Official Leg Holder

I'm very excited to announce that I have officially assisted in my first birth here, well, really ever (in nursing school I only observed)! As of 3 days ago, I let the midwives know to text me whenever a labor arrives. There is always a midwife at the clinic (their shifts are 6am-2pm, 2pm-10pm, and 10pm-6am) and prior to 3 days ago, I hadn't been notified of any births as I was taking some time to acclimate to a new schedule and environment.

So, you may be wondering, what did I do? Well, I was the official leg holder! Many of the women here, especially first pregnancies, called "primi's" deliver lying on their side. This position is the best to help prevent any vaginal tearing, which is common in the hospitals here (this is due to a variety of reasons that I will most likely talk about in a later blog). During a contraction I was able to place 1 knee on top of her bottom leg and use both of my arms to hold open her top leg to allow the pelvis to open for the passage of the baby and also to allow for better visualization. Man, was this tiny little Filipino woman strong! I definitely got a work out that day, which is good, as I'm not doing much of anything else. It is way too hot and humid to go running.

I thought I'd talk a bit about why I am interested in midwifery and why the Philippines. As a registered nurse in the United States, I've seen a lot of what goes on medically according to western beliefs and practices and how they have evolved to their current state. Simultaneously, I've also become (although I've always kind of had tendencies to be) more holistic in my approach to life and health in general. After working as a RN for 2 years, I've come to realize that there is a strong disconnect between what is practiced in the hospital and the evolution of my holistic health care beliefs. So, I started to think about what line of work I could go into, in the medical field, that could work for me. Midwifery is just that! Midwifery allows for pregnant women to take control of their own bodies during one of the most natural processes while providing reassuring guidance and assistance.

I heard about Mercy in Action from a friend of a friend 2 years ago and have wanted to come here ever since, but the timing just wasn't right. I could never do anything like this in the States without some sort of certification of midwifery student status and felt comfortable participating in a program that someone I could talk to had done. I really appreciate that this organization in Christian and very grass roots. I feel blessed to be here, learning a ton, but also helping to meet a need.

There is so much more to say….good thing I'll be here for 2 months to fill you all in!

I've forgotten my cord to upload photos, so I will have to do that later, but I will soon.

Funny quote from when I arrived and talking to the head midwife Theresa:

Me: "So, I now you told me that this is the busy season for the birthing clinic. Why exactly is that?"

Theresa: "Well, it was Christmas 9 months ago and it is was cooler weather."

I had never thought about it like that.