"Put your head down; lay flat!"
"Keeping pushing; don't stop! You want your baby to remain there?"
"I have other things to do. You want me to send you away? I will call you back in my own time!"
"Push harder! I will slap you!" I was stunned by these harsh statements the nurse said to Katie as she struggled to delivery her first baby.
I arrived at the local clinic at 7:45 one cloudy morning. Katie was waiting outside the delivery room, kneeling next to a bench. Her contractions, which were short but intense, were about 2 or 3 minutes apart. Katie's husband did not have any interest in being in the delivery room, but remained outside the clinic. The lady who had come with Katie did not offer any support - in fact, I did not even realize she was there with Katie until she followed us into the delivery room! The nurse took her precious time sweeping the delivery room, not seeming to have a care in the world about Katie's contractions. At around 8 the nurse called her in to check her. The nurse placed a black plastic sheet over an old medical bed and Katie climbed up. She told Katie, who was completely naked except for a cloth laid across her chest for the baby to be placed on, to try pushing. The nurse looked at me and told me to step aside, then she broke Katie's water because she wasn't making any progress. Katie tried pushing for a few more minutes, still making little progress. Personally, now I'm no expert, but I don't think she was quite ready to push. The baby had not yet crowned when the nurse told her to push. Katie was tired at this point and we could just barely see the baby's head.
This is when things got intense. Katie was given an IV to keep her hidrated. The nurse was very strict and wanted Katie to push and deliver a certain way; and she was not about to let anyone suggest otherwise. She was adamant that Katie had to lay flat on her back while she was pushing. Again, I'm no expert, but Katie was making more progress kneeling next to the bench than she was laying down. The nurse made Katie's mom, who arrived half way through Katie's pushing, hold her head down so she could not lift it. Whenever Katie stopped pushing to take a breath, the nurse scolder her for stopping. The nurse wouldn't let Katie cry or make any kind of noise. Katie looked at me with panic in her eyes. I had never felt so helpless. Finally, I stepped up and took over the job of coaching and encouraging Katie because the nurse was not helping in that area at all. I told her to push, I assured her she was doing a good job, that she was strong and that she was almost there. I told her I could see the baby. I also told Katie to keep breathing and to relax between contractions which were now every 30 seconds or so.
Finally after almost an hour of pushing, I encouraged Katie to give it one big push with whatever strength she had left. That was all it took for her little baby to come out. The nurse caught the baby and placed it on the cloth on Katie's chest. I looked at Katie, who was too tired to care at that moment, and told her she had a son! The nurse carried the baby over to the scale and worked on him for a minute. The little guy never cried in the delivery room! Neither the nurse nor my mom, who arrived shortly after he was born, seemed concerned. The nurse then returned to Katie needed lots of stitched! I walked out of the delivery room for a brief moment to tell Anthony - Katie's husband - that he had a son and to bring my mom in to see Katie. About an hour after the baby was born, Katie slowly stood up and walked out of the delivery room to an open room with several beds where she would rest for the day. All the ladies waiting for check ups murmured their amazement that the mzungus (white people) had come to help an Iteso (some from the Teso tribe) give birth.
Wow! What an amazing experience you got to have. Bless you for being there for your friend and thank God for a healthy baby! THanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI think you should become a Dr. or a nurse, Grace! You've got what it takes!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and hard experience! Thank you for sharing 💜💜💜
ReplyDeleteGrace, I would have fainted right along with Lydia! Are you considering the medical field at all?! You have compassion and nursing skills already!
ReplyDeleteCindy