Baby Crazy

My last week at my internship has been the busiest, most exciting week at the hospital so far. I’ve assisted on over a dozen deliveries, and I’ve delivered 3 babies all by myself! I've never felt so accomplished. I feel so lucky to have this opportunity to learn about maternal-child health in a developing country; it’s really solidifying my interests and furthering my passions. Seeing the lack of healthcare the people in the Coast receive has made something click within me. Women delivering babies don’t get epidurals. They don’t get pain medication at all—every birth is a ‘natural’ birth here. The only medication they receive, if they are one of the lucky ones to deliver in the hospital with a trained nurse (there are normally no doctors in the maternity ward), is a shot of oxytocin in their leg within a minute after delivery to help them deliver the placenta and to help prevent bleeding after the birth. I proudly became an expert at giving these shots, but I wished I could have done more. Msambweni is the hospital for people living over 100 km away—I wished I could have done more for those who couldn’t make it to the hospital for their deliveries. I was feeling defeated and lost; what could I do? Then I realized, I’m gaining the foundation I need to do more. I’m just 21, I have so much more time in Africa ahead of me. After I finish nursing and public health school, the limits are endless. I’ll be back, Msambweni.

One of the babies I delivered