Masaka in a Snapshot...

A warm hello from us in Masaka!! (by Tanya)

First Morning at the hospital! Lorna, Joanne, Tanya, Claire, Babil

Cathy, Lorna, Babil, Jo and I, and a medical anthropologist named Claire, have been here one day shy of a week and it feels as if we have learned a semester full of new information. Although Claire is here working on a research project which is looking at birth planning in rural areas we have deemed her “honorary doula” as she seems to show up to the hospital at just the right time to hold someone’s hand during labour, retrieve an extra pair of gloves, put on our headlamps or protective eyewear while we try to remain sterile, or pop a piece of chocolate in our mouths to keep us from crashing.

Under the patient, gentle guidance of our incredibly wise and experienced instructors, both Cathy and Lorna have enabled us to embrace this experience, and have supported and guided us along this intense learning curve this week.

Between the 3 of us we have had enough births within 4 days to keep us running on adrenaline all day long. Collectively we have performed resuscitations on premature babies and term babies (some of which went well and some of which we sadly  lost) we have had severely anemic women, and septic woman, obstructed labours and contracted pelvis’, we have managed post partum hemorrhages with a bi manual compression, a shoulder dystocia, helped suture a 4th degree tear with no retractor, witnessed  an episiotomy with a razor blade, sutured the episiotomy from the razor blade, caught an undiagnosed breech, and a couple somersaults through tight nuchal cords. We have had to console distraught woman having abortions at all stages, of all ages, with no medication, we have double gloved when attending women with HIV and hold back tears when a young 18 year old mother tells you she will name her baby “promise”. We have given our lunch snacks to women who come in so poor they do not have shoes on their feet and use their thumb print to sign their name as they cannot read or write. We have learned to check the shelf above the washing up sink for small bundles of baby’s who have not survived the night when we come to begin our day. We have sat in on a couple workshops and helped teach rural midwives how to resuscitate newborn babies......

We have experienced the highs and lows of emotions we only knew existed , and have learned more in a week then we could have ever dreamed of, while  trying to manage all of this with very minimal supplies,  a language and culture barriers.

But most of all, we have learned that women are strong here, babies are incredibly resilient, a gentle touch during labour is universal, and smiles of all kinds can warm your heart for a day…..

Uganda is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever been to. Every morning as the sun comes up, I walk out on our deck that looks over green hills speckled in red roofed houses, brightly colored tropical flowers and colorful birds that sing the prettiest songs....across the rust colored dirt road is an elementary school.  As I have breakfast and drink African tea I can hear the little kids dressed in their uniforms line up for school and chant in synchrony, morning greetings to their teachers….. And then we begin our walk to work, so thankful for the privilege to be here.

Sunrise over Masaka

Big hugs-Tanya xoxo