Joy

xxx rated xxx blog stop reading if the thought of blood etc. is upsetting.

During my spell here i have been taken under the wing of the clinic Midwife  - a larger than life character literally - called Grace. Perhaps unwisely, I told her that i was interested in brushing up my skills in the Obstetric department.  Since then, when opportunity arises, and the clinic is not too busy, she throws me in the deep end and sees how i cope. 

In medical education in the 1970’s, students had to spend many hours with women in labour and actually deliver babies. I found it fascinating and rewarding, being granted an intimate view (literally) of the emotional lives of patients at the most significant event in their lives. I still remember some of those women 30 years later. I then worked as a junior doctor in the UK and I was also in charge of the maternity ward during our spell in South Africa, and I am still proud of our results there, including a zero death rate for mothers. 

But that was a long time ago, and I am very rusty indeed. So when I was asked today to assess a patient I was a bit nervous. A 25 year old  who was in her 4th pregancy had been in labour for the last hour or so. She was accompanied by her Mother (the thought that husbands should attend births is bizarre to Zambians). She was having quite frequent contractions but not making a sound, despite no painkillers at all (as is the norm here). I checked her tummy. The babies heart rate was fine, and I could only feel less than half of the babies head, which meant that the head was likely to be well down into the pelvic canal. Internally the waters were bulging and the head low down, and neck of the womb fully open. 

Shortly afterwards, with no further sound from her, a nice big baby boy was born. He did make a noise! We got the cord cut, did the injection of oxytocin to help the uterus contract, and gently delivered the placenta, while Mum lay exhausted. 

It is obviously a primitive rather than a rational response, but I found the experience deeply joyful and uplifting. I am grateful to those involved for letting me share it.