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As servants of God we must possess great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left....having nothing, yet possessing everything...and always rejoicing.
Weblog
Sunday, 22 November 2009
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Complications and Preparation
Complications are the theme of my second year here. The first year was all about the basics- the normal findings, providing care for normal a normal pregnancy, delivering babies at normal births, taking care of normal healthy babies. That's what the first year was. Of course, since I'm working in a low income, high volume clinic, I certainly didn't go my first year without seeing, or experiencing complications at the clinic. In my first year I saw a postpartum hemorrhage of 2500cc- that's a lot of blood! I was present, with chart in hand calling off the minutes as time seemed to drag on for a four minute shoulder dystocia, I watched a baby slowly fade from life and could do nothing about it, I had mother who experienced abruptio placentae and her baby died before she was even able to smell his sweet breath. If you're here- you see the complications, yet last year was all about normal.
This year it's complications...in pregnancy, in babies, in postpartum, and in delivery. At the present moment it's labor complications. What important and absolutely necessary knowledge for a midwife. Management of antenatal complications lead up to the birth, but when it all comes down to it, it's the birth where everything pans out. This is it- this is the moment that life and death hangs in the balance. Maybe it's just a little morbid to think of death when I work birth-that's supposed to mean the beginning of life, right? But, when you're the one responsible, both life
and death and the preparation for handling both is essential. I'm not God, so I don't have the say so in the end, but as the midwife, it's my responsibility to be alert and ever ready to act if complications present. Sometimes I wonder if all the training in the world would be enough- but then I'm reminded- God is in control- life and death are in His hands. It's my job to be prepared for whatever happens. Now is a time of preparation.
It's kind of like life- be prepared. Are we taking the time to prepare ourselves for the complications that are bound to happen? Sometimes it's easy to think we are exempt from them. "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." He's telling us to arm ourselves for the complications! We don't want to get in the midst of the battle and not be prepared. We don't want to be blindsided because we weren't prepared- because we were too foolish not to take the time to prepare ourselves! He's even warning us about our complications, what they will be and what they won't be: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." It's going to come, are we prepared? This is a time of preparation!
Sunday, 15 November 2009
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The last few weeks have indeed been busy ones. I delivered my 60th baby two weeks ago. It was a three days of flurry. I was in the clinic almost nonstop with a shift, a continuity, a shift, another continuity and another shift. I delivered three babies in 22 hours and I was READY for a break. :) The shift that ended the whole marathon was an eventful one in which a baby was born at the clinic with a 6 minute shoulder dystocia. Meaning, the baby's head was born and the shoulders were STUCK! Ideally, once the head has been born, we only have few minutes in which to get the baby out before she becomes asphyxiated and brain damage occurs. With 5 midwives, a lot manual rotating of the baby, and skilled experience, the baby girl was finally born- all nine pounds of her. We had to resuscitate her for about 9 minutes before she gave us any indication that she was going to fight for her life. Fight she did. Within minutes of crying she was doing perfectly well. She was observed by a doctor at the nearest hospital and sent back to us because she was doing so well. What a week! Had 6 days off birthroom shift and prenatals following that stretch of activity, which was pleasantly refreshing and the Lord knew I was indeed in need of it. His grace was SO sufficient and strength was perfect through every moment of it.
Right now I'm in the midst of learning about Intrapartum complications- learning them inside and out- at least that's the goal. It's going well I'm thoroughly enjoying it minus the sitting in front of my computer and text books for multiple hours. :)
The veil I'm referring to in my title is a veil that so many of us have regarding a particular aspect of our world that was brought to my attention this week. I've known, I'm sure most of you know, as does the rest of the world.
I'm not sure if we've just chosen to ignore it as we live in our own little worlds, or if we don't really realize the extent in which it is secretly effecting our world. Perhaps it's a little of both that results in our ignorance and zeal to attempt to rectify the situation. I'm referring to Sex Trafficking. I was given a unique view into this world- the world that seems to exist so far from our worlds, yet it's the same world and what's worse, is it's happening right in our world and we don't recognize it. There's an estimated 100,000 women/children enslaved in sex trafficking in the UNITED STATES, ladies and gentle men. One hundred thousand hurting, abused, broken, people
that live in fear of what will happen to them or their families if they don't preform for their pimps and buyers. Some of them have been imported- what word to use for humans, don't we generally import materials such as food or diamonds, but people??? Some are imported from Russia, Ukraine, Italy, Africa, Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines and many other places. Some are simply young American girls lured away by fool promises of a good job or success in a business and others are outright abducted. The virgins make the most money. Here are a few statistics that will blow you away.
- The Sex Trafficking/Slave industry made 32 billion dollars last year. That's MORE than Starbucks, Google, and Nike profited combine.
- There are an estimated 27 million slaves in the world today- most of them being women and children.
- Of the estimated 100,000 sex slaves in America, the average age is believed to be 11 years old. 11 years old!! Is that making anyone else stomach roll?
- In Chang Mai, Thailand alone, there 1,500 KNOWN brothels running
- According to the US Department of State there are about 1 million NEW victims every year with half of them being children.
- There have been human trafficking cases report in all 50 States
- There are more slaves in the world today than in all of human history
Much sex trafficking goes on the Philippines. There's a 'night market' about 5 minutes from house where women line the streets and their pimps negotiate their fee. These women and children are so close to the heart of God. He came for the broken and hurting and that's where these women are at. If we aren't seeing it, we aren't looking, our eyes are not open to it and our ears don't want to hear it, because it's there and it's happening. Please pray for Allison, she's one the girls that came to the Philippines with me. She's battling sickness right now. We believe it's Dengue Fever. An updated blood test tomorrow will tell us for sure. Please pray for her healing. She's being well nursed and loved on as she's surrounded by so many midwives :)
Also, pray for the baby I delivered on the 13th. Baby Kenchei Ventura and his mom Susan. Kenchei was born small for his gestational age- 4lbs 12oz, and growth restricted. When I saw him yesterday he had lost weight and was running a fever. Pray that the Lord will touch his little body and that He will grow and be healthy.
Pray for me that the information I'm studying right now will concreted in my mind and I'll be able to accomplish all that I need to in these next few weeks.
Love you all! Thanks for your prayers and support.
In the Lamb,
Bethany
Sunday, 27 September 2009
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Just a little information about a midwife’s role in the world:
Midwives- they are kind of an unusual commodity to the world. In North America a midwife is viewed as someone who gives you a ‘choice’. She provides women with the opportunity to have to the kind of birth experience they deem necessary for themselves. This is all great and well. After all, natural is the way God made things. Midwives are often viewed as crazy people who take risky chances in offering women the option to have out- of-hospital births- that’s fine, but I’m more focused on what midwives mean for the rest of the world.
What most people don’t realize is what kind of commodity a midwife is said to be to the rest of the world. Here are a few statements to give you an idea.
“With an estimated 1,800 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, Afghanistan has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Women from rural populations, like those in the Panjshir Valley, are at an even greater risk of dying during childbirth.
Many of these deaths could be prevented by the presence of a trained birth attendant or midwife.”
In parts of rural Afghanistan, there is a ratio of one midwife and one doctor to serve 30,000-60,000 people. This statistic is insane. When I think that it takes 30 midwives here at Mercy to serve about 600-800 women a week, I realize how much need the rest of the world has for woman’s healthcare providers.
” While the national maternal mortality rate varies from 130 to 135 out of 100,000 live births, in Vietnam, studies show that in some mountainous provinces, where women normally deliver babies without professional help, the rate is up to three times higher. Hemorrhage is the most common killer of mothers who die of delivery complications.”
Here are a few Infant and Maternal Mortality Statistics for you:
Haiti:
Total: 62.33 deaths/1,000 live births
Male: 66.88 death/ 1,000 live births
Female: 57.64 deaths/1,000 live births
Highest Infant Mortality Rate- Angola:
Total: 182.31 deaths/1,000 live births
Male: 194.38 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 169.64 deaths/1,000 live births
Philippines:
Total: 21.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Male: 23.86 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 18.42 deaths/1,000 live birthsMATERNAL MORTALITY RATES
Afghanistan: 1,800 deaths/100,000 women
Sierra Leone: 2,100 deaths/100,000 women
Philippines: 230 deaths/100,000 women
Besides the drastically low ratio of midwives, doctors, and nurses to birthing women, there’s another positive on the midwife’s side.
In some countries, specifically Muslim countries, a midwife can walk in almost any door, so to speak, because she is needed- obviously from such high infant and maternal mortality rates. She’s there in moments of life and what could turn into moments of death for so many women and their families. She meets the people where they are in moments when so much hangs in the balance between life and death. What a beautiful way to be used in the Lord’s hands.
I don’t say all these things to brag or take pride in what I feel God has called me to, but rather to show to you what I feel the reasons behind His call on my life are.
The update:
This has been a long time coming and I’m sorry to those of you who think I’ve vanished from the face of the earth. I haven’t reached that point. J You might find me buried behind some text books, under piles of birth paper work for the baby I just delivered or sorting through prenatal charts of the 20 women I just did prenatals on, but I have not vanished.
It’s been a good month around here, but not without its challenges. Praise the Lord that HIS mercies are new EVERY morning!
September 17th I came on day shift and was endorsed a mother, named Irene. Only her vitals had been taken as she had just arrived at the clinic a few minutes before endorsements. Her care was endorsed to me from a night shift midwife, so I could further evaluate where she was on this journey of labor. From looks she didn’t seem like she was too ‘active’- a word we like to use to describe certain phases of labor. I further evaluated her and decided to keep her since I felt it would not be too terribly long- in labor hours that is- that we would meet her little baby. As I continued my evaluation a few things seem to be of kilter with her prenatal history and the information I had gathered from my assessment. I talked it over with my supervisor and since there seemed to be enough reasons to cover for the only slightly off information I had gathered, we decided to keep her.
It was a busy day with people coming in and out of the clinic, already delivered mothers arriving with their little bundles for check-ups, prenatals going on, babies being born, etc.
I carefully evaluated Irene often making sure nothing was screaming “complications!” Six hours later as I was carefully evaluating the situation again, I really felt something was not right even if the history didn’t jump out to tell us. I discussed this with my amazing supervisor and she went in to further evaluate Irene. With her own evaluation she confirmed my thoughts, which would normally require transport to DMC- the government hospital, but Irene wasn’t going to wait for us to drive her to the hospital.
Little Princess was born within a few minutes weighing just barely 4lbs. She certainly didn’t have the healthiest last couple months inside her mommy’s warm tummy. She was small for her gestational age, growth restricted, had very little amniotic fluid- a condition called oligohydramnios, and had already passed meconium in utero. She was born limp, but had a good heart rate. It took her a while to respond to my stimulation and resuscitation efforts, but I finally got a couple good breaths out of her and quickly transported her to the hospital as she was showing some very obvious signs of Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Her care was endorsed to the doctor on duty and I headed back to take care of Irene who did great.
Just two days later on September 19, I came on day shift again with a team of three other midwives. We were endorsed two laboring mamas and just as we finished our endorsements, the guard outside said, “Laaaboooor”. Within a few minutes we heard it again, “Laaaabooor.” A few more minutes passed as we were all busy tending to the mothers in our care and we heard it again, “Laaaabooor.” We had five labors at this point- all of which would quickly give birth in three hours. My laboring mother, Almera, was the second to deliver. She had been in labor for most of the night and had experienced no complications. Baby Hazel Mae was born after about 35 minutes of intense pushing on mommy’s part- all was normal except for one drop in her heart tones to 60bpm, which recovered and stayed normal for the remaining part of this stage of labor. She was born- all 8lbs of her chunky little body- into my hands, but I didn’t get much of a response from her either. She was the perfect size, not so tiny and undernourished like little Princess, but that didn’t make much of a difference. My birth team and I started resuscitation efforts and continued until we finally got her to breath for us. Her efforts were labored and she had very obviously experienced some asphyxia. So I packed my newly born bundle and the oxygen tank and off we went again to DMC. Again, the care of the baby was endorsed to the doctor on duty and I headed back to Mercy to take care of Almera.
On the way home from the hospital I asked God, “What are You wanting me to learn from this? Two babies in a row? I know there’s got to be something, but you’re going to have to show me what it is.” Later as I was reading my Bible I came across this verse, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23
That’s it- that’s just what He wanted me to know- it doesn’t matter how many life and death situations or complications I come across whether related to caring for mothers and babies or whether it be something else, HIS MERCIES ARE NEW EVERY MORNING and HIS FAITHFULNESS IS GREAT! I’ve seen it over and over again on this journey, but sometimes I just need to be reminded.
I’ve been to see Princess and Hazel in the hospital a few times. Princess seems to be a fighter- little or not, she’s gaining weight and doing so well! Hazel is struggling a little, but she’s doing okay. Please keep these families in your prayers. DMC is a difficult place for them to be, especially since their income doesn’t budget for long hospital stays.
In other BIG NEWS, my PARENTS are coming to visit me in just two and a half weeks! I’m SO excited to have them here and give them a peak into what life is like here. Please pray for safety as they travel.
I’m sure most of you have heard about the Typhoon that devastated parts of Metro Manila yesterday- Sept. 26th. They estimated in the nine hours of pouring rain they received, that it was more rain than Manila gets in six months time. Over 50 people have been reported dead and many parts of Manila are still under several feet of water. Please pray for the victims of Typhoon Ondoy.
Right now, we the midwives and leaders of Mercy, are working to join with a doctor who serves 40 rural villages in a province about 5 hours from here. We are attempting to rotate midwives every two weeks or so out to these villages to
- Develop 12 modules of basic teachings to train TBAs (traditional birth attendants) to do basic prenatal, labor, delivery, and postpartum care in their villages with supplies that are available to them
- To learn and teach F-A-I-T-H (food always in the house) Gardening to these 40 villages as well as terrace gardening , raising goats and rabbits, and water filtration
- To assist the doctor in her efforts to provide primary health, prenatal, labor, and delivery care to these people.
Please pray that the Lord will lead us down the path He would have us to travel concerning these efforts. Pray that He will provide wisdom and discernment for those in leadership over this project, and pray that the Lord will be glorified in these efforts.
I’ll close now. Tomorrow is another day- full of the unknown- yet we know the promises of God and His faithfulness to keep them on a daily basis never ever fails! Praise Him!!
Thank for your love, support and prayers. I’m blessed and I pray blessings on each of you!
Love,
Bethany
Monday, 29 June 2009
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I was supposed to get this update to you on Sunday. I even had it all written out, but something crazy happened and it all disappeared. Oh well...life goes on...full fledge ahead without stopping. Sometimes I wonder if I'll be able to catch my breath. *sigh* The past week was a little overwhelming, stressful, crazy, etc. I'll admit there was a few times I just wanted to hide and say, "I'm not coming out today. Take care of it yourself." Of course that was my fleshly being. Oh to be dead to the flesh all the time. What a wondrous thing it would be to never have to wrestle with that side of life. Praise the Lord for His mercies are new every morning!
The comings and goings have started around here. Many of the girls I live with have left and they'll continue to trickle out throughout the month. We have had an in pouring of short-term midwives for the summer. We have had four arrive in the past week and two more are coming near the end of this week. Right now my days are full of sending people off and welcoming people in. Pray that I'll be a graceful hostess to these short-term midwives and that this time will be a blessing for them as they are here. Pray that I'll be able to serve them well and be full of the love of Christ while I do it.
The world of assignments is pressing in the back of my mind constantly- they beg me to work at them continually, yet there are more things to do than sit in front of my computer and fill my mind with knowledge from text books- babies to deliver, relationships to build, prenatals to do, etc. However, I've finished one and I'm half way through the second one.
My birth room schedule has been a booming one. If I missed out on births while I was home for the month, I've made up for them this week- three deliveries in less than a week. They've all been beautiful- some small complications, but nothing unmanageable- Salamat sa Ginoo (praise the Lord)! Gladys- 24 years old gave birth to her third beautiful baby boy on Monday the 22nd at 8:59am. He weighed 6lbs 9oz. Angel Mae- my 17 year old continuity- gave birth to her first baby- a healthy little 6lbs 6oz Chelsea Meganne at 11:11pm on the 22nd. I was a little tired after my 19 hours straight in the birth room. :~) Grace- a 24 year old single mother- welcomed her first little girl- Lyka Zerina- into the world on the 28th at 11:39pm. She weighed a chunky 8lbs 3oz and I think 4lbs were made of cheeks. :~) Needless to say, I have postpartum and baby checks coming out my ears. It's so great to be able to follow-up with these mothers after the birth of their babies and get to know them a little better.
Though stress has mounted since coming back and homesickness has made me want the presence of loved ones back home, my month was so refreshing and encouraging. Thanks to everyone who made it that. I'm continually reminded that I would not be here were it not for the blessing of the Lord through each of you.
Love to each of you.
Grace
Gladys
Chelsea
Chelsea and Angel Mae
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
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I thought April went fast....
but May and half of June have whizzed passed me with hardly a moment to notice. Well, I guess not quite so intensely. My traveling home went well. God was gracious and poured is favor on me in airports and immigration. What a blessing! Thank you to all who prayed!
My visit home has been great! I've been able to accomplish all the things, well most of the things, I needed to accomplish. I was able to make it home for the birth of my little sister. God answered many prayers on the timing of her birth and blessed me by allowing me to be present for the event. I've been blessed and refreshed by seeing and spending time with my family and church family. Bethel, you have no idea how much you're missed and how blessed I am by all of you! I was able to take a five day trip to KY to visit the Headys- the missionaries I worked with in Haiti- since they happened to be in the States during the same time. I was also able to meet one of my really good friends from NY in KY the same week. It was such a great visit with both of them. The Lord provided all I needed down to the very last, small detail through people who probably don't even know God was using them to answer my prayers. I was blessed by the caring women that were interested in the Filipino mothers I work with and threw a baby shower, showering me with LOADS of baby clothes, hats, gloves, booties, and blankets to take back with me. Thanks to all you wonderful women! I know your gifts will be a blessing!
Friday evening I'm headed back; back to the hustle and bustle of life as a midwife. The summer will be full; full of people coming and going, of babies being born, and assignments to do. Since I've started saying my goodbyes I'm ready to get this show on the road and get back into the swing of things in the Philippines.
Please pray that:
-Traveling will go well
-I'll be able to adjust to the time change quickly and easily
-I'll have the strength and energy to hit the ground running and accomplish all I need to during the summer months
Thank you all for your love, support, and encourgement! I'm continually humbled and amazed at how God is using you all in my life.
Love to all!
-Beth
My Interest
Stay Connected
Flying (Birdie) Thoughts
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A party this day! :)
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Jesus, find in me a heart that beats to praise you. Just to know You more has become my great reward!
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Life is crazy busy and there's never enough time to do everything. But that's okay, because God is good!
What I'm Doing In Life
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I'm currently living in Davao, Philippines. For the next two years I will work to get my Associates of Science in Midwifery through NISM while working with Mercy Maternity Clinic to provide quality prenatal, labor delivery, and postpartum care to the Filipino women. When I finish I'll be a CPM (Certified Professional Midwife). Newlife provides on the mission field training for its' midwifery students and prepares them for a life of ministry in developing countries using their midwifery. I'm excited to see what God will do in the next few years!
