Uganda Midwifery 2011: 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: