Our first week in Masaka

First of all, Masaka is BEAUTIFUL!!! Carole and I are good roomies, I think, and seem to work togther very well. I would have Carole as my 2nd attendant for life, if I could.

I am in charge of shushing loud people drinking late into the night, and Carole is in charge of organizing bags. That sounds about right.

I have been to 19 births in my 11 days here. I honestly feel like the experiences you have here are like a super condensed 2nd and 3rd and probably 4th year of midwifery school all in a week. This week we experienced all the grief and joy that pregnancy and birth brings. We attended two women who were losing their babies (24 and 28 week stillbirths). One of those moms was very, very sick with TRR (aka HIV +) and malaria.

We had a mom with TRR who had a severe post-partum hemorrhage so I was feeling the adrenaline and Cathy handed off the bimanual compression to me. So, double gloved and manual compression of the uterus. We had a bit of a sticky shoulder, but no shoulder dystocia this week (although I had that in Kampala, and it resolved with the disimpaction of the anterior shoulder). So we figure next week will bring some new emergency skill.

We had a baby with ambigious genitalia and some IUGR or preterm or "what exactly are your dates?" babies. We have been here to help some very young mothers deliver some very, very cute babies! And Carole had an exciting Gravida 7 that delivered very rapidly, but maybe I'll let her tell that one.

The midwives are very kind here, and let you be. Sometimes they think our slow delivery of the head is a problem and they want us to get the moms to blast the baby out. But we reassure that the heart rate is good and we slowly deliver the head. I am getting some amazing hands on training on slow slow slow delivery of the head and am VERY grateful to have it. Cathy and Mickey are very good teachers, generous with their time, patient and fun.

We are getting used to being Mzungus (non-africans) and Carole and I have each now made small children cry with our unexpected and scary pale faces.

I am so grateful to be here with these women and these teachers and these Ugandan health care professionals. I feel like I have grown and blossomed even in the short, short time I have been part of this world.

I will post when I can. I have taken like 500 photos but am having trouble with the time to post.

Yours,
Sarah