It is hard to force yourself to venture outside your house. Especially when it is so secluded. I sat in my house feeling lonely for the good part of the morning the other day. Then it hit me, I need to get out. I really did not want to get out of my comfort zone, but knew it was inevitable. I would have to make that leap sometime, might as well be now.
So I trekked on over to the health clinic, making sure to stop and greet everyone I came across. Once I finally got there, I was relieved to find the people so welcoming (like I would expect any less?!). I sat there wondering why I made myself so isolated that morning when it felt so good to be among my village. Stupid me. It is all about breaking your little safety bubbles.
After a while, we were told that a woman was coming who was in labor. I got really excited, so they asked if I wanted to watch. Who is going to turn that down?! Not me. We waited around for about an hour or two and the woman did not show. I decided to go home, and my new nurse friend said that she would call me if the woman showed.
The next morning, I received a phone call! I rushed on over to the clinic. When I got there, the woman was just about to deliver. I got in the room, shut the door, and watched. Man oh man. I never want to go through that! Here, the women are not allowed to make noise when they are in pain. Instead, they can snap their fingers and moan a little. It is really looked down upon to do much else. Also, they do not have any medication to give them for the pain. Its purely old school.
I do not want to go into the gory details that are forever engraved in my mind (I will spare you the trauma), but how does that even work?! Ouch.
Moving on. After the baby is born, the nurse cleans him off and wraps him up, puts him on a table and tends to the mom. They remove the after birth and let the mother lay there for about an hour. In the meantime, the baby lays there. I found it strange that no one holds the baby. No one really touches the baby till the mom is ready to leave. That is not the same in the states.
About an hour after the baby is born and the nurse is finished cleaning up everything, the mother and baby leave. After an hour. The mother puts on a new two yard (skirt) and grabs the bag full of soiled cloths used to clean the place. If she is lucky, there is a mother or grandmother present to carry the baby home. The new mother waddles out of the clinic as if she rode a horse for an hour for the first time. How do they do it?! I was so surprised that the woman could walk, let alone go home and take care of the new baby.
I even bet that she would be cooking dinner that night. These women are amazingly strong. I can not believe the things they go through here. It makes you appreciate the states even more. We truly were lucky to grow up in an environment where we do not have to endure so much. I mean, yeah, the states has its own struggles because it is thriving, but to see what they are lacking makes you feel so greatful.
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