The Midwife Mommy Blog

Baby Constipation

2012-01-23T07:49:00.000-08:00

If you thought it was unpleasant for you to be constipated, let me tell you - it all takes on a new meaning when your 7 month old baby is the one having troubles. She can't say what's bothering her - just that things aren't right. One night - the night we hit google big time asking for remedies - she woke up from a sound sleep and just looked at us sadly before bursting into tears. Talk about ripping a parent in two! That night we found ways to help her fix it and continued to have to help her (mostly with qtip covered in a lubricant) while I searched for the reason why this might be happening. I thought for sure it had something to do with the fact that I could barely get her to drink 20oz of milk when she was supposed to get between 20 and 28 so I would try harder to get her to drink more, but when she didn't want it there was nothing I could do.

I had already completely eliminated bananas from her diet and tried to make her cereal more soupy but she wouldn't eat it if it was too liquidy. Then, we went to my in-laws in Iowa for Christmas and I didn't want to bring a 1/2 empty box of baby cereal with me so I bought a new box while at Target. I was giving her Gerber brand cereal - not rice, oatmeal and whole grain so I thought I was doing good, but then because the box was smaller, I bought the Good Earth brand. I gave that to her and once she got that in her system the constipation totally disapeared! I love accidental discoveries like that and I hope that this post will help another mom struggling with the same issue figure out the problem faster for her baby.

TIme Passes and Things Change

2012-01-10T07:48:00.000-08:00

I realize that my last post was more than a year ago which means quite possibly no one reads this anymore, but as I learn more and more of what it means to be a midwife and a mom I have more to write. The problem is, until now, I haven't figured out how to write in here about things other than midwifery until now.

So - I changed the title. Now I can write about either mommyhood or midwifery or both as they collide :) And I do have some burning posts that I have been mulling around in my head as I learn first hand what this mommy business is all about. So stay tuned!

Progress...

2010-08-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, I (with much help from my wonderful husband!) published many new updates to my website! So check it out! www.newbirthmidwifery.com I welcome suggestions and constructive criticism :)

I love being married - when I get discouraged, I have Cullen in my court, fighting for me, and encouraging me like no one else could. When I get impatient (which can happen often since I am not very patient!) he encourages me by reminding me of all the progress I have made in promoting New Birth Midwifery.

I got a lot of great promotional materials for next to nothing thanks to vistaprint's online sale/try things for free deal. So that has been helpful. I have been able to go to coffee shops and other places to put up business cards and informational flyers on midwifery.

But best of all, I have met with 3 moms-to-be about becoming potential clients and those have gone very well. I have a few more to meet with this week before I go on vacation with my family, and I know that personal referrals are going to be the best way for me to really make a go of my business. So - if you know of a mom-to-be who is looking for a natural birthing option who lives within 1.5 hours of me (or who lives in some far-reach country (I will travel to far places to deliver babies!) please tell them about New Birth Midwifery!

On a more personal note, I have been asked to be an advisor for a freshmen cell group at Bethany this year! Julie is their mentor, and having been a mentor at Bethany (2008-2009) I am so excited to be an advisor (basically go to cell groups and do one-on-ones with the mentor each week) this year!

There's No Place Like Home...

2010-08-14T06:53:00.000-07:00

The advantages and and joys and of giving birth where you live.

By Pam England

"I know that I'm healthy and everything's going well with my baby and I know everything's going to be fine."

Those words, uttered by an extremely pregnant Dawn Louro on CBS's Morning Show in February, sound more innocuous than momentous. But in some ways, they are revolutionary. Because Ms. Louro's calm assessment of her pregnancy came only weeks before she gave birth on television, before an audience of millions. At home.

In some circles, laboring or birthing at home is considered quite radical. Most first-time mothers probably doubt that they know enough to give birth anywhere, much less at home. They are surprisingly out of touch with the innate, miraculous processes involved in giving birth. Even though those mothers do not know birth technology either, they know it is out there. Daughters of our technological age, users of cellular phones and computers, understandably have faith in technology.

In addition, women who plan to labor and give birth at home typically get little support and a lot of anxious skepticism from those around them. Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that so few women today give birth at home.

But that may at last be changing and more than 20 years after Mothering first began writing about the possibility and the pleasures of delivering your child in his or her own home. Oprah Winfrey has done shows about alternatives to hospital birth. Chris Bohjalian's book Midwives has been a national bestseller. And then there was Ms. Louro's labor. "I just want it to be in my own home environment," Mr. Louro told the CBS correspondent. "I want to be able to get up, walk around, and have my whole family around me after the baby is born."

As a childbirth teacher, one of my greatest challenges is to inform people objectively about their choices and give them respectful support in their decision-making, so they are not left feeling coerced or guilty about whatever informed choice they eventually make. That is what I wish to do here. Homebirth may not be right for you, for reasons of physical health or personal philosophy. It also may be the perfect choice for you, but one you hadn't considered until now. In a childbirth class I taught recently, the topic arose spontaneously. A couple, one of whom was a physician, said they were thinking of a homebirth. The class erupted into animated discussion, provocative questions, and a sense of hopeful excitement.

At the end, one mother turned to me and sighed happily, "I feel more relaxed just knowing that a homebirth is a possibility," she said, "whether or not I choose it."

IS HOMEBIRTH SAFE?

The Farm is a 1,700 acre commune in Summertown, Tennessee, founded in 1971 by Stephen and Ina May Gaskin. The trained and skilled midwives there have professional consulting relationships with physicians and refer mothers with complications or risk factors to the hospital.

In 1992, a major study compared 1,700 homebirths attended by The Farm midwives to a sample of 14,033 physician-attended hospital births. The findings were dramatic and heartening: The cesarean rate among mothers who received prenatal care at The Farm was only 1.5 percent compared to 16.5 percent in the doctor-attended group. The transfer-to-hospital rate was 13.5 percent. There was no significant difference between the two groups for perinatal death, bleeding, birth injury, or respiratory distress syndrome.

This excellent outcome for those choosing homebirths has been found in other studies as well. In a famous 1977 project, Dr. Lewis Mehl studied birth outcomes from the medical records of 1,146 elective homebirths in the San Francisco area. The results: the perinatal mortality rate among women who elected homebirth was 9.5 per 1,000 births and compared to a rate of 20.3 per 1,000 among California women who gave birth in the hospital. In other words, as Dr. Mehl concluded, "the [homebirth] outcomes were better than average and the complications rates lower than expected."

And then there are the subjective, anecdotal reports from women who have chosen a homebirth. According to a wide-ranging 1992 survey, "91 percent of . . . women who had had their last baby at home said that they would prefer to have their next baby at home, compared with 15 percent of those who had had their baby in a hospital. Among the few women who had experienced both a homebirth and a hospital birth, 76 percent preferred giving birth in their homes."

THE ECONOMICS OF HOMEBIRTH**

Homebirth is significantly cheaper than a hospital birth. But that doesn't mean it will save you money. Why is that? Consider the following: In 1997, a normal hospital birth cost between about $4,000 and $6,000, with a complicated birth costing many thousands more. In comparison, most homebirth midwives have an inclusive fee of about $2,000, which not only covers labor and delivery but also all prenatal care and several postpartum visits.

In some states, homebirth midwifery is covered by private health insurance. Unfortunately most HMOs do not yet reimburse licensed homebirth midwives, which in effect limits consumers' freedom of choice. It is extremely difficult for some people to make a "choice" which requires substantially greater out-of-pocket expenses.

If your healthcare coverage is limited only to in-hospital birth, write the benefits manager at your place of employment; they seem better able to exert leverage on insurance companies and HMOs than can individual consumers. Issues like this also are being considered in some state legislatures. Write a letter to your local representative or call and make your opinion known.

FINDING A MIDWIFE

Rare is the doctor who will actually attend a homebirth. But a few do. To see if any practice in your neighborhood, contact HomeFirst Health Services through their Web site: www.homefirst.com.

It's extremely likely, however, that you'll need to find a midwife to attend your birth. Midwives come in several varieties. Nurse midwives have an RN and have completed postgraduate training at an institution accredited by the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM). Direct-entry midwives have trained as midwives but without obtaining an RN (which is the usual route of entry in many countries overseas, including most of Europe). The Midwifery Education Accreditation Council (MEAC) has begun accrediting direct-entry midwifery training programs. Two other organizations offer certification to direct-entry midwives: The ACNM and the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM). Not all midwives are certified.

How can you find a midwife who is compatible with your personality and birthing goals? Begin by asking friends or acquaintances who've had a successful homebirth for a recommendation. You can also contact one of the national midwifery agencies for referrals (see below). But most important is to meet and develop a rapport with any midwife you're considering. She will, after all, be key to the success of your home delivery. You should feel you can trust and rely on her. And, as her client, she will probably wish to feel the same towards you.

THE LAST WORD

Almost every homebirth that I have attended has been a profound experience for everyone involved, including me. After the last such birth, I formulated a few principles regarding homebirth. They can, I think, stand as a summation of why the experience affects people so powerfully, and why it is a moment few new parents ever will forget:

Pregnancy and birth are natural physiological events, so normal birth does not belong in hospitals.
The natural course of labor is already perfect, and should be interfered with as little as possible.
Pain is part of an essential and healthy feedback mechanism in labor. Women can learn to cope with it, especially with the proper encouragement and support.
Medical management of pregnancy and birth should be limited to those which are medically complicated.
Unnecessary medical interventions complicate normal labor, creating additional risk and the need for more intervention.
Comfort and security help mothers cope with labor. Comfort and security exist at home.

Pam England is a certified nurse midwife in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she directs the Art of Birthing Doula Training Program. This story was adapted from her book Birthing From Within (Partera Press, 1998). To order a copy, call Partera Press at 505-268-8206 or visit the Web site: http://www.birthpower.com

To Learn More

These are a few excellent books and articles that address homebirth:

Declercq ER, Paine LL, Winter MR. "Home Birth in the United States, 1989-1992. A Longitudinal Descriptive Report of National Birth Certificate Data," Journal of Nurse Midwifery, 1995; 40 (6): 474-82.

Duran, AM. "The Safety of Home Birth: The Farm Study," American Journal of Public Health, no. 82 (3):450-453.

Goer, Henci. Obstetric Myths Versus Research Realities: A Guide to the Medical Literature (Bergin & Harvey, 1995)

Hannon, Sharron. Childbirth: A Source Book for Conception, Pregnancy, Birth, and the First Weeks of Life (M. Evans and Company, Inc., 1990)

Mehl, Lewis, et al., "Outcomes of Elective Home Births: A Series of 1,146 Cases," Journal of Reproductive Medicine, no. 19 (5):281-290.

**Editor’s Note: The numbers quoted in this article for the costs of a hospital birth and a home birth are out of date as of 2005. The latest statistics from 2005 (World Health Organization)on a hospital birth are as follows:

• Uncomplicated vaginal birth = $7,000

• Complicated vaginal birth = $9,000

• Uncomplicated C-Section = $12,000

• Complicated C-Section = $16,000

These prices are just for the hospital stay, and do not include doctor’s fees for being at the birth which start at $1,500, and also does not include prenatal care or newborn care.

A midwife in MN generally charges between $3-4,000 which covers everything - prenatal care, newborn care, labs, 24 hour access to your midwife, continuity of care, at least 1 if not two assistants at your birth and more. The only things it doesn’t cover are:

• tub rentals or purchases which can be between $1-250

• Your homebirth box which has all the disposable items you need for your birth like chux pads etc which will be about $75-125.

• Your midwife may also ask that you buy old picnic table liners from a dollar store to put under your tub to protect the carpet, and you will want to have old sheets and towels. (but that is usually purchased for less than $25)

Website!

2010-07-28T06:58:00.001-07:00

My new website is up and running! Please take a minute to check it out: www.newbirthmidwifery.com

I have now ordered business cards, am in the process of making brochures and researching marketing strategies as to how to get my name out there. P.S. These are not the things you learn in midwifery school, so it's a trial and error basis!

I am renting a booth at this event called "Just Between Friends" in Eden Prairie from August 11-14, and would love to see you there! It's a garage sale put together professionally so it is almost like shopping in a department store but getting garage sale prices for gently used (or sometimes new!) items. Their website is www.jbfsale.com This would be a great place to get some great deals on maternity clothes, baby and kids clothes along with having the chance to talk to me about midwifery, home birth and I'm sure other vendors as well about relevant products or services. I will also plan to have a drawing for a pretty great prize (to be determined) if you come and sign up at my booth.

Hope to see you there, and please remember to check out my website!

A New Start

2010-06-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Some of you know that I was working at a free standing birth center in MN recently. Some of you may not know that I am no longer. It's a very long story, but the jist of it is that it wasn't the right fit for me at this time in my life. It was a time of Cullen and I doing some deep soul searching, talking to trusted loved ones, and praying hardcore about our future.

In the end, we decided that I would be done working at the birth center, and would start my own midwifery business. The peace that came flooding in over the next couple of days after Cullen and I made that decision astounded us. Really, we shouldn't have been at peace with me leaving a steady paycheck and starting a business that in time will be profitable, but in the beginning will mean me needing to take on jobs that pay less than we are used to me earning and aren't steady due to the nature of midwifery and me needing to have flexible employment. But God is abundantly faithful and provides for his children in ways beyond our wildest imaginations, and is proving that to us in the daily walk of life now.

The name of my new practice is New Birth Midwifery. I am really excited about this because it has a double meaning, showing the new birth that we have in Christ when we are born again (2nd Cor. 5:17), but it also has significance for those who do not yet know and believe who I hope to reach out to as well in this business. The fact is that most women still go to the hospital to have their babies. Actually, about 95% do. The hospitals in general are starting to realize that pregnant women are not sick and should not be treated as if they are, however, it is hard to change policies that have been in place for long periods of time. Some hospitals now have "birth centers" in which nurse-midwives do most of their care, this is a huge step in the right direction, however, there are still other options out that that will allow a woman to be more involved in her care, that will gently encourage her to be pro-active in becoming knowledgeable in her pregnancy and birth along with her husband and family.

Of course I could talk about this subject for hours, and write pages on it, and maybe as I continue to write, it will eventually amount to that, but for now, I will sign off on a happy note, knowing that all is well and hoping that if you're reading this and live in MN (within 1 1/2 hours of the Savage area) and are pregnant and want to talk about your options you will call or email me. If you know of someone who you think might be interested in midwifery care, please send them the link to this blog. I will be putting up a website soon, but for now, this will do.

Long Delays

2009-08-16T18:58:00.000-07:00

Well, it's not even so much of a delay as almost a whole new life I'm writing from now because it's been so very long since I've last written. About a year now I would suppose! I used to be such a faithful blogger (at least once every other day if not more!) while I was in the Philippines, but then I came back to the U.S, and I became a mentor. For some reason, I just didn't feel it was appropiate to share the intimate details of my mentee's lives online...

Anyway, I am writing on the weekend of graduation of my girls. It has been a fun, challenging, wonderful, sometimes hard year, but one that I know has grown and stretched me more than I could have ever imagined. I am so thankful for how it has brought me to a place of even deeper desire for God and readiness to go, do, or wait and stay as He calls.

The pressures continue to abound as to the next step in life, sometimes they are from outside sources, well meaning people in my life who want to know the next step, but other times they stem from my own anxious heart that still has a hard time with the "be still and wait for Him" part. I have always (well for most of my life) been ready and willing to go, but not so excited about the waiting part. It's funny to think that God doesn't do things the way that we expect Him to, and so that means that when we think we are ready, he says we are not, and we need to stay. It's not that he wants to frustrate me with the process, instead he knows the big picture and knows that His plans for me far exceed anything I can plan or imagine.

I am getting married in less than 1 month now, and that to me blows my mind. This time last year, I had just been dating Cullen for one week! And now I am looking forward to spending the rest of my life with him. I am so blessed. Once again, by my simple obedience to coming back to Bethany, moving back into the dorms that I lived in before as a student when what I really wanted to do was to be overseas delivering babies and taking care of poverty stricken mothers, I was blessed beyond measure. I had no idea that my coming back to the U.S. at that time would mean marriage in just 1 short (and yet looooong) year! It would be so much easier to obey if I knew the blessings that are in store for me, however, if we knew the trials that lay ahead would I also be so quick to obey?

I am in the middle of stressed out madness, busy beyond belief, but in everything God is good and faithful. I wonder though how brides handle the planning process if they don't enjoy planning parties or events? I do enjoy that kind of thing - or I did before I decided to try and plan a "party" for 350 people, maintain and grow a healthy relationship with my fiancee, love God, love my family, love my girls (all 7 of them!), nanny and do all the things that mentors do. If it can burn me out, I feel sorry for those who are not planners by nature.

I feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but I vary between being excited that it is finally visible to being anxious that it is approaching too quickly and I just don't have enough done or figured out yet! Now is the time for little details, and as much fun as it is to figure it out, I would enjoy it so much more if I had more than 24 hours in one day :)

See, now most of you probably have stopped reading by now, and I don't blame you, but as I type I realize just how soothing this is, and how much pressure it can relieve just to write out what is pent up inside rather than trying to find room for it there. And besides, it has been about a year since my last post, so I don't feel too bad.

I go on the mentor retreat tomorrow, and I am very excited about that, it will be a time of fellowship where the old mentors are able to pass on the baton to the new ones who are excited to take our place. After this week, I have a day and a half off before I start my new full time job as the kitchen PT supervisor! It's really because I'm a glutton for punishment I think that I've accepted a job that gives me full time hours for 2 weeks before my wedding, gives me the week before my wedding and one week after off and then back! It is a new exciting adventure that I am truly excited to venture out on, but the timing is crazy. The reason why I have to start now is because the new students (BCOM) arrive on August 24th, and Leah needs me in the position to be completely trained and prepared to accept them and work with them for a week so they know me before I take two weeks off for the wedding. Phew. Good thing I work well under pressure! I've only had 3 or so meltdowns since I've been planning this wedding since February - the unfortunate part is that Cullen has borne the brunt of those, but he still loves me, and for that I count my many blessings.

And here, I will end for now. I hope to blog more often in the weeks to come.

March 2009 Newsletter

2009-03-11T17:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

It’s March 2009 now, and I have so much to share, I’m just about ready to burst! The most exciting news that I have for ya’ll is that I am engaged to be married to Cullen this fall! We are working out the details on a specific date still, but it’s looking like it will be September 12.

Cullen and I met online last May, and met in person last August when we both got to MN. I had been in the Philippines for 2 years getting my midwifery training, and he had been working as an electrical engineer in South Dakota and had been transferred here. We both were thinking that we would just be good friends, and I was hoping to make the move easier on him by introducing him to a good church (Bethany) and my friends so it wouldn’t be so lonely for him since he was relocating by himself, but God had other plans, and both of us have been very happy for that!

So we had been dating for 6 months, and he went out with my dad to a motorcycle show and at lunch (with my brother present as well!) asked my dad for his blessing to ask for my hand in marriage. I thought he would wait for a while to propose, but later that week, Friday actually, he brought me back to the park where we had first discovered we liked each other and got down on one knee. I was shocked, not expecting it at all, (I knew it was coming, but not so soon) and I was on a steady dose of cold meds so my brain was cloudy, but it was perfect, well except for him not hearing me say yes since I didn’t have much of a voice! But I clarified that quickly.

Another very exciting piece of news that I wanted to share with ya’ll is that Cullen and I will be leading a missions trip to Nicaragua this April! Cullen has less missions experience than I do (well, a lot of people do considering I was raised on the mission field!) and we wanted to do a trip together that would allow us to see each other in the missions setting, and find out what part missions will play in our future.

At first I was having a difficult time recruiting people to go with us, but when I sent out an email to the Bethany students here, all of the sudden I had more interest than I ever thought possible! We now have 10 committed team members, and a possibility for up to 19 total. Wow. God is working for sure, it’s not normal for this many people to be excited to give up their one week of vacation to go share the Gospel, and be His hands and feet.

We are able to visit the city dump and orphanage and get kids excited to come to the camp that we will be hosting for 3 days. Many of the kids we will minister to are not able to go to school because they don’t own the one pair of closed-toe shoes that is required for admittance. We will also be able to help do some construction and medical/mercy ministry to the families that live near the base. Adam and Rachel Todd are the missionaries that run the base, and they are graduates of Bethany.

The total trip cost will be about $950 per person, and this will cover airfare, food, lodging, transportation and teaching/construction supplies for the whole time we are there not only for the team members but also for the kids we will be ministering to.

Even though this team is made up of many Bethany students, most of them have not been overseas yet, and this will be a wonderful teaching opportunity for them as well to understand what missions is like, and help prepare them for their upcoming 16 month internships.

I would now like to close this letter by asking that you consider supporting me and the team either financially or by giving kids clothing, shoes, art/school supplies or sports equipment (that isn’t too big to pack) and also in prayer. If you choose to support me financially, the check can be made out to Bethany Church with a post-it note designating it for my trip to Nicaragua. That way it will be tax deductible. If tax deduction isn’t necessary for you, you can write out the check directly to me. I am attaching a support card which has more specifics for you on how to give.

Thank you so much for your faithfulness to the Lord in all you do, and for loving me and being a big part of my life for so many years now.

Always,
Jenny

NARM

2008-11-13T15:35:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to give a big Praise Jesus on my blog - I passed the NARM (North American Registry of Midwives) examination in October and it is all due to God giving me grace and strength. I am so filled with awe when I think about the journey that He has brought me on and how He has now seen fit to close the official schooling part of that journey (I will always be studying, but no longer in a formal capacity for midwifery) and is allowing me to concentrate on mentoring and discipling the BCOM students here.

Passing the NARM means that I can now apply to be licensed to practice midwifery in any US state where midwifery is legal and where they use the CPM credential as part of the licensing process. I am currently not pursuing getting my MN license because mentoring keeps me pretty busy but I am able to help at homebirths here and there with local midwives in the area and that is wonderful.

Thank you for all your support and faith in me through the past two years of preparing for this test and what lies ahead.

September 2008 Update

2008-09-23T21:16:00.001-07:00

September 2008 Update

Dear Friends and Family,

My life has changed so much since returning to Minnesota 2 short months ago. Sometimes it feels like having lived in the Philippines for the last two years was just a dream. But then I remember the babies I delivered and the Christ-centered relationships I built with my patients and am blessed. The last two years in the Philippines were truly life changing and those experiences have molded me into the person I am today.

I am now settled into life here at Bethany College of Missions (BCOM). (http://www.bcom.org/) I am a mentor for 7 female college students and I spend 40+ volunteer hours a week with these girls encouraging them in all walks of life - in their spiritual, physical, emotional and social lives. The word ‘mentoring’ is becoming popular nowadays, with a wide variety of what this means in practical terms.

What does it mean to be a mentor at Bethany? The mentoring model here at Bethany is very close to the practical way Jesus mentored His disciples – he lived, worked and taught among them 24/7. So too, I’m
--Living embedded right in the midst of these girls’ dorm rooms, as their dorm rooms encircle mine. This means I am there for them modeling Christ in the evenings and weekends in the time and place where life-shaping decisions and disciplines are often made/learned.
--I eat my meals with them.
--I spend 2 hours a day working side by side with those on kitchen crew
--I lead a weekly 2-hour cell group time with them where we deal with the nitty-gritty personal issues of life.
--I meet with each girl one-on-one weekly for an hour to pray and encourage them on their journey in pursuit of God.
--I go to the prayer room with them throughout the week for chapel & prayer times.
--Once a month, I accompany them on their weekly outreach to the U of M campus where we intercede, share the message of Jesus’ transforming power and plant small-group churches. This campus of 52,000+ students is the largest in the nation and is teeming with internationals, so it is great prep for the mission field.

Mentoring at Bethany means something different than it does many other places that’s for sure! At BCOM, we are serious about preparing effective missionaries in a holistic way.

I am a support-raising volunteer, and aside from food and lodging, am responsible for providing my basic necessities while I mentor this year. I ask that you prayerfully consider continuing your financial support for me through this year, as the training I am receiving here is as vital a ministry as what I was doing in the Philippines for the last two years. Thank you for being involved in my life in this way.

The girls I have in my group are amazing. Their names are: Nicola, Tamsen, Naomi, Catherine, Autumn, Andrea and Lydia. Please add them to your prayer list. J I know this year will be a year of growth for all of us as we continue to seek God together. I am excited to learn much more about how to lead in a Godly way as I serve them and help them become the women that God wants them to be.

Mentoring is challenging in quite a different way than midwifery was. In the Philippines I enjoyed building relationships with the women, both before and after delivery. But here at Bethany the relationships are so much deeper and the task of forming Christ in these girls, to present them ready for missionary service after one year here, is much more time consuming. I believe that both of these experiences will tie together in the future, combining the medical expertise with the knowledge of leadership and discipling.

I will have the opportunity to attend births every once in a while with a local Christian midwife in MN, for which I am grateful. The first birth I plan to attend comes in October. Homebirth is much different than clinical birth like I am used to, so I am excited to learn this new facet of midwifery.

My commitment to mentoring at Bethany lasts through August of 2009. I am seeking the Lord for his guidance for this next step that he has prepared for me. I feel like it has to do with missions and midwifery, though the specifics are not yet clear. Please pray that God makes the path clear to me.

Thank you for staying involved in my life as I grow in leadership during this year. I will continue to send out updates, so if you know of someone who would like be on my distribution list, please email me and I will add them.

Blessings,
Jenny

BCOM Mentoring

2008-09-13T11:53:00.000-07:00

My life has changed drastically since returning to MN a few short months ago. Life in the Philippines almost seems like a far off dream from the past already but it hasn't even been 2 months since that time.

I am now settled into life here at Bethany College of Missions. (http://www.bcom.org/) I am a mentor (think glorified Resident Assistant) for 7 girls and I spend 30 or so hours a week with these girls encouraging them in all walks of life - in their spiritual, physical and emotional and social lives. I am a volunteer, and raising support to provide for basic necessities for this next year. If you feel God leading you to give, please see the side bar on this blog for ways to help.

The girls I have in my group are amazing. I know this year will be a year of growth for all of us as we continue to seek God together. I am excited to learn much more about how to lead in a Godly way as I serve them and watch them become the women that God wants them to be.

Mentoring is challenging in a different way than midwifery was. Both have to do with relationships, but in different aspects. In some way they do go together and I know both will tie together in the future because my knowledge of midwifery is allowing me to come alongside these women and encourage growth but not hover or demand it. And learning this kind of leadership will allow me to be a better midwife someday.

I have the opportunity to attend births every once in a while with a local Christian midwife in MN, for which I am grateful. The first birth I plan to attend comes in October. Homebirth is much different than clinical birth like I am used to, so I am excited to learn this new facet of midwifery.

Thank you for staying involved in my life as I grow in leadership during this year. I will continue to send out updates every few months, so if you are not on my distribution list, please email me and ask to be added.

Blessings,
Jenny

Travels

2008-08-21T16:05:00.000-07:00

My brother was so amazing in being willing to take some time off work to drive me to and from Iowa to take my NARM exam so that i could maximize studying time on the way there. We left around 2pm from MN and arrived a little after 6pm.

We had dinner, I studied a little more and then went to bed at 10pm. I was restless all night so sure that I wouldn't wake up to either of the two alarms I had set for 6:30am, but I woke up no problem, David and I had a great waffle breakfast compliments of the hotel and were on our way to the exam site.

I waited in the wrong area and I got nervous when no one showed up and it was almost 8am when the test was supposed to start, but a lady showed me where to go and I made it to the test in time. The first section of 175 questions took me until 10:30am, we took a 1/2 hour break and then the second section took from 11am to 1pm.

In some ways the test was easier than the final exam that I did pass at Newlife School of Midwifery (where I graduated from in June) but in other ways the questions were subject and a little on the frustrating side. I did my best and hope that I passed, but I won't find out for another 3-6 weeks! The wait might kill me :)

Because I finished the test earlier than expected, I was able to get to MN by 6pm, and I turned right around and joined the BCOM mentors for the tail end of the mentor retreat. So in the span of 12 hours I was in IA, MN and then WI! Yikes.

All went well, except when I was less than a mile away from the campsite in WI I HIT A DEER!!! Yikes. That was intensely scary! It came bounding out of cornfields and I had no time to stop, but since I was only going about 20 mph, it bounced onto the hood of my parents' car, then over the windshield and then over the roof into the ditch, but there was no blood, and when we went looking for the deer later, we couldn't find it so I don't think I killed it. It was a big buck though - about 1.5 times my size! I have never run over anything thus far - not even a squirrel, so that was frightening, but God definitely was protecting me. Thank you Jesus :)

NARM Board Exam

2008-08-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

This will be the shortest post yet, because I am running out the door to drive to Iowa for my test, but I wanted to ask that people who check my blog remember to pray for me and my two friends Laura and Tiffany who are all taking the NARM board exam this Wednesday, August 20th.

The test will take the whole day, is 350 questions I have been told and is very important for me to pass. :) Thanks for your prayers and interest in my life.

I won't find out if I passed or not for 3 more weeks, but here's to hoping! :D

Lois this is for you!

2008-07-31T14:58:00.000-07:00

Making hummus at home turned into a family effort! I found garbanzo beans with Rebecca's help at the Super Walmart, then the twins were instrumental in helping me shell all of them as the rest of the family groaned at the effort it took. Then Rebecca and my dad went to a different grocery store to find me the Tahini that I needed, then our blender/food processor just wasn't cutting it so my mom bought a new one at walmart! Yikes. Good thing the hummus turned out good - of course that was a given seeing as my teacher was amazing! Thanks Lois! :) Loves to you.

Hellos are much better!

2008-07-25T09:03:00.000-07:00

My last post was hard to write, but this one is so much nicer. I was welcomed home after a pretty smooth non-eventful flight - except for a nice pat down upon arrival on US soil and all my bags searched, but nothing was taken so that was nice.

My whole family (including the dog!) plus my roomate, Heather - from Bethany days - was there to greet me and it was wonderful. Hugs all around and I LOVED it! A big shout out goes to my dad who shared his "thunder" with me by scheduling me to arrive home on the day of his birthday. So we celebrated my return and his birthday with an amazing steak meal made at home.

I was sleepy that afternoon, but my parents and family kept me occupied so I didn't sleep - in fact, I didn't go to bed that night until 11pm! Pretty good for jet lag! I slept until 5:30am with the help of two melatonins.

Then, yesterday, we had about 40 people over to the house for hamburger grill out, family and friends alike so I wouldn't be hard up trying to say hi to everyone before vacation and the NARM and what not. It was wonderful. Thanks mom and dad for putting that on for me.

Today we shop and pack for vacation. Yesterday I drove to Walmart and let my 15 year old sister who has a permit drive me home. I almost had a nervous breakdown when she didn't know which way to turn the wheel out of the parking space, but otherwise she did great - she even talks to the other drivers like I do!

Tomorrow - Vacation, study for the NARM, vacation, study :) Hugs and kisses to all those in Davao - most of you have written goodbye blogs or posts or chatted saying there is sadness and holes now that a few of us are gone, and we (or at least I) feel the same way. I am so happy to be home, but at the same time I tear up randomly when i think of life in Davao and what I am missing. I suppose it will get better with time....

Goodbyes are hard...

2008-07-22T03:26:00.000-07:00

3 of us have bitten the dust so to speak. Laura left first on Sunday afternoon, then Tiffany left that same evening and now I am writing this blog from my hotel in Manila where I will leave from to board my flight back to the US bright and early tomorrow morning.
I hate goodbyes. I sometimes wonder what God was thinking when he asked me to be a missionary when this life involves so many goodbyes. O.k. granted, there aren't many people that enjoy saying goodbye, but some people are better at it than others and I am not one of those others.

I managed not to cry too hard during the actual goodbye part - I think I was so prepared to cry that I just didn't allow it - I knew it was a strong possibility and so I just didn't allow it, but there were other times when my guard was down and I wasn't prepared to say goodbye when the tears would come.

This may very well be the most depressing entry I have written! Goodness. I should stop before I start crying again while typing away on my computer in the lobby of the hotel all by myself...

To those I have left behind - I love you so much and I know that God will continue to use you mightily - please keep me updated on the goings on of MMC - I will need to live vicariously through you for a while until I get accustomed to life back home. Thank you for all you have invested in me - all the love and patience - who knew you would make a midwife out of me!

Marco Polo Breakfast!

2008-07-22T03:12:00.000-07:00

As a graduation present/surprise, our wonderful, amazing, incredible (I could keep going) directors, Matt and Krys (hope you are reading this!) gave our whole class gift certificates to have the breakfast brunch at the fanciest hotel in town - the Marco Polo.

We had so much fun really being girls - we even went around the table and everyone said what they thought person x would be doing in the near future, long term, what her husband would look like, when she would have kids, what/when her wedding would be/look like etc. I haven't ever done that before but boy was it fun!
So a big shout out to our amazing, wonderful (opps i said all that already) directors. We LOVE you!!!

Last MMC delivery for 2008

2008-07-22T02:37:00.001-07:00

Lyn was a miracle birth in my opinion. Not only for me - because my goal was to deliver 92 babies and so I took an extra shift (thanks TK), but for her since she was endorsed to me at 2pm with transport papers prepared! That is never a good sign, but I was allowed to work with her and monitor her for a little bit of time and her high blood pressure went down and stayed down even without IV fluids or anything like that - she just needed someone to calm her down some and to have a little time to relax from getting to MMC - she had just arrived minutes before day shift ended and I arrived on shift. She was also leaking water and only 2cm - also not a good combo, but she drank castor oil like a champ (which I don't think I could ever do) and her labor progressed like you wouldn't believe!

Not only did she deliver before my shift ended (which she needed to in order to avoid transport) but she delivered at 8:12pm meaning I was able to spend some of the postpartum time with her. She, like Meira delivered a big baby - 8.12lbs, and it was complicated, but she stayed for some extra time (discharged the following morning about 24 hours after birth instead of the customary 6 hours) and was fine.

I saw both her and Meira for the last baby checks I would be able to do for them this morning before going to the airport for Manila and it was wonderful to be able to say goodbye in person.

Meira Ablanque

2008-07-22T02:13:00.000-07:00

Last April I was Meira's midwife - but almost didn't catch her baby (who is now 1 year old - see pic on the left) because I was in class and then came down and was doing a few baby checks (she was supposedly only 4cm) when i was called in quickly because "the baby was coming!" We only had time to introduce ourselves after the birth, but still managed to enjoy our time together for the 6 weeks following the birth when she came in for postpartum visits.

When I found out she was pregnant again, she was already 34 weeks along, and due right around the time I was leaving but I really wanted to try and be her midwife again, so I put my name on her chart (thus establishing continuity of care). However, she was on a different prenatal day and it turned out to be very complicated to change her to my team due to miscommunications...

I almost didn't persevere - almost said it was ok if she wasn't my patient, but in the end she was moved to my team, and i still was able to do 2 prenatals with her before she delivered. And they were good ones. Then, of course it was so much better for me to be with her during birth because we had the relationship established instead of a random midwife being assigned to her.

The birth was wonderful! She progressed through labor quite quickly, and breathed through the last hour allowing her to open completely (which is insanely difficult I am told!) and the birth happened slowly. We all knew her baby was big but since this was her fourth, we weren't worried - her last baby (the one I delivered) was 8.02lbs and this boy was 8.10lbs! (very big by Filipino standards!)

There was shoulder dystocia, but only for a minute and with help from my assistant/supervisor (Ate Susan) there were no complications sustained to the baby.

Look carefully at the picture to the side - Meira is not only nursing her own baby (on the bottom) but I brought in the baby of another mother (delivered a few hours previous) to breastfeed because his mother was at the hospital having been transported for something - she was such a trooper - I held the top baby up and she was the hero of the day!

Tacada Outing

2008-07-15T03:12:00.001-07:00

Many of you know Rachel Tacada who has been a good friend of mine since the beginning of my time here - I delivered her baby - my 14th handle (I am at 90 now) and so this is one friendship that is hard to say goodbye to. I took Rachel and her sisters and sister in law out for lunch with their kids as part of my goodbye. It was alot of fun. We did lunch, then we went to the mall and set up an email/msn account for Rachel so that we can stay in contact even though I am going home! Yay.

Boat Trip

2008-07-15T02:53:00.001-07:00

Many of the MMC staff went on a boat trip last Saturday and it was a good time to be sure! I knew it would most likely be my last time on the ocean like that for a very long time, so I took full advantage of it - soaking in the sun, and taking many pictures of the captivating beauty that is the ocean. So here are a few pics for you to enjoy. Believe me - I will be tormenting myself with them come this next year when it is 10 below F, and shockingly cold and I don't remember what the ocean looks like anymore having been in landlocked MN for too long :) Oh well - God has given me a great two years here - I can enjoy MN for a year or so as well right!?

July Update

2008-07-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

This will be the last email/newsletter you receive from me while I am still in the Philippines. My time here is quickly drawing to a close, and God is moving me forward with eagerness and anticipation for what the next year holds.

Last Friday was a big day – I took the final exam along with 5 other girls on my team and we all passed it with flying colors! Thank you so much to all those who were faithfully praying. I know that a huge part of the reason why I did so well was the prayers you all were offering up on my behalf for peace and retention of the things I had studied over the last two years. Later that day, I worked night shift, 10pm-6am with two of my teammates and my supervisor Sister Ermie. I caught the first baby which was a hard birth, and the baby was transported to the government hospital for respiratory distress (but praise God – he is doing great now, and I saw the whole family yesterday at a baby check up). Then, Tiffany caught a baby which went well and the birthroom got quiet. As I was finishing up with my first patient, Liza, two more patients walked in about to deliver. Laura (my other teammate) took one, and my supervisor asked to be skipped in rotation so that left me to catch my second baby of the night! This birth was beautiful, and there were no complications at all. In two years, I have now delivered 88 babies (and still counting until July 18!).

The weekend was spent at the beach with my girls – a time of remembering fun memories from the last 2 years spent together, and making new memories to remember in the following years. Then, early Monday morning we left the beach and returned to the city to run around getting ready for our graduation ceremony/celebration. It was a really nice time had by all with good friends and good food.

So now, we are done. Well, except that we all still need to pass the NARM board exam for midwifery in the USA – which I will take in August. So you can mark the date of August 20th in your calendars as another date that I will need your prayers yet again!

This next year I will serve as a volunteer mentor at Bethany College of Missions, where I graduated in 2005., This will give me the training I will need to successfully lead and mentor other girls who become overseas midwives when I return to the field again. During my time in the States I hope to attend some births on the side – so if you all know of anyone looking for a midwife, let me know! I am told mentoring at Bethany is a challenging role, and I look forward to growing and being stretched in an environment that is familiar to me, but in a role that will be new. I will have a great support system of Godly leaders to mentor me as I mentor young girls entering the program as missionaries-to-be.

I will be volunteering like I said – 40 hours a week, so if any of you feel lead to continue supporting me financially or start supporting me financially, to help cover basic life necessities, I would be so grateful. It would continue to be tax deductible through Voice In The Wilderness, the wonderful organization that has been making it possible to give donations tax deductible these last two years for me. If you have not yet joined my support team but are interested in doing so, please ask me for more information.

For those of you who like to follow my journeys through my blog, I will be continuing that, but under a new title after I start mentoring. When I get that set up I will let you know, until then, please continue to visit my blog at http://www.midwifejenny.blogspot.com/ for stories as I make the transition from life here in the Philippines to life back at home.

I will continue to write monthly updates even after I get home, but if you would rather not receive my updates, let me know and I will remove you from the list. Otherwise, if you know of anyone else who would like to receive my updates, please give them my contact information so I can add them.

Thank you for all that you have been for me these last two years, the support, financially, emotionally, spiritually have sustained me above and beyond my greatest expectations. I have grown into a midwife that will be able to reach more people for Christ as I go and minister to women physically and spiritually in a country desperately needing good maternity/baby care. Right now I am considering somewhere in Africa. Pray with me that God will open doors for that.

Much love,
Jenny

2 Babies on Friday night and 2 again on Tuesday!

2008-07-02T07:29:00.000-07:00

Not only did I catch 2 babies today, but my last shift I also caught 2! My last shift was last Friday night with Tiffany and Laura (right before we went to the beach for the weekend). I was up first and caught a baby that was on her way out when I got there. Then, Tiffany caught one and then 2 active labors walked in together around 3am. Laura was taking care of the first one when the second walked in and she realized it was her labor from earlier that evening, so she switched to care for that one.

That left the G3 mom (who usually go fast!) without a midwife while Ate Ermie (our supervisor who was up next) woke up... While she was focusing, I got gloves on ready to assist, but I could tell Ate Ermie didn't really want to catch a baby and so when she didn't make a move to put gloves on and instead started charting, I asked if she wanted me to catch and she said yes so I could catch more before coming home! Haha. Ok. That was fine with me because my other birth by that point wasn't needing me as much as most everything was done there. So the first picture is of Tiffany's baby on the left, Laura's in the middle and one of my two on the right. My other baby was transported to the hospital right after birth due to complications and was admitted there. Both Tiffany and I had 5 lb babies and Laura had a 7 lb baby which is normal but looked so big compared to ours!

So then, today, I was not up first, Jane was - and the birthroom was actually empty, but all the beds were made up prepared for a busy shift - so I actually blame the shift before us for the busyness of that day :) Jane got a labor and my fully walked in minutes after hers. Mine delivered right away - G4 (4th baby) and it was a beautiful birth. I was alone for some of it while the others were helping with Jane's birth but it was so easy and beautiful. Jane's delivered some minutes after mine.

A labor came in for Ate Steph soon after but she wasn't active, we kept her for a while to manage her hypertension, but then ended up transporting her for hypertension. Soooo, another labor came in who was mine since the hypertension girl was still there, but soon Ate Steph took over and she was only 5cm so she labor watched her the rest of the shift. At first I was grateful to have more time to concentrate on my first birth, but I knew that it wouldn't be long (the way shift was going) until I got another fully.

Sure enough minutes later a taxi pulls in laying on the horn. I grabbed some gloves and ran out the emergency door to find the taxi driver frantically pointing inside saying "baby coming, baby coming!!!" I look in and barely see the girl who looks like she could be coming in for prenatals who is getting money out to pay for the ride. I laugh and say the baby isn't coming out, but the taxi driver is insistant and so I help the girl out and as soon as she stands up a strong contraction hits and she doubles over! Wow. So I 1/2 carry 1/2 support her as she stumbles into the clinic and we get a bed prepared for her. This is her first baby ( G1), so even though she is fully before 11am, she didn't have her baby until 12:22pm.

It was a long, exhausting pushing stage that I wasn't sure we would be able to do, I was afraid we would end up transporting her for exhaustion and failure to progress, but with alot of help from me, and alot of cooperation from her, we did get her baby out. We almost cut an episiotomy because we were sure she would tear pretty bad without it, but Ate Steph wanted me to cut it and I didn't want to so we argued about that for one contraction, waited for one more and then the baby was coming and out, and it wasn't needed! We still thought she tore, but to our shock and utter delight God totally spared her tissues! No tear at all! The baby was so small (another 5 pounder - both of my babies today were as well as last Friday), but for some reason it was so difficult to push, but all is well that ends well.

I didn't get home until 4pm (shift ends at 2pm) but considering the fact that I am completely done - no more assignments, no more tests (except the NARM in August) to study for, it wasn't a problem. So now I am up to 87. Anyone care to place bets on what my final baby count will be before I leave here? :)

Graduation!

2008-07-02T07:20:00.000-07:00

Monday night was the big night - 6 of us girls who started our training in the fall of 2006 (which at times seems like forever ago, at times seems like yesterday) marched forward and received diplomas and congratulations as we officially (except we all still need to pass the NARM - so you can continue to pray for that, it will happen in August for me) became midwives with an Associate's Degree. God is so faithful - He brought us here and has strengthened and encouraged and made us effective witnesses for Him as we have learned the art of midwifery.

Beach Grad Party '08

2008-07-02T06:25:00.000-07:00

For Graduation Weekend we were all not scheduled to work (or finagled the schedule to our liking) so that we were able to spend Saturday, Sunday and the very first hours of Monday at a beach celebrating. It was here that we found out that we all passed the final exam! How exciting!

We did many fun things - and these pictures are just a quick snapshot, so if you want to see more with more stories please see my photo album on facebook. Thanks!

75+ Baby Celebration

2008-06-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

From the beginning, my girls and me :) have thought it fitting to celebrate certain landmarks. We celebrated once everyone had caught/delivered 25 babies, then 50, but then life got insanely busy, and our 75 baby celebration got semi delayed, that's why it's called 75+. Most of us are in the 80's now, with Superstar TK being in the lead with 97!! But the important thing is that the celebration did happen, and as expected, it was an amazing time had by all.

We went to the mall first for a Filipino ice treat called halo-halo and were playing the card game scum when we were told cards were not allowed in the mall! Opps... So we finished up there, and went bowling which was so great. After that we were pretty hungry so we tried out this new Indian restaurant and the food was amazing! To get to the restaurant though we got in a jeep that didn't look as full as it really was, so a couple people were on laps thus the pic of me and my human picture frame :)

After dinner we got off the jeepney early and walked the rest of the way home and had a blast taking different pictures. The shadow ones are so much fun - try and figure out what we are doing in both - hint the first one is semi-midwifery related, and the second has to do with us graduating this year. If you figure it out - leave a comment :)

Chix and my 21 hour shift

2008-06-15T04:19:00.000-07:00

I took Chix as a continuity (meaning I am responsible for all her care during pregnancy and birth and after. I did her initial prenatal, and ended up doing 10 prenatals with her - all of them! (unusual because sometimes scheduling conflicts can arise and another midwife may cover for another, but in Chix' case I did them all). I took her as a continuity because through pregnancy she was 16 years old (turned 17 in January) and a vegan! I didn't know they had vegans in this country, but I guess they do! Both her and her partner are vegans, and I wanted her to have one-on-one care to make sure nutritionally she was caring for herself and her baby well.

She came into the clinic yesterday (6/14) at 8:40pm while I was on shift (I was there from 2-10pm) but was still in early labor, so I sent her home to rest and labor a little more before returning. I tried to stress it would take many more hours, and to try and wait until the next morning to come back (I was on shift again from 6am-2pm the next day), but through a group effort I was finally woken up at 1am saying she was back and more active.

So I got to the clinic some minutes later carrying my pillow and asking God for strength to do what was ahead of me. I checked her in, and sure enough, she had just passed over the early labor phase and was entering into active labor. It was a long night for all three of us, but John (her partner) was a great support to her and as 6am rolled around, she was ready to have her baby.

WARNING: The story continues in a semi-detailed manner below this picture - not for the faint of heart (and/or stomach) :)

When her water broke it looked like thick mud instead of clear water. I immediately called in reinforcements and we did everything we could including me using alot of muscle to get the baby out as fast as we could. Fortunately her baby handled birth well, and she pushed like a pro. We gave Chix oxygen and that helped the process immensely, along with lots of prayer of course.

The baby was born pretty stable, although with low normal apgar scores of 5 and 7 (10is best). We still had a plan to refer him though because of the meconium staining in the water. We got him to breastfeed finally and were packing him up to go to the hospital, but waited a little while longer because Chix needed attention, and although I will spare you the details on that one, suffice to say her uterus wouldn't clamp down and stop bleeding so we transported them both at the same time.

I returned from the hospital at 9:30am and even though I was bordering on exhaustion, I needed to remain at the clinic because I was on shift until 2pm. The good thing was that it wasn't busy at all, so we were all able to rest a little bit.

I left the clinic at 2pm after being there for 21 hours 2pm on 6/14 - 2pm on 6/15 with only a 3 hour break from 10pm to 1am. I slept for a few hours this afternoon and plan to do a little more sleeping after finishing this post :) Both mom and baby are stable at the hospital now, and I will be able to visit them in the morning.

A God Thing

2008-06-06T05:16:00.000-07:00

I met Analou about 2 weeks ago. She was 39 weeks pregnant and her baby was transverse (horizontal in the mom's tummy intead of up and down)It was easy to move the baby to a cephalic (head down position) so we sent her home saying she needed to start doing things to stimulate labor and to do deep squatting to help the head stay down.

The next week, a supervisor midwife did the prenatal on her, and she was breech :( She tried to turn the baby to cephalic, but it didn't work, so she advised her to prepare money now for a possible hospital transport later.

Then, today Analou texts me this morning asking if I will do a prenatal on her, but I was recovering from a long night shift so I told her unless she really needed me to come, to please have another midwife on duty do the prenatal. She was fine with that and a different supervisor did the prenatal declaring her breech and for transport.

Analou then texted me again this evening saying she was sorry for disturbing me (which I promptly informed her she was not doing) but would I be able to do a prenatal on her this evening again? She would come back to Mercy. She was so sure that if i did the prenatal she wouldn't be breech anymore. I warned her that the likelyhood of that being true was slim to none, but that I would love to see her tonight anyway and do what I could to help.

When I first felt her baby's position it screamed cephalic position to me, the head was felt clearly in the lower abdomen, but I didn't want to give her false hope, so i continued to palpate much longer than necessary, checked for fetal heart tones and then even called in a supervisor to double check. She confirmed that the baby was indeed cephalic, so we "untransported" her, put her file back in the working cabinate and told her to come back on Tuesday.

Please pray with me that her baby stays cephalic - his head is still pretty high which means he can move back to breech pretty easily. I told her to do squatting exercises and pray with me, but it would be wonderful if we could have more than just the two of us praying.

Thanks! I will keep you updated.

WAHOOO!!!!!

2008-06-03T15:58:00.000-07:00

Hi Jennifer,

We have just reviewed and updated your file. It is complete and we will be able to send the permission letter to NARM for you to take the exam in August.

Good luck,

Lisa & Anna

Fresh Newborns

2008-05-31T02:41:00.000-07:00

I got sentimental as I thought about how I have delivered/caught 80 babies now and how soon I will be leaving this wonderful place that has made me the midwife that I am today, so spent my morning playing with photographs of babies I have delivered in the last year and a half. I hope it's as fun to look at as it was to make :)

Commitment to finishing the task :)

2008-05-24T00:17:00.000-07:00

In order to graduate, we all had to get 30 well woman exams. It doesn't sound so hard, I know, but they take a long time, and one must remember that in my line of work it is semi-difficult to find non-pregnant women (as the exam specifies) to do the examination on...

I needed 6 more a few days ago, and so I figured it was as good a time as any to go out to Panacan to visit a continuity (see old blog post titled Panacan Kids) and try and finish them. I didn't get out there until 3pm which wasn't so good cause when it rains there, the roads are almost impossible - not rocks or sand to break up the muddy clay path and no real lighting to speak of.

It started to rain about 4:30pm, and I knew I was in trouble. I was still doing exams, and after 3 of them, it had been raining pretty hard for an hour, at which point my patient decided it would be best for me to sleep over!

I thanked her for the offer, but she helped me brave the mud, and I didn't even fall! My shoes suffered for sure though - as you can imagine they looked nothing like this before the walk!

Back to Davao!

2008-05-14T04:55:00.000-07:00

Lois and I arrived back in Davao on Tuesday, the 13th at noon after a long day and a half of traveling. We left Tabuk on Monday morning at 8am, took a few jeepneys (rode on top of one) to get 2 hours south to the place that I grew up. It was so much fun to take the few hours of that day and show Lois where I grew up and introduce her to some of the people who mean so much to me.

Then, that night, we got on the bus heading for Manila - left Cauayan at 8pm and arrived there at 6am. Got to the airport before 7am for a flight that didn't leave until 10:30am! But that wasn't a problem at all because Lois has an Elite Membership with Phil. Airlines now from flying home and what not, so we hung out in the Elite lounge! It was so great.

We got home, I went swimming for an hour, and as I was finishing unpacking, my continuity, Neda (see pictures) texted me to ask if I had arrived back in Davao yet or not? I thought it was a hi, hello kind of text, but it turned out to be a "I'm in labor and really hope you are back!" kind of text instead! I was surprised, because I had another girl due before her, and so wasn't expecting her to be in labor yet!

But she arrived at the clinic at 9:30pm and had her baby at 10:53pm! God is so good, a nice time spent with her, but not a long and difficult labor which was such a blessing since I could barely keep my eyes open - I hadn't slept well on the night bus before. I was in bed by 1:45am and that was so nice!

Neda did have an ultrasound about 2 months ago, and was given 70% odds that the baby she was carrying was a girl, but when the baby came out - it was most definately not a girl! So this little boy has pink mittens and foot covers and bottles for a while! So funny :)

On top of the world...or a jeepney :)

2008-05-06T06:59:00.000-07:00

So, when I deliver a baby in the MMC clinic in Davao, I always take pictures of my patient with her baby and family and do a little bribing action telling them I will have copies developed for them if they come back for their baby check ups. It's not hard for me to get them printed, just a quick ride to a mall nearby.
But... I made the same promise to my patient here in Tabuk and getting pictures developed for her was a whole 'nother story! I found out they only develop film in the town here, and so I would have to go to another city (about 1 hour away) to develop them.

I thought about waiting to go with the people from the clinic, but they were going too late, and I didn't know if my patient would be able to come back again after her appointment tomorrow. So, Lois and I made an adventure of it. We took a van there, which was fun enough, did shopping, printed the pictures and bought yummy stuff to make hamburgers for dinner to celebrate one of the girls here passing her board exam!

But what made it all worth it was the ride home! We saw the jeep pull up to the waiting shed where Lois and I waited with many other people, but couldn't seem to get in - someone was always in front of us! Then, we looked at each other, smiled, and asked if we could ride on top. The answer was yes, and we had an absolute blast. The world is prettier from the top of a jeepney, and we have pictures to prove it! :)

1st Tabuk Baby :)

2008-04-28T22:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a patient came in to the clinic reporting some contractions. She had never been to AGOG (abundant grace of god) clinic, so I went through the whole initial prenatal with her and then did a labor check in. She was in early labor on the brink of entering the active phase.

She went home with her aunt to eat some lunch for a few hours and came back and we hung out for the afternoon, her contractions getting stronger, but still having long periods in between them.

Her baby boy was born at 12:37am, after a difficult pushing stage, but she handled it like a champ.

Tabuk Outreach 1

2008-04-25T00:45:00.000-07:00

There haven't been any labors or births yet since I have arrived, but we did an outreach this morning to a village about 30 minutes drive out of Tabuk and had a great time with the people that came out to see us. We did a postpartum health teaching, caring for the mom, the baby etc, and then had merienda (snack) with black very sweet coffee, and sweet bread and then did some checkups. Everyone wanted their blood pressure taken.

This sweet, funny lady (who we guessed through her stories was in her 70's) kept telling us (Lois and I) that we should marry a Filipino man from her area, we laughed and said the problem is that we are both so tall, and so it is hard to find one taller than us! She then agreed that yes, that would be hard :)

The people here speak many different tribal languages depending on where one visits, in this village they mostly spoke a language called Buk-Buk, but most of them could understand and converse well in Illokano (a language I am fluent in from childhood) so that was very fun to sit around and talk with them after the check-ups.

Angus = Ginhawa = Breathe

2008-04-23T20:28:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would give you all a few photos of Tabuk where Lois and I are serving for the next 3 weeks. We were given this opportunity to help at this clinic while the director (a girl who interned at MMC for a time) is in Canada. She just gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.

This is the view from my window in the room I am sharing with Lois. We also have the most amazing mosquito net ever over our bed that makes us feel like princesses :)

This is the sign for the clinic with a carabao grazing in front of it. Either he is very friendly and wanted to come and see me or didn't like me and was considering charging at me because he was grazing, paying no one any mind until I got there and took pics. Then he looked up at me and in this next picture started to walk towards me. Needless to say, that was the last picture I took of him before slowly moving back into the clinic gate where his rope wouldn't allow him to go.
This is Zenny (pronounced Senny) the head midwife at the clinic while Georgia is away. She is absolutely wonderful. This is our outdoor shower and bathroom (i.e. CR). The shower is incredible - OC girls - be jealous. :) It may be homemade, but the water pressure is amazing!
This is the pump outside for laundry. Cool looking eh? Sarah de Mello - if you are reading this, I thought of you when I first saw it!
Of course, we do still have time to get online and do computer work as you can see :) We have wireless in the clinic, so keep in touch!

To the wonderful Mothers-Of-Multiples mom:

2008-04-21T03:25:00.000-07:00

My mom came to visit a few weeks ago in March and brought with her a whole suitcase full of cloth diapers that snapped shut and had plastic pants to cover them. She said she was given them by a mother from her group of Mothers of Multiples. She had wanted them to be given to moms who really needed them.

I think this was really the right choice - I have given many away already to some of my patients like Jenelyn (who I wrote about in a recent post below) who is the 20 year old beautiful mother of 2 in pink in these pictures.

I was doing a health teaching on breastfeeding, and I always love to bring prizes with me to encourage group participation, and this time I brought 6 of the diapers with the plastic covers. My first question found me a winner of 1 - out of a group of 60 patients, only one had breastfed for 2 years.

I asked other questions - like what is the first milk called that a mother gets while she is still pregnant? I gave a prize to one mother who knew this answer - and continued to explain the importance of colostrum. Many of the mothers here need to be told over and over that yes, they do have milk as soon as their baby is born!

One of the mothers who knew an answer and got a diaper as a prize was actually a continuity of my friend Lois, and Lois later told me she had tried to abort this baby 5 times! None of the times had worked, and now she is actually excited to be pregnant. She is in her 2nd trimester, and said thank you so much for the diaper - it was the first thing she has for her baby, and she is so excited to go home and start packing a bag for delivery!

So again, my deepest thanks to this mom from MVMOM's group who so generously has blessed many lives here in the Philippines. If anyone has any other items they would like to donate, please contact me via the email address on my blog to arrange it. Money could also be designated to buy special things for these moms and their babies. Thank you.

Surprise Twins!

2008-04-21T02:44:00.001-07:00

I think the title really says it all... We had a surprise twin delivery at MMC recently! Usually we are very good at finding signs pointing to multiple pregnancies in which case we request ultrasounds and we continue their prenatals, but refer them for delivery at the hospital due to midwife/doctor regulations.

This time, however, the mom went through the whole pregnancy and no one knew - actually no one knew until the first baby came out much smaller than expected (5 pounds something) for the mom's tummy size, so the supervisor (Krys) put a doppler (to hear the baby's hearttones) on the mom's stomach and sure enough another heartbeat was immediately found! The next baby that delivered was much smaller only weighing in at about 3 pounds, but both of them were healthy!

Both parents and midwives at Mercy were shocked and there was alot of to-do around MMC (as this was the first twin delivery in the almost 2 years that I have been here). I wasn't there for the birth, I was upstairs doing prenatals :( but I got to see the babies just after and it was amazing.
These pictures are from a few days after the birth - the mom was anemic during pregnancy and wouldn't stop bleeding after birth, so she was transported to the hospital, but Naomi (the 1st year midwife who delivered the babies) is actually a mom of two and is still breastfeeding so it worked out perfectly for her to take the babies home to continue breastfeeding and make sure that they didn't get sick in the hospital. Glad to report they are still doing so well, but please continue to pray for these little girls and their mom who is in stable condition now, but still in the hospital.

Jenelyn Navarro

2008-04-21T02:10:00.000-07:00

I was in the prenatal room getting a grocery check one monday a long time ago - last November actually - and saw Jenelyn getting her initial prenatal done. I knew I would very much enjoy being her midwife and so asked if she would be ok with that, so I picked her up as a continuity even though I wasn't even on shift! (Got teased for that one to be sure!)

We have had a great run of it - she is 20 and this was her second baby. She got to meet my mom when she was here this last March, and I knew I was cutting it close when i agreed to go to this clinic in Tabuk to help out for the next 3 weeks, but I just asked her to have her baby a week early :)

She said she would try, and I prayed with her that God would bring this little one out in His good timing, and continued to pray on my own because I really wanted to deliver her baby, and God answers prayers better than we can pray for them! I asked on Wednesday night - April 16 - that she be in labor the next day because I knew I wasn't busy that day and I knew it would give us enough time to do the birth well and then even get a baby check in before I left. And wouldn't you know it, I got a great sleep, had a shower and even had coffee made when I got the text saying she was in labor! I 1/2 expected her to be in early labor, but also was hoping she was active. The second was true - I checked her in at 9:30am and she had her baby boy, Bernardo, named after the dad's grandpa who raised him at 11:08am!

Mom - The last pictures are for you - thanks so much for the beautiful girls' clothes and diapers and stuff. I hardly have any left! I gave Jenely diapers for her baby boy that I delivered, and some of the dresses and God's 1,2,3's and colors for their older daughter, Lovely Jane.

We had a hard time getting Lovely to look at the camera! And yes - this amazing Filipina just had a baby 4 days ago!

Last Assignment!

2008-04-12T05:41:00.001-07:00

After almost 2 years of working hard and expanding our brains, we have finally reached the end!

For me, for now, I don't plan on going back to school, so this could very well be the very last assignment I ever turn in! Of course this doesn't mean that we are completely done, now we enter into the preparation phase for taking our board exam from NARM this August. We will be taking tests every week on different subjects from prenatals to delivery to postpartum and everything in between.

So here goes nothing!

Pictures of the Freeman Girls in Cauayan

2008-04-11T23:33:00.000-07:00

Just a few more pictures from the rest of our trip. Enjoy :)

Pictures of my Mom and Sister in Davao

2008-04-05T05:59:00.000-07:00

There has been a severe lack of pictures on my blog as of late, so to make up for that, here are some pictures from the time my mom, sister and Ate Mae (a Filipina from Luzon who is like a sister to me) were in Davao.

We did lots of fun tourist type things, and they got to watch me deliver one baby - which ended up being a very difficult birth, so the day we left for Manila we went in to watch my teammate, Jenna deliver a baby (her 75th!) which was uncomplicated and a good one to leave them with.

So enjoy :)

More pictures to come from the Cauayan portion of our trip at a later date since I am struggling to keep my eyes open at this point.

Mom and Rebecca

2008-03-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update... I was so excited to greet my mom and sister and my ate Mae who has been a dear friend of mine since I was little and who visited from Luzon on Monday the 24th. We had a whirlwind of a time in Davao, not quite one week together, but they still managed to see two births, one of my handles which was a difficult birth, but then a more normal one handled by Jenna on the day we left Davao.

We also had plenty of time for Rebecca to eat at least one halo-halo a day, and visit souvenier shops and get a foot/back massage as well. It was a good time had by all I believe, and now we are at the other end of the country, in the north, visiting friends from when we lived here as a family.

We had Sunday service in the church my parents planted, and my mom gave a message on being like David. He spent time singing and being with God while he was still a shepard, so he wasn't afraid to fight the giant in life later. It was a good time after that visiting with so many people from around that came to see us and talk about the good old times. One of the girls I regard as an older sister, a helper who lived with us when we were in the RP is now pregnant with her 2nd baby! So exciting. I told her to come to Davao so I could be her midwife :)

Sorry there aren't pictures to add to this post, I will post them as soon as I return to Davao. Also, my March newsletter will have to be a little late as well... opps.

Mom and Sis are coming!!!!

2008-03-21T19:54:00.000-07:00

I am so excited for MONDAY! My mom (Carol) and my 15 year old sister (Rebecca) are coming to visit me along with one of my good Filipina friends (Ate Mae)! It will be their first time to come see what I do here in Davao, and we have a jam packed schedule. I sure hope that jet lag won't be a problem, cause I didn't schedule much time in for recovery! And - I am really really hoping to catch a baby while they are here - so please pray for that, and safe travels. After a week here in Davao, all of us will go far up north on the Luzon island to visit with old friends from the years that Rebecca and I grew up in the RP. It should be an amazing trip all around. Dad - thanks so much for lending your wife to me and making it all happen (a.k.a. so many, many miles given for the trip and Becca's passport :)

Lois' Birthday - 23 years!

2008-03-20T01:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Lois' birthday! It was so much fun - we had some fun times over bagels (homemade!) and then we went to people's park and out for lunch with Celeste (Lois' continuity but who I delivered cause she was in Manila) and with a few friends.

We were trying hard to keep the dinner part a surprise, but of course Lois knew. She tried to act surprised - valiant effort!

After the dinner part, we stuffed 17 girls into the Germain's jeepney! Talk about a full ride!

And these pictures are just for fun! We tried to do fun faces in honor of Lois (she always does really funny faces!) These just turned out really funny!

67th Handle - Lowena

2008-03-16T20:31:00.000-07:00

I took these pictures within the hour after birth, and absolutely love them! What a beautiful mom and baby. Just wanted to share. :)

It was a hard birth - she came in fully dilated at 10:30am, but didn't deliver until 11:45. This was her 3rd pregnancy, the first ended in a miscarriage, and the second she delivered at the hospital because she was transported due to hypertension (high blood pressure).

So this one even though it was her 2nd baby was like her first. She couldn't understand that she needed to push her baby out, and that I wouldn't do it for her. It could have been an easy, fast birth, but still was good even though it was long.

And the postpartum was great. She was so strong and fun to get to know.

Outing with Sara and Neda

2008-03-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

I went out for lunch with Sara and Neda after doing Neda's prenatal. I met Neda through Sara who was my continuity a few months ago, but who I had to transport due to prolonged labor (etc). I went to the hospital to meet Sara's baby and check on her and found out her older sister (Neda) was pregnant!

So then I became her midwife now and she is doing really great so far. After lunch Neda and I went to get an ultrasound because Neda wanted to find out if it was a boy or girl - and we found out that her chance of having a girl (which is what she wants) is 70%! Fun.

Neda has a sad story - she got married and had her first baby, but her husband committed suicide a few days after the wedding. No one ever knew why. She raised her boy for a long time by herself, but now she has a boyfriend who has raised her boy as his own. Now she is pregnant and I am her midwife :)

It was a very fun day, and we hope to go to church together this Easter.

A Synopsis:

2008-03-04T19:54:00.000-08:00

I haven't had much time to blog lately, and let me tell you why:
I worked from 2pm-10pm on Saturday, 2/23, 6am - 2pm on both 2/24 and 2/25, I had the 26th off, then worked 6am-2pm on the 27th, 7:45am to 12pm on the 28th, and then 2pm to 10pm on the 29th. Phew.

After all of those shifts, I was ready for the 3 day weekend ahead of me, but had in the back of my mind that it really wasn't going to be a 3 day weekend, because my continuity, Viowelyn Calderon or Viewe was showing signs of beginning labor.

Sure enough I got a call on Sunday morning and met Viewe at the clinic. She was in very early labor, so we both went back home and she promised to text me (what they do here instead of call). I decided to text her about 4pm just to see how she was since I hadn't heard from her, and to my surprise she was already on her way to the clinic! Yikes. I tried to ask her to stay at home for a little while longer knowing she would most likely still be in early labor, but they were already on their way, and it was raining hard where they lived (about 1 hour away) so they needed to get to the clinic while they still could.

So that meant we were both in it for the long haul! She was still in early labor when I checked her in again at 5pm, but heading into active labor. I brought everything over including my pillow thinking I would be there all of night shift and then into day shift as well, but amazingly enough she progressed really fast - mostly due to the fact that her baby was already very much engaged.

Little David Apollo joined us at 11:23pm that night, and although I was up straight then until 3am, I was much happier to do that than stay all through night and day shift with her knowing we would both get exhausted if we did that. The birth was somewhat difficult, but Viewe was a trooper to be sure.

So, that was right in the middle of my "3 day weekend," but I was more than happy to share that special time with Viewe and her new baby. I took Viewe as a continuity because she was a single mom of 20, and was in school for restaurant management through her whole pregnancy. Coming to prenatals on time would have meant missing class for that day, so being her midwife I was able to let her come at whatever time was good for her which made it so she didn't have to miss school.

Please keep Viewe in your prayers along with her new baby boy, David Apollo.

Endorsement Babies!

2008-02-22T06:21:00.000-08:00

No one can ever say that life is boring when midwifery is in the picture! My last two shifts where I caught babies happened to be day shifts where my shift starts at 6am, but I always try to arrive a little early just in case there is any action...

Sure enough, on Feb. 16, I arrived at 5:45, and a lady had walked in and was ready to push. The girls on night shift were glad for my early arrival because otherwise one of them would have had to stay for at least 1 hour after shift to finish up paperwork and mother/baby care, and after being on duty all night, that is the last thing you want to do especially if the woman just walked in and no relationship is formed... Gerlin ended up delivering at 6:15am.

As if that wasn't exciting enough, this morning I work up bright and early at 5:10 to have plenty of time to get scrubs and make coffee, but was so sleepy, I did something I barely ever do - I reset my alarm for 5:30am since my hair was done already and I was SO tired! Ha. I still had plenty of time though I guess, because I arrived at work at 5:50am and once again caught an endorsement baby. Kristine Joy was in a much bigger hurry, she joined us at 6:01am! This mom - Analiza - had a really hard time not pushing when she shouldn't (too allow for full dilation) and listening to us as we tried to help her, but after the baby was out, she was a completely different person, calm and serene, telling her baby stories about how she really needed to breastfeed well so that I would let them go home and so she could meet her "kua" (big brother) who was waiting at home for her!

Both births were great, and because they both happened in the 6am time frame, I was completely done with everything only a few hours later, and had plenty of time to chat and hang out with the families.

Jelly Belly Party

2008-02-01T03:42:00.000-08:00

At a loss for something fun to do when you are bored? Don't worry, I have a solution! A jelly belly picnic! It was so much fun, Jenna and I found recipes for all sorts of combinations of jelly beans to mix to make so many yummy things, we made chocolate covered cherries, lemon merangue pie, coffee drinks and believe it or not even blueberry and raspberry muffins! And it is so easy to make all those things! The blueberry muffin is 2 blueberry beans + 1 butter one. (Sounds gross, but believe me it is so good!) Anyway, here are a few fun pics for you:

Belly Cast - from start to finish

2008-02-01T03:01:00.001-08:00

Some of you know that I had an art project due that had to do with midwifery and I made a belly cast. I thought I would post a few pictures to show you the process from start to finish just because it is so fun. Enjoy...

Adesina is back!

2008-01-25T20:02:00.001-08:00

Some of you may remember my Nigerian Continuity who I took care of last year. She and her husband, Richard were here in the RP in Bible School, and she got pregnant and needed medical care. She didn't speak any Visayan, so she needed to be someone's continuity.

A few months before she delivered, Adesina and Richard had visa problems and had to return to Nigeria to figure it out. Since she was only a few months from delivering, she would deliver there. I knew they were planning to return, but hadn't heard from them in a while, so when she texted me saying they were back with their son, we immediately arranged for them to come to the clinic and visit.

It was a wonderful time, Jedidiah is so big now, 6 months almost and 18 pounds! Many of the midwives around remembered Adesina, and were amazed to meet her son. She said the birth still went very well, and now she is happy to be back here (she really didn't like it when she was pregnant!) and is even learning a little Visayan. She is a wonderful mom.

New Carmen Outreach

2008-01-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

With the new church I attend called His Mission Christian Fellowship (HMCF), I was given the opportunity to go to a place about 1 hour outside of the city called New Carmen. The people that live there used to live directly on a huge mountain made up of garbage. They would collect tin cans and plastic items hoping to make up to 100 pesos a day or a little less than $2 to feed their families. These people had never been trained in farming or any other way to make money.

The FIRE team (the leaders of HMCF church) started working out in New Carmen a few years ago, and the government had not yet gone out there to do the cleanup that is now in process. The people were still living directly on top of the garbage and had no access to steady income, education or medical care.

When Mike (a leader of FIRE team) came in to New Carmen on outreaches, he met a Filipino man who owned land on another mountain nearby, and when this man knew that Mike really had a heart for the people, he told him that he had had a dream a while back that a white man would come into the area and need land for the people to relocate to. He then gave this land to Mike and wouldn't take any money for it at all!

Now, the whole village has been moved there, and houses slowly have been built through the support of many many people and teams coming in who built homes for these people. They have a church there now and a small school where Grace (the Filipina who invited me to come to New Carmen) teaches first grade. They can only teach preschool and 1st grade now, and can't accept students older than 10 years old because they don't have enough staff or teaching supplies/space. They hope to slowly expand the school to educate more of the kids. Many of these people do not read or write.

The government is in the process of building a processing plant over the covered up mountain of garbage which will hopefully in the next year be up and running and will process the garbage so that this will not happen again.

Grace had asked me to buy some worm medicine if I could for the kids, because some of them for sure needed it really badly, and that started my adventure trying to find it at an affordable price. The first price quoted to me was one dose for $3. If I had wanted to treat only a few children, that would have been fine, but not for the 60 kids that needed medicine. So I enlisted the help of Joe Germain who is the husband of one of our midwives at Mercy, and he directed me to a store that sold in bulk. I ended up being able to buy 32 bottles for only $10!!! God is so good to provide the medicine and the money with which I bought it. To my supporters: You guys are directly responsible for providing this medicine to the children of this village, so thank you for your faithfulness.

I was accompanied by Michelle who is a 1st year midwife at Mercy, and we did open-air prenatals on about 15 women all in different stages of pregnancy. It was their first prenatal this pregnancy, and will be their last unless I am able to return. Some were 7 months pregnant, others were not as far along. They all have their babies at home with only their families attending them. Please pray with me that God will help me to know what my role is in helping these women. My heart breaks for them, and I want so badly to do what I can, but I also want to do it only if this is what God has for me.

One of the ladies Michelle did a prenatal on she found to have extremely high blood pressure - 180/110! This lady - Vicky Rizal, thought she was about 6 months pregnant, but neither Michelle or I could find fetal heart tones, or palpate a baby. We talked with her about her dates, and figured she might be 4 months along, but because of her high blood pressure and the fact that we couldn't find fetal heart tones, I asked Vicky to come to Davao with me to be checked out by the doctor. She couldn't afford it, so I told her I would pay for her medical expenses which turned out me paying for her labs, her transportation and food. Once again - to my supporters, this was your support allowing me to do this for Vicky.

Vicky ended up not being pregnant at all, and the lab tests turned out to be close to normal, one doctor found her blood pressure to be 160/100, but the next found it to be 140/90 which is only borderline high blood pressure, so he and I just gave her advice to keep it low and what to watch for so she would know if she needed to see a doctor.

If anyone has questions about this outreach at all, please email me. Blessings.

Busy Birthroom!

2008-01-16T04:52:00.000-08:00

When Sarah, Michelle (1st year girls) and I arrived at 5:50am, all seemed very quiet, but that changed quickly. This turned out to be one of the busiest shifts I have had in a very long time!

At about 6:05am a mom pregnant with her 3rd came in and said, "no I can't go to the bathroom, the baby is coming!" So we rushed her to the bed, and sure enough a handsome little boy joined us at 6:23am!

Then, just as things were settling down, another girl walked in, but this was her first baby, and she barely looked pregnant (sound familiar mom?) She said she felt like the baby was coming, but she had a big UTI which makes contractions seem worse than they really are so my supervisor sent her to the bathroom anyway. She came right back out, not having been able to pee, laid down on the bed, and once again, not long after her little baby Angle Norraine joined us! She was so beautiful. Her mom's tummy was just barely pregnant looking (several cm's smaller than we like to see at her gestation) so when her baby came out, her stomach was actually concave! Angel's dad was amazing - bringing a towel to support the mom's arm while she breastfed and singing to his baby!

While I was assisting in this birth, Sarah checked in a labor for me. Sarah sent her outside to walk around until I could do her internal exam, and we both expected to send her home because it seemed she was in latent labor. First baby also. However, to our surprise, she was already 8cm and the baby's head was incredibly low (which means it won't take long to dilate the rest of the way!) I was blown away!

So I continued to check in with Ai-Ai (short for Aires) and did 2 baby checks. As I was doing the 2nd one, the guard said "Labor! - Active!" Yikes! We tried to find Ate May since she was next up, but couldn't, so we asked her to pee even though I didn't think that was a good idea at this point, and then brought her inside. She was fully, and Sarah was all set to catch her baby when Ate May came in and took over :) She had a few complications, I continued to assist Ate May while waiting for Sarah to finish her baby check up. This lady's blood pressure was high (130/100), but when Sarah took over I ran out to try and do my other baby check up. I managed to get in a consise teach in on family planning because this was her last check up and she had no idea what method she wanted to use. Just as I was finishing the teaching, I was called in to insert an IV. I prayed so hard as I was preparing it because I knew she needed the IV fast and my last shift I had blown 2 insertions so I was nervous. But I asked God to really steady my hand and help me, and that is exactly what He did! I got it in the first try without Ate May right there guiding my hand! I think this is the first time that I inserted an IV all on my own and really felt like I knew what I was doing! Praise God! I ran back out after inserting the IV sent my baby check home, and then Ai-Ai wanted to push!

Wow. So I went back inside and although head was visible, she had a cervical lip and I tried so hard to work with her on positions so that she could control the urge to push until it was gone, but it was so hard, she just had to push. She ended up birthing on the birthstool, and it was a good birth, but she still had 2 small tears and needed to be sutured. The placenta needed some "coaxing" to get it out completely, and we had to give pitocin to control the bleeding, but otherwise it went well.

At this point it is heading on towards 1:30... I did another baby check up in between my 5 minute checks and then the new midwives for the next shift started to show. I ended up staying past shift a bit to continue paperwork and get it all as organized as possible for Laura who continued Ai-Ai's care. As I was finally leaving, another labor walked in and had her baby within 10 minutes!

I had had only coffee for breakfast, and no lunch yet, so I grabbed some leftovers really quick and went up to class where we were supposed to share on a midwife we had researched. (meaning Laura - who was extremely busy in the birthroom and Tiffany whose continuity had just delivered!) So that didn't happen, instead I listened to other people's presentations and we will present next time.

Phew. Sorry about the longness (not a word I know) for this post, but I couldn't make it short, it would have taken the excitement away. I got home at about 4pm and laid down to take a short nap until dinner, but ended up sleeping through it and eating leftovers again at 7:30pm! I love my life :)

About the pics:
Top: Ate Chi-Chi giving her daughter a bath in the laundry area - just too cute.
Middle: Sophia Hope, my continuities' baby (Emilou Maghinay) It was her 3rd day bb check.
Bottom: Aires (Ai-Ai) and her almost husband (Darwin) and their baby.

Maghinay Family

2008-01-14T23:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a very long day, but eventually rewarding. Emilou has been my continuity since the very beginning when I became her midwife on the first day she came to prenatals. We had become friends through the many months of pregnancy. Most of her pregnancy was uncomplicated, but then at about 34 weeks her baby turned breech, and didn't seem inclined to move to a cephalic position. We tried our best to convince her - we did external version a few times and Emilou was amazing at doing knee-chest position exercises everyday, but when those things weren't working I knew God was going to have to the convincing, and we prayed. To my absolute delight, at her last prenatal before labor, little Sophia Hope had turned cephalic!

Emilou labored all weekend, and we stayed in touch, but she did most of it at home. She did come to the clinic yesterday at 9am and from there, she labored mostly at the clinic where I was. Her husband was a trooper, he had worked through the night last night, so was very tired, but was a great support for his wife.

Although the labor took a long time, there weren't any complications, and I was glad she was able to labor in a safe environment where the pace was unhurried by medical interventions. Then, at around 12: 30am, Emilou wanted to push, and not long after that, their 3rd girl, Sophia Hope joined us. She has to be one of the most beautiful baby that I have seen in a long time!

Emilou kept bleeding through her postpartum checks, but after some pitocin, it stopped and we were golden once again. I was very glad to have been there for Emilou, she is a Christian as far as I can see from the way she prays and talks about her faith. If I hadn't been her midwife, she would have been transferred from shift to shift, having had at least 3 different care givers, and this way she didn't have to get used to new people each time new people came on shift.

2 Drivers Licenses for me!

2008-01-10T07:35:00.000-08:00

The only ones who drive around MMC are the guards and Matt and Krys, so M&K asked us gals in the 2nd year if we would be willing/interested in getting our Philippine DL's!. Of course we were all interested!

Laura and I went to the Land Transportation Office and waited in the most interesting lines to get this shiny new card to add to the ones in my wallet. We were there for most of the afternoon, and it was hot outside waiting, but an adventure none-the-less.

And now, I not only get to drive stick shift in a country where so far all I have gotten to do is ride public transportation, but I get to teach some of the girls like Laura who is excited to learn manual. Of course other than teaching the girls driving, we only get to drive on official Mercy business, so like a transport to the hospital or something like that, but it's fun to have none the less.

Oh yeah - and the best part of it all? When I told my dad I got my RP DL, he said, "Cool, so we were about the same age when we both got it!" He got his RP DL when he was 26 living here, and I just got it and I am 25! So funny.

January Statistics:

2008-01-10T06:37:00.000-08:00

I had a little bit of time on a shift right around the turn of the New Year, so I decided to tally up my births and see how they compared to each other. I felt before I did the tallies that I had so many more births for moms who had given birth before (Mulitparas) but it turned out that all my numbers were pretty close to each other. I then compared a few other points. It was quite fun to do, so I thought I would share my findings with you.

Multiparas = 32 total
Primiparas = 24 total

Babies less than 7 lbs. = 29 total
Babies more than 7 lbs. = 26 total

Moms equal to or less than 21 years of age = 27 total
Moms older than 21 = 24 total
Moms 35 years and older =4 total

New Year Baby!

2008-01-02T06:25:00.000-08:00

So I didn't deliver the first 2008 Mercy baby, but I did deliver the first girl at Mercy in the year of 2008! I was first up to receive a labor, and was endorsed a mom who was pregnant with her 3rd, (they usually don't show up until they are almost ready to have their babies) but this one was barely in labor, so since it was a slow morning, we let her stay, but the chances were slim that she would have her baby on my shift (and I really wanted a New Year's baby).

Another labor came in a few hours later, but it was the same situation! 5th pregnancy, 4th baby, but in very early labor! So weird. But when I was about to lose all hope, Sarah (who was 3rd up) got a labor who couldn't even go to the bathroom cause she was about to pop the baby out! Sarah had just had a very busy shift the day before, and needed rest, not another baby, so we switched labors, and it worked out perfectly.

Lailane (or Inday) laid down on the bed, I ran out to grab my blood pressure cuff so I could get at least a few of her vitals, and was outside when Tiffany called out "head visible!" Yikes! So I ran back in and really worked with her on her breathing so that I could get gloves on and a pad under her before her baby joined us. Inday named her baby Clear, and they made a beautiful family.

Welcome Year 2008!

2008-01-02T06:08:00.000-08:00

Last year we went to Claude's (a nice French restaurant) and all the girls got really dressed up and we got a private room. It was so much fun, that we decided to make it a tradition and did it again this year.

The girls started getting ready early... I went out with Jes and Michelle to buy some hot shoes (look at the picture of my shoe - it is hot!) and got pedicures. Then, we went home, I did Naomi's hair, took a shower, did my own hair, and then around 4pm all the other girls started getting ready and the party began.

We left the house in shifts, those of us who did other's people's hair and make-up (i.e. me and Lois) left a little later than the first group. I left last, going next door to pick up Shannon and Nikki who are team members of FIRE (I go to their church). It was so much fun getting to know them better.

Dinner was absolutely amazing - we don't go out like this hardly ever, but New Years was a good time to make an exception, and we partied it up good. Great dinner, great conversations and lots of laughing. Jenna even made an awesome New Year's game which included telling truths about ourselves, decoding carols, and making New Year's resolutions. So much fun.

After we left the restaurant, a few of the girls had night shift, so a couple of us went to the clinic with them and ate snacks (amazing we had room!) took fun pictures and learned about animals and their reproductive patterns (interesting I know, but we are midwives). Then we did the countdown and played with sparklers our neighbors were nice enough to share with us.

The Infamous ICard

2007-12-26T23:15:00.000-08:00

I finally found my name on the list of people who could come and claim their ICard. It isn't really a big deal, doesn't do much for me except allow me to leave and return to the RP without all the hassle, but it's still nice to have. Like the fruit of all the labor. It is a funny card - and has a funny picture of me as well, but fun to have nonetheless. At least I got it with a few months to spare. I saw some of my friends on the list who have long left already! I don't think they will be coming back to claim it! No more visits to the dreaded immigration office! :)

50 Baby Celebration

2007-12-23T19:44:00.000-08:00

So much to blog about, so little time... Anyways, sorry for the lack of posts lately, but here I am trying to make up for it. We have been so busy, we didn't get to celebrate catching 50 babies on time. By the time we got around to it, Tiffany had already caught 61, and others 58 and the rest of us a few more than 50! Oh well. It was a golden anniversary to remember anyways.

Marlowe and Dorothy are Lois' parents and they came to visit for the month of December. The most wonderful thing about them though is that they decided to be parents to all of us girls and so we all went to Paradise Island and had an amazing time getting to know Marlowe and Dorothy and bonding as a team.

We played games, we talked, we swam and ate and ate and ate! The whole weekend was on M&D and so us girls will always remember this as a very wonderful Christmas and our 50th celebration will always be a highlight of our time together.

We had a late night conversation the night we arrived after a rousing game of Dutch Blitz and really shared the hard things about life, the confusing things, the dreams and the hopes for the future. I am so blessed to be with the girls in my group.

Happy Birthday!

2007-12-23T05:54:00.000-08:00

It's taken me a long time to write about my birthday celebration because we have been too busy celebrating! We started the celebrating on December 15th because none of my teammates or I were working. So all 6 of us went up to Jack's Ridge and hung out together along with Marlowe and Dorothy (Lois' parents). We swam the afternoon away and then had a wonderful dinner together. December 15th was Laura's real birthday, and we celebrated mine early. Below are a few pictures from Jack's Ridge:

Then, on my real birthday, I went to pick up the most amazing package from my wonderful friend Bekah Witt which had all kinds of amazing letters and chocolate. I did have to take a test that afternoon, but I was ready for it, and that meant I only have clinic duty without other assignments for the next 2 weeks. Then, that night we had the most fun Christmas party ever. Krys McNeil, our director invested so much time to plan so many fun things for us. Here are a few pictures and videos from that night. Oh yeah, then I had night shift and so because there weren't any labors, we pulled out Cities and Knights and played until 1:30am! Good times :)

Celeste's Baby

2007-12-20T06:18:00.000-08:00

Most of you probably remember Celeste? She was Lois' continuity, but I had met her once, and she was willing to be my model for the pregnancy cast that I made. We had such a fun time (scroll down for pics).
I knew there was a chance I would end up delivering Celeste's baby because Lois was going to be in Manila picking up her parents the week she was due, but we all hoped she would make it back in time.
As luck would have it, she went into strong labor the day before Lois came back, so because this was her 3rd baby, there was no waiting for her. It was a good birth, here are a few pictures of it(edited). I brought in the belly cast I had made with Celeste, and I printed her baby's feet on the tummy of it (around the navel) and then we put Leoneiz Allyson in the cast to see how she fit. She did fit, but barely, and we had to take her right out again, because she didn't appreciate being squished after being able to stretch out for a few hours!

Panacan Kids

2007-12-09T02:03:00.000-08:00

I had the privilage of going to the town of Panacan to celebrate Ate Judes 5th Wedding Anniversary. Let me explain who she is in my life. I first met her through Rachel Tacada who was the mom of the 14th baby I delivered at Mercy. She is related to Rachel somehow -they have a big family it's hard to keep it straight :) Now, she is 5 months pregnant, so she is my continuity (I am doing all her prenatals, and will be on call to deliver her baby June 2008)

So, I went to her home in Panacan which is 1 long jeepney ride away, and when we got there, I felt like I was back in the village I grew up in! I felt right at home, the houses were made out of rattan, the road was small, dirt and bumpy, and the kids were over-the-top friendly! I had so much fun, especially when I took my camera out with me and started taking pictures. They were falling all over themselves to try and get their picture taken, it was so fun.

I will go back again in January after Ate Judes (pronouced Jud-is) next prenatal, and I will bring my fetascope etc so we can walk around and I can do some prenatals on some of her neighbors who are pregnant. I am so excited to have this opportunity to work in a rural setting. Enjoy the pics :)

New Scrubs!

2007-12-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

I was finally sucessful in getting scrubs made here! My mom had sent me material this time last year which I had made into some great scrubs (thanks mom!) but in the case of the missing scrubs, I was down to only having 2 pairs. This, mostly due to my having asked a different shop to make me 2 new tops in August and even though I gave them a shirt to copy, in the end it looked nothing like I wanted, and ended up being sexy enough for me to go clubbing in! Yikes. So now, those tops are being worn by my fellow midwives who are several sizes smaller than me Scrub pair #1 - cool material (both pattern wise and weather wise :)
Noah's Ark scrubs :)
Tweety Bird Scrubs!
Fish Scrubs, there are lots of funny fish on this, too bad it's too far away to see!
And finally the material that inspired it all. I bought the material for this top at home a few years ago, and never made anything with it, but brought it with me, and it made a great scrub top! All in all, for 5 tops and 3 pairs of pants it cost me $40 for all the material and labor. In the US (when I was home in September) I looked to buy scrub tops, and the cheapest top I could find at Wal-Mart was $15! So, in the US, all of these outfits would have cost anywhere from $135-210!!! So if anyone needs good scrubs for a cheap price, come here! :)

Tacada Wedding Anniversary

2007-12-04T18:49:00.000-08:00

I was invited to Rachel and Ate Germy's 2nd wedding anniversaries last Saturday. When we were talking about times, they "forgot" to mention the celebration wouldn't happen until that evening. I arrived at 11am thinking I was late, only to find out the party wouldn't start until many hours later! When I asked why they didn't tell me the time, they said because they wanted to hang out with me as long as I could!

So we had lunch together, I brought hair and makeup stuff and we did that for a while. Then, I was asked repeatedly to please take a nap. Hmm, I haven't done that in more years than I can count (unless I am really sick) so at first I politely refused, but finally succumbed after I was asked many times, and realized they probably wanted to nap as well, and only could if I slept. So I laid in a bed for about 1 1/2 hours and slept for the 1/2 hour part. Funny.

Then, I did the rest of the girls' hair and makeup making sure Rachel and Ate Germy looked nice as they were the guests of honor. I had night shift that night, and had to leave at 8:00pm to get home and get ready. 8pm turned into 8:30, and they wanted me to stay until 9:30 (which I declined as nicely as possible - good thing cause I got home as it was with only 1/2 an hour to spare before shift!)

I also made a batch of oatmeal fudge bars with a few of my precious peanut butter m&m's in it for my contribution. Everyone was delighted, they had never tasted anything so sweet before. Ate Shulamite's oldest son came to me, and said "that was so good and so sweet it made my teeth hurt!" It was all gone in 1/2 an hour, and all I took home was the empty pan :)

P.S. The reason why wedding anniversaries are such a big deal with this family is because they are Jehovah's Witness and are not allowed to celebrate birthdays or any other holidays. Please continue to pray for this family.

A little humor for your day :)

2007-12-04T18:27:00.000-08:00

My friend Jenna sent this to me in an email, and I thought it was quite funny. Sorry ladies, but it does have a point. Enjoy.

The Husband and Wife Store
A store that sells new husbands has just opened in New York City,where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates: You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value of the products increase as the shopper ascends the flights.The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the firstfloor the sign on the door reads: Floor 1 - These men Have Jobs. She is intrigued, but continues to the second floor, where the sign reads: Floor 2 - These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.'That's nice', she thinks, 'but I want more.' So she continues upward. The third floor sign reads: Floor 3 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good Looking.' Wow,' she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going. She goes to the fourth floor and the sign reads: Floor 4 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good lookingand Help With Housework. 'Oh, mercy me!' she exclaims, 'I can hardly stand it!' Still, she goesto the fifth floor and the sign reads: Floor 5 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, Helpwith Housework, and Have a Strong Romantic Streak. She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor, where the sign reads: Floor 6 - You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no menon this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please.Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.
To avoid gender bias charges, the store's owner opened a New Wivesstore just across the street.The first floor has wives that love sex.The second floor has wives that love sex and have money.The third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors have never been visited.

My Crazy Life :)

2007-12-03T19:58:00.000-08:00

Funny story... I worked night on Dec. 1st, and I was 3rd up (meaning 2 other midwives were in line ahead of me to catch a baby) which also means that I was supposed to receive any postpartum care. And, of course there was an immediate postpartum. She had given birth only minutes before my shift started, so nothing was done at all. I wasn't dreading it, but I wasn't looking forward to staying up all night doing this work either.

Then, to my absolute shock, my supervisor took the immediate postpartum and told the rest of us to sleep! I woke up on and off feeling a little guilty for sleeping when she was so busy, and didn't know why I was given the night to sleep.

When I got home a little after 6 am, I ate a quick bite of granola (I never eat before sleeping after night shift) and then slept in my scrubs (another thing that I never do).

The crazy thing is that it all started to make sense when I was woken up at 8:30am saying my continuity (Ronalyn) was in labor! Because I had slept a little during the night, and slept in my scrubs and my hair was still done, and I had eaten a little, I came straight over and to my utter surprise found Joy (Ronalyn) to be 8cm already! I would have laughed if anyone had told me that when I first saw her outside because she smiled so happily at me, and just chatted away as I was taking her vitals. I was sure I would be sending her home at about 2-3cm!

Since I had slept, I was able to be fully functioning that day (which is why God in His mercy allowed me to sleep the night before) and before I got to deliver Joy's baby the guard yelled that there had been a taxi birth! I had never seen that before, but since all the midwives on shift were in a birth, I ran outside putting gloves on only to find the baby completely out already! We cut the cord and brought both mom and baby inside. Only then did we find out she wasn't even a patient at Mercy! She had asked to be brought to a nearby clinic where she was having prenatals, but was brought here instead! Haha. She asked if she could stay, and of course we said yes :)

Then, Joy did get active, and had her baby at 11:56am. It was a beautiful birth, perfect with a perfect little girl at the end named Teesha Jezaree.

What a great day! :D

Jenny's November Update

2007-11-30T05:00:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends and Family,

November is thought to be a month of thanksgiving, and as I ponder that, I realize just how much I have to be thankful for- more than I could ever contain in a letter. Here are a few of them:…

Family, Friends and Loved Ones. I am so thankful for everyone who is a part of my life even though you are so far away from me at this point, because all of you are such a blessing. I could not do what I do here without the support each of you give through friendship, finances, and your prayers. It is so hard though to be far away from those that I love especially as we head into the holidays, and so that makes me so thankful that God has given me friends here, some of the midwives that I work with have become so special to me, and support and encourage me daily.

Mercy Maternity Center and all that it entails. When I first discovered this missions/midwifery program, I knew it was a perfect fit, because before this, I had thought I either needed to pursue missions and forget about midwifery, or pursue midwifery and forget about missions for the time. Then God brought me here to the Philippines, to a people I already love and has been teaching me so much more about that love and how to do missions and midwifery together.

Lessons learned as I live. God continues to speak into my life in so many different ways, and I am so thankful that He is such a patient God when it comes to teaching His children. He teaches me in many ways – through my patients, my friends, my church, and of course through my own personal time with Him. He is teaching me much about trusting Him especially where the future is concerned. Soon, I will be at a crossroads again as I hit graduation in July, but instead of only having to choose to turn left or right, I am finding the whole world open to me, and realizing just how many options are out there for me to choose as my next step. Every time I think about it, I have to stop and remind myself that until now He has been faithful, and shown Jeremiah 29:11-13 true, where as long I walk forward in His will, He is faithful to complete the good work He started in me.

Life remains full of life here at MMC, this month I hit a new record as I delivered 2 babies in one shift twice! My first time was a very busy night shift (10pm-6am) and I delivered my first baby at 10:28pm, a beautiful little girl. Then, my team mate Tiffany was in with an active labor along with my supervisor, and so I became the midwife for Dendimore because Michelle (a midwife-in-training still, having just arrived this September) was not delivering babies yet. Her baby boy was born at 12:03am. Both were wonderful births, and although I wasn’t able to do any sleeping that night, I enjoyed it immensely.

My second time delivering 2 babies in a row happened only a few days later! I was on swing shift (2pm-10pm), and delivered my first baby, a boy at 3:46pm. My supervisor was delivering her own baby in the cubicle right next to mine, and her baby came out minutes after mine. We had a little friendly competition to see who could get all their paperwork done first, (she had help, it wasn’t fair) but it was good, otherwise I wouldn’t have been finished with everything when a continuity of mine who I hadn’t seen since going home in September came in active. I delivered her baby at 6:57pm, and I was so glad we kept her at the clinic instead of transporting her to the hospital even though we debated taking her there because of her condition. If we had transported, she probably would have had her baby in the ambulance and I would have missed out on the relationship. What a blessing it is to bring these beautiful babies into the world and be a part of these women’s lives.

In closing, God is faithful, and I am so thankful to Him for the amazing things that have made my almost 25 years of life full. I have caught/delivered 50 babies so far, and am counting still. Each and every family/woman has made an impact in my life as I pray I have in theirs as well.

Please continue to stay involved in my life. I am committed to be here at least through next July, and ask for your prayers as God leads me in my next step.

If you know of people that would be interested in receiving my newsletter please forward this to them.

Love Always,
Jenny

50 babies in my arms...

2007-11-30T04:48:00.000-08:00

I have finally caught 1/2 a century full of babies in my arms! How exciting is my life? I love it that is for sure. And this was a great birth to count as my 50th. Lately, many of my births have been complicated in one way or another. When I checked Evelyn in, I thought we were in for another rough ride, her blood pressure was 140/90 at check in, and her baby's heart tones were on the high side, but she did everything we asked, and the heart tones settled down to a more normal level.

Wouldn't you know it, the baby's heart tones were high when she arrived, but when she started pushing, they dipped way too low! So we did what we could, and it was enough because her baby came out beautiful and healthy, pink and screaming! No problems whatsoever!

Evelyn's blood pressure stayed a little high, but by the time I left, it was down to 120/90, which is much better. Most likely, she was just stressed out with labor and birth. Otherwise she did really great. This was her second baby, her first was born in 1998, so he was already 9 years old! She must know her stuff when it comes to family planning! :)

Celeste - Pregnancy Belly Cast

2007-11-26T21:40:00.000-08:00

In January of this next year, we will be asked to do an art project that somehow involves pregnancy or birth in someway. I read about making a pregnancy belly cast before going home last September, and decided that was what I wanted to do. So, my mom and I went around the day before I left to come back here and bought all the supplies I would need.
When I got here, I just needed to find a pregnant woman who was comfortable enough with me to allow me to do this project with her. In come Celeste, a continuity of Lois'. She is pregnant with her 3rd baby, and was so much fun to get to know and do this project with. She also has an amazingly beautiful shape about her which made a beautiful cast.
None of us really knew what we were doing, so we were all surprised when it was finished, with how good it turned out. Celeste was so funny, she said, "You know, this is the first time I have ever seen anything like this." Lois and I looked at each other, and said, "Umm, this is the first time for us as well!" We had a good laugh about this. We had read about it and seen pictures, but it was a first for us to see one in real life.

This is the rough finish, I will do some sanding, and put a coat of plaster on still, so check back in the next month or two for the updated finished project. I also told Celeste that because she is already term (37 weeks), her baby would fit inside the cast after she was born this December with a light blanket. She got so excited and asked that i bring it with me to Mercy when she goes into labor so we can put her inside. I will put pictures up of that as well later in December.

49th Handle, Cathy Abdurajak

2007-11-26T21:26:00.000-08:00

This is the Abdurajak family. They are Muslims, and a very beautiful family that I know have the privilage of knowing. Cathryn (Cathy) is the mom's name, and she came in pretty active on my swing shift the other day. She and her husband brought their other two kids because they couldn't find anyone to watch them, so a friend stayed outside with them during the birth of their youngest daughter.

They have 2 girls and one boy, the little boy was born at MMC not very long ago, by one of my good friends who is now back in the US.

The thing that first struck me about Cathy was her height. I am so used to being a giant in this country it took me by surprise when I stopped to talk to her when she came in and realized I was eye level with her, and not a whole head taller!

The birth part was not complicated, but she did loose alot of blood afterwards, and because I am now in the 2nd year of my program here, my supervisors are now asking for my management before telling me what to do, and although it is a little scary, it is amazing at the same time. I inserted my second sucessful IV of the night, and even did a manual exploration.

Please pray for the Abdurajak family that I will be able to be a part of their family, and that I can show them who Jesus really is.

2 babies in one day!

2007-11-15T19:16:00.001-08:00

I thought I had reached the pinnicle of midwifery when I delivered or "caught" 2 babies in one shift, but found out that it can happen more than once in a short period of time! I was on swing shift, and had come a little late since I was in the hospital visiting Sara and her family. It wasn't at all busy when I checked in before shift, but when i got there at 2:20, things had picked up.
There was a cute pregnant lady outside the clinic and as I walked in, I asked if she had checked in and was going home, but she said she hadn't because nothing had come out yet, so she didn't know if she was allowed! Hmmm. I told her to come in with me, and she turned out to be very active! My supervisor delivered her baby just minutes after my labor gave birth and everything went well. There was a little friendly competition between us to see who could get all the paperwork etc done first, and that turned out to be a blessing because I got everything done much faster than I would have otherwise!
Just as I was finishing things up, and Annabelle was resting, Maricel walks in. My name is on her chart indicating that she is a continuity of mine. I thought she had decided not to birth at Mercy because I hadn't seen her since August! But I guess she had come twice since then, and missed some appointments... Well, I took her, and it was a little scary because she reported leaking for over 48 hours when she came in, but was about ready to pop her baby out, so we knew if we transported (which we usually do, see Sara's story below) she would probably give birth on the way to the hospital! So she did have her baby at Mercy, and I delivered my second baby that day. It was good to see her, and you can see her beautiful girl Wendy at the 3 day check.
Maricel's husband is from the area of the Philippines that I grew up in, and she is joining him as soon as I give her the ok. She will take Wendy with her, but her 3 other kids will stay with her mom here in Davao to continue school. It is a sad situation, but pray with me for the best.

Sara Kho

2007-11-15T17:18:00.001-08:00

This is Sara, one of my continuities (meaning I was her midwife through pregnancy and did all her prenatals. It also means I am on call to deliver her baby even if I am not on shift.) She always had so much joy, and was so excited to learn all about her baby inside, and we had some really great times together as we journeyed through her pregnancy together.

I had just delivered 2 babies the night before I got a text from her saying her water had broken, but that the contractions were still manageable. This is not a good sign from someone who is having their first baby. We met at the clinic, and confirmed BOW rupture, which meant that even though she was in very early labor, she had to stay at the clinic, and now was on the clock because we are required to transport our patients after a certain time to the hospital if they are BOW rupture.

I knew that a very big possibility was that I would have to take her to the hospital around midnight that night, but we stayed at Mercy and still had fun together, and prayed together when the contractions were getting stronger, and then at midnight it was confirmed, a transport would be necessary.

It was nice that the doctors weren't too busy, so I was able to put her in the care of the doctors at DMC. The next day she texted me at 1pm saying she had delivered, and would I like to visit? I was on duty again at 2pm, but I went after getting an ok for being a little late from my supervisor. I brought them some food and some cute baby outfits.

She had a little boy, and was tired, but didn't have a c-section, which we were both praying wouldn't happen. When I got there, she hadn't heard how her baby was doing because he was in the NICU, so I played mediator, and talked to the doctor, and they were so grateful.

Sara just brought little Christian Jon in for a one week appointment, and it was so fun to see him! He was wearing the little outfit that I had bought him, and even though they were the smallest size I could find, he was swimming in them! But oh so cute. He was a little jaundiced, (yellow skin from not being able to get the bilirubin out of his system) but I was able to teach Sara how to get rid of the yellow, and other than that they both looked great.

God is so good.

Delivered 2 babies in one shift!

2007-11-09T23:57:00.001-08:00

This was the first shift I have worked with Tiffany, one of my teammates, and it was BUSY! I don't know if we should work together too often, unless we like no sleep :) It was amazing. I took the pushing labor (Janet Tapia) who had been laboring through 2 previous shifts because of ruptured membranes. It looked like everyone was at the end of their patience levels waiting for this baby, and so almost everyone leaving for the night came in to say goodbye and congratulate Janet that her baby would be joining us soon! It was so cute. It was her first baby, and she did an amazing job. Her little girl joined us at 10:28pm, and had a caput (funny looking swelling on her head due to long pushing stage) but she was adorable none-the-less. I missed endorsements, so I had no idea what was going on when I was done with the birth.

Tiffany filled me in that there were 2 other labors, one active, one about to be transported due to bow rupture for over 12 hours and not active yet. BUT... 2 more labors had walked in in the time that it took for my baby to join us, so we had a full birthroom. Tiffany took one active one, and Michelle (one of the newer girls) came to be with the girl I ended up delivering later because she had really connected with her during prenatals even though she wasn't delivering babies yet, and had day shift in the morning. So Michelle took care of her while I did alot of the postpartum work for my girl with Holly (another newer girl).

Just as we were about to do the newborn exam, Tiffany called for help with hers. Holly was going to assist but because it was thick meconium, Ate Steph was there with them. I was outside continuing paperwork for Janet, and Michelle's girl (Den) walked past saying she needed to use the bathroom. I thought this was stetchy and that it might not be a great idea, but we let her go anyway because this was her first baby. Sure enough, she started yelling from the bathroom that her baby was coming, and Michelle had a deer-in-the-headlights look, so I told her to run and get gloves while I half carried Den back to her bed. Just in time too, because 3 minutes later her handsome baby boy joined us. He also had thick meconium, but Tiffany's baby had just been born one minute ago, so all the other midwives were busy across the way. So since this was Michelle's first time assisting, I told her to pull the birth cart really close and I deep suctioned my own baby! Wow. What a rush, unsupervised and I suctioned as well. So step by step Michelle and I did what needed to be done and we kept track of things in our heads because no one was available to write things down for us!

So my first baby that shift was born at 10:28pm on November 9, and my second baby was born at 12:03am on November 10! That's the great part about night shifts. Sometimes the baby is born one day and the placenta the next! That's funny too!

Phew. It was great, I was able to help them through all of postpartum, and they were ready to go home the next morning by 6am when I left. I was tired, sure, but this is the kind of thing I live for.

5 Babies in One Shift

2007-11-01T06:09:00.001-07:00

Medea was the first one to receive a labor - she did, and then I did, and then Gang Gang did and then yes - my supervisor, Ate Ermie did as well! All before 8am! Medea's girl delivered, but had to be transported due to a retained placenta (7th baby).

The day continued, and everything went very smoothly despite the amount of babies being born. We were like a well oiled machine! Soon enough, yet another labor came in, and I was supposed to receive it, but since Medea only had a baby left to care for and not a mom, she took her instead. I should have taken her, because I ended up doing alot of the work, but it was kind of fun not handling it because I ended up supervising it! Ate Ermie was delivering her own baby about the time this lady decided to get her baby out, so we just updated her through the curtain every once in a while. Kind of heady being given that much responsibility!

When things started to calm down just a little, we borrowed all the babies, and took pictures of them all. I absolutely love pictures where they are all lined up by each other and so beautiful. Then, each midwife held "her" baby for another photo shoot.

P.S. the funny pictures of a dark haired girl holding a new baby on her mom's tummy is Sarah. She is one of the newer girls that arrived September 2007, and this was her first time being allowed to don the gloves and help in the birth. She did great, but I love her faces :)

Baby #39

2007-11-01T06:03:00.001-07:00

This was a very busy day, I delivered this beautiful baby at 11:04am, and not long after everyone was settled back down, I got another labor, but she wasn't as far along, so she waited until the next group of midwives got on shift, and one of them caught her baby, which I was thankful for.
Cherry Ann was a first time mom, and I started to coach her through the pushing stage because she was doing some interesting things when the contractions came, but then, realized I would just deliver the baby up in the air instead of on the bed because that was the way things were going.
Most moms after the birth go into a little trans - eyes get glazed over, and they are unresponsive for a bit, but not this one! She was so excited to see her baby, and she kept talking to him, and her boyfriend. One didn't have to look long to know they were very much in love, and excited to be parents to this little one. I almost felt like an intruder in this moment!
P.S. Fun side note - All of us midwives on shift wore some shade of pink bottoms which was hilarious because none of us got ready together!

New Blog, New E-mail, New Everything!

2007-10-30T07:51:00.000-07:00

Sadly, I have waited too long and tried everything I know to regain control of my Flickr, Gmail, Yahoo, and Blogger accounts to no avail. Not only am I saddened by that, but now I have the joy of setting up new accounts for everything. Some people learn the hard way at times, and I guess this is that time for me. Believe you me, I will NEVER make the same mistake again that allows the control to be taken away from me on my online accounts. Thankfully, although it is alot of work to get new accounts, the scammers didn't gain financially at all from the whole ordeal.

Anyways... You will see I have a new email account published under the About Me section on the left, so please use that email to get in contact with me, I would love to hear from you. Also, my old blog, http://www.missionarymidwife.blogspot.com/ still works, I just can no longer update on it because I have been locked out. So, if you want to read back stories or see pictures from before, please go there.

Thanks for your patience and prayers with/for me as I have learned through this process. God is still faithful, and I pray that He will show himself real to the scammers and they will see what life can be like with God.

Love to all.
Jenny