Childbirth Numbers Uganda style

Rural hospitals here have like 20 births a day. Many rural hospitals in BC have 20 births/month.

Mulago hospital does like 120 births in 24 hours. Crazy.

In Mulago, we have had two sets of twins in the same day. In Masaka, we have had 3 breeches in the same week.

We now all have our numbers to “graduate.”

Although, technically, I do also need one more continuity of care. Which my husband kindly reminded me when I was "mentioning it." Thanks, honey.

We have seen so much here and been with so many women in labour -- women of every circumstance.

Women with large, supportive families, and women who have nobody. Nobody.

I have supported women who were accountants and teachers and also women whose occupations were listed as:

-"peasant"
-"housewife"
- and my favorite...... "hawker"

I have supported women who were closer to my children in age, than to me.

And I have supported women who were prematurely aged beyond what I would have thought possible. Aged by hardship and poverty and hard physical work and personal sadness.

I have supported a Gravida 10, Para 9, through a safe birth and to a healthy baby, only to find out later that 5 of her other children had died in early infancy. And this baby was now back in to the hospital, admitted to the nursery and very sick.

So many stories.