been assessment and triage. Women arrive on the ward, and wait patiently on benches. They are examined in the hallways; those in active labour are admitted to one of the beds, while those in prodromal labour are sent back outside. No visitors are allowed on the labour ward. Women bring their own plastic sheets for the bed, bleach, baby blankets and cotton wool; some women also bring syringes and sterile gloves. Labouring women are re-assessed every hour or so, but otherwise they are left alone until right before the baby is born. After the birth, women are expected to clean their bed and the floor before they are discharged to the postpartum unit next door.

We have also dropped by the antenatal unit (which sees 300 women a day!) the pediatric units, and the high-risk labour ward. Although we were only on the high-risk ward for an orientation, we ended up doing a newborn resuscitation as soon as we stepped in the door. We saw one of the women who had been transferred from Ward 14 for slow progress, labouring on a mat on the floor, waiting to be seen by a doctor or midwife. It's clear that the doctors, midwives, and nurses here all work very hard and do the best they can with limited resources, but that ultimately they can only deal with the most urgent situations as they arise, and everyone else has to wait.

After work on Friday evening, we went with our instructors to the local market. It was quite the experience -- blocks and blocks of vendors, setting up on tables or on tarps on the ground, selling everything from fried grasshoppers to shoes to clothing -- like a Canadian flea market, magnified, with boda-bodas and cars driving through the middle of it. We really were shining beacons of whiteness -- everyone was quick to identify us as "mazungu" (foreigners) and encouraged us to buy whatever they were selling, but we managed to resist their encouragement. Saturday night we celebrated a birthday at the local Irish pub -- it advertised "sports night," but unfortunately they weren't willing to switch from the rugby game to show us the Canucks. :)

Sunday we're back to Ward 14, then on Monday we head for Mbale.

Posted by Lyanne and Sarah

Kampala and the first couple of days of Masaka


Last Thursday we went into Kampala. It was a dense, harried mish mash or cars, matatus (taxis), bota botas (mopeds). We went to a mall- ate Indian food at the foodcourt and picked up some groceries and an internet stick. The mall was quite luxurious and included a store for "Women of Substance", Bata shoes, and an authorized Mac reseller.  Such a huge gap between the rich and the poor.

We noticed many little things in Kampala people dress well and there are a lot of different styles. The majority wear western cothes, but you see some traditional dress as well. Some women go sleeveless though that wasn't the norm. Many women wore wear heels. Probably 1/4 wear Muslim dress. We were astounded my how many people spoke English, and how expensive everything is, including hotel and food.  

After Kampala we drove 3 hours to Masaka- on the way we stopped for a chai on the equator at the AID Child gallery. The roads and earth are red- just like in the movies and there was lots of papyrus. We saw someone driving a moped with a loveseat and armchair balanced on the back!

We are staying at the Zebra hotel. Two twin beds with mosquito nets, a tv, phone, huge bathroom with tub/toilet/sink. All the TVs in the place are stuck on the same station- BBC in the morning, American Idol and local news last night. The gardening is beautiful. Terrential rainpour thismorning. We can't sleep past 4am so far. Buffet breakfast with omlett, toast and fruit. Bought bailey's for coffee. With a good breakfast Alix feels ready for anything, and Carolyn wishes for a 2nd cup of coffee.

Friday we had a tour of the Masaka Regional Referral Hospital grounds, were introduced to key staff and then we put our uniforms on and went into the delivery room. Despite being told what to expect, despite having seen pictures, despite thinking that we knew what we would find, nothing could have prepared us for the stark reality of working in a hospital with so little resources and so much need. Walking through the children's ward, 20+ beds in each row, no privacy, no comforts, sick children with malaria...Visiting the women's health area of the hospital where they do cervical exams to detect cervical cancer, but have no money to treat the cancer itself. Being in the delivery room where women bring their own cloths, and cotton, where women who receive post-miscarriage care do so with little or no anesthetic because there is almost no medication. It is both devastating to see how little women's health is prioritized and also energizing and heart-warming to be here providing support and spending time with the Ugandan midwives.

The minute we arrived in the delivery room Cathy immediately instructed Alix to double glove and catch a baby. The cord was tightly wrapped around the neck so she got to try the somersault maneuver for the first time (needed a little help). We triple tie the umbilical cord with the edge of our gloves-just in case one tie falls off. That baby needed a few puffs of air (Carolyn's first resuscitation) to help him pink up and then Alix had to suture the mom- thankfully we had lidocaine. She was shaking with an audience of 5 Ugandan nursing students.There was no stool so her back ached and the power went out- thankfully Carolyn had her head lamp.

It was Carolyn's turn next- a 39 year old woman having her 9th baby- another somersault for a cord- a healthy baby and no tears.Well done Carolyn! Then we watched a D&C (removal of retained productss after a pregnancy loss) that had to be performed despite the lack of anesthetic. We couldn't do manual vacuum aspiration due to a lack of appropriate equiptment. After that it was off to the Danish NGO for a fresh strawberry smoothie and cinnamon bun and then pineapple, avocado and chapati dinner.

Both of us managed to sleep well last night, actually getting up at 6am. Amazing! Today was a hard day. A woman came in with a retained placenta after having delivered at home. Alix attempted to manually remove the placenta (her first time, she did great!) but unfortunately the placenta had grown into the uterus making it impossible to remove by hand. She lost a lot of blood during the attempt, and several hours (5 or 6) were spent trying to stabalize her and decide on a course of action. This was compounded by staffing shortage, a lack of banked blood, and ultimately her HIV+ status which makes surgery not the optimal option. Finally she was transfered to a mission hospital so she could receive blood and we hope that the retained products will work their way out. 

Tomorrow is our day off and we need it. We look forward to going into the village and seeing what there is to see. 

Alix and Carolyn



On our way to Masaka and Mbale. A perfect view of all the near misses.



The entrance to the maternity ward in Masaka, where Carolyn and Alix are working.



The delivery room. Women only stay in this room when they are about to deliver.





The resuscitation area.

 

 



Safe and Sound in Entebbe!

We finally arrived in Uganda yesterday morning after a twenty-four hour journey. We are staying in a beautiful guest house here in Entebbe and had a chance yesterday to recover from jet lag and take in a bit of our new environment. Entebbe is a well-off area in Uganda. Homes here are beautiful, with big gardens and exotic flowers and birds everywhere you look. Chickens, goats and cows hang out by the road, either free or tied to trees and fenceposts. We spent yesterday afternoon poolside, getting some equator sun. Needless to say so far our transition to Africa has been quite gentle. Today we move on, Alix and Carolyn to Masaka and Lyanne and I to central Kampala. Our hospital shifts begin tomorrow. A reality check will be coming soon, but we are enjoying our slice of paradise while we have it.

We will try to update soon but unfortunately internet access will likely be spotty throughout our time here. Thanks to everyone who has sent us messages, we will try to reply to you individually soon!

Posted by Sarah




Sarah, Alix, Carolyn, and Lyanne in Entebbe.



Dystocia!

We have arrived...in Vancouver.

All excited to finally be off on our journey, we showed up nice and early to the airport to spend some time with two of our classmates who were there to see off us. Everything went smoothly: we dropped off our 12 big suitcases full of medical supplies at the baggage drop off, went through security without a hitch, and slowly made our way to our gate. Then we waited, and waited, and waited. A 30 minute delay, turned into an hour and fifteen minute delay, which turned into a 2 and 1/2 hour delay. After apologizing with "all their hearts" for the "brief" delay (we all wondered what a long delay would have been), we boarded the plane and looked forward to spending the next 10 hours climbing over seats to go to the bathroom, and bumping elbows while trying to get some sleep. Alas, it was not to be...Just as we were getting ready to take off, the captain announced that the plane would not be departing that night due to volcanic ash residue on the plane and would we please make our way to customs and then proceed to baggage claim to pick up our luggage. Those who wished were welcome to stay on the plane and have some cocktails, and as we were leaving we heard two men in first class order a few rounds of drinks.
So then mad dash to customs and baggage claim and back up to departures to try to rebook our flight. Then we waited and waited and waited. It was chaos with different people saying something different to everyone. We thankfully stayed put and didn't switch lines and so made it to the front in the line a mere hour and half. I suspect those at the end of the line probably waited at least another 3 hours.
Somehow we managed to fit all of our suitcases into one taxi van and returned home after spending about 10 hours in the airport. We will be returning to the airport this evening and crossing our fingers and toes that our plane actually leaves the runway.
Wish us luck!

Carolyn



The long line to re-book our flight.





Our arrival in Vancouver, after not having left.



8 hours until departure

I am: 

• playing every inch of blues vinyl that I will miss on the road
• learning to use my new camera
• exchanging my SD cards at London Drugs
• making a list of addresses for postcards
• planting heirloom tomatoes and violets
• walking Sasha
• savouring fried eggs, toast with almond butter and honey, chai and berry smoothie with my hubby, Doug

What are you doing?

Posted by Alix

UnRest

Unrest
= a distrubed or uneasy state (Miriam Webster)
= a state of agitation or turbulent change or development (Free Dictionary)


96 hours to go. I am trying to tie up loose ends, spend quality time with family, practice my Lugandan birth words, review emergency skills and read up on qualitative research methodologies and I am on Fir Square at BC Women's Hospital until Friday! 


Lyanne is dropping off even more medical supplies today and on Friday we will try to consolidate the two extra bags of medical supplies that have materialized. We are grateful to have had so many donations, both of medical supplies and money to purchase medical supplies! Re-packing is a very positive dilemma!


While I try to remain mindful and grounded I feel restless, with anticipation but also a lack of rest as I tackle my to do list. As I contemplate this I reflect on how another kind of unrest is happening in Uganda and I wonder how that will play out when we arrive. 


For the past week Kampala's streets have been packed with demonstrators protesting rising food prices and President Museveni's swearing-in for a fourth term. Museveni's has dismissed rioters as drug addicts, or crony's hired by the opposition. He has also warned that media outlets (including Al Jazeera & BBC) covering the unrest in a pro-opposition light will be viewed as enemies to Uganda's recovery.  Uganda has recently fallen under international scrutiny planned debate of a bill that would institute the death penalty for gay men (discussion of the bill was postponed for the indefinite future). Despite public dismissal of protestors and international media, Museveni has expanded his cabinet and placed several opposition leaders in key posts in an effort to defuse the unrest. 


Our fearless leader, Cathy Ellis (RM and UBC Midwifery faculty), landed in Entebbe last Wednesday and chose to remain there until the unrest in Kampala had died down after the swearing-in ceremony last Thursday. She has since been able to resume her travels as planned. 


On top of all this news recently broke that a 12 year old girl living in a village 45 miles outside of Kampala died from Ebola on May 6. Thankfully, none of the 30 people exposed to her have fallen ill yet and authorities are hoping this is an isolated incident. 


How trifle my loose ends feel! 


Posted by Alix

A Great Show of Support for Midwives in BC and Abroad

I attended the MABC AGM today.  It was the best of the three AGMs I have attended to date. There were presentations on the new UBC curriculum, Workers Compensation Board coverage, a review of the history of vaccines and the current Canadian vaccine approval process (did you know the first vaccine involved snorting scabs from people infected with small pox-ewww).  I presented on Students for Global Citizenship and we had a great presentation on the recent Public Relations/Media successes of the MABC including International Day of the Midwife Celebrations. 


On May 5, International Day of the Midwife, more than 22,000 people in 31 countries participated in walks to support midwifery and maternal/infant health. 

Here in British Columbia BC Minister of Health Honorable Michael De Jong declared the Day BC Midwives Day and walks were held in Cranbrook, Kamloops, Penticton and Victoria. In Victoria over 250 supporters joined the walk. Funds were raised  to support Students for Global Citizenship and supporters signed super cute I LOVE BC MIDWIVES postcards addressed to BC Minister of Health Honorable Michael De Jong. They wore matching t-shirts too!

International Day of the Midwife Celebrations were held in Uganda too! How marvellous to think that we were walking across the world from one another for the same cause!


5 more sleeps!


Posted by Alix Bacon

One Week to Go!

One week and counting until our great adventure! 


On Friday Carolyn and I were very lucky to have a Luganda lesson with Tina Mirembe, past president of the Uganda Cultural Association of BC and nurse. Tina is from Uganda and travels home to volunteer in Uganda hospitals annually.  Tina focused on teaching us 30 words specifically to do with birth.


Some Luganda birth words:


good/fine/healthy/safe=bulungi
baby=omwana
sindica=push
breathe=saa
slow=mpola
pain=bulumi
where=wa
medicine=eddagala
yes=yee


We brought recorders to note pronunciation and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to practice before we arrive. Weebale (thank you) Tina!


On Saturday I went shopping at Kali on Main St with my friend Marnie- an avid traveller and fabulous children's entertainer. Marnie had bought me a gift certificate to Kali thinking I could find some great travel clothes and she was right! The store is full of colourful 100% cotton clothes and there are many items that suit the modesty of Uganda (keep knees and shoulders covered). Marnie had several great tips for travel clothing:

• scarves are a great way to cover your shoulders without adding heat and you can wet them to cool off
• avoid long pants or choose pants with elastic at the ankles so they don't fall into the loo when squatting
• choose fabrics that won't wrinkle

Weebale Marnie!

Seven more sleeps!

Posted by Alix Bacon

Thanks for Reading!

I just peeked at the Stats section of our blog and discovered that so far people have viewed our blog from as far away as: US, Malaysia, Turkey, Spain, UK, Philippines, Uganda, Netherlands-Wow!


Posted by Alix

Packing Begins

 What does one take on a journey to Uganda? Take a look!

General Travelling Essentials

Second Hand Dansko Nursing Clogs ($15 on Ebay)

The Medicine Cabinet

And Finally, A Costume I thought I'd only ever wear on Hallowe'en

I have even found a legitimate use for my old lab coat from undergraduate chemistry- it truly had been relegated to the costume box and was worn exclusively at Rocky Horror Picture Show screenings over the past 8 years...

Posted By Alix

Happy International Day of the Midwife/BC Midwives Day!

Today is a great day to celebrate our midwives and to show some support! You can support midwives in BC by writing your MLA (you can use the MABC I Love Midwives template), make a donation to Students for Global Citizenship to support midwifery in Uganda (the MABC will match your donation) or do something lovely for your midwife.

http://www.bcmidwives.com/support/support-midwives-around-the-world/global-citizenship

May 5 Officially Proclaimed BC Midwives Day!