Sunday, June 5, 2011

Una Nina!

Written Tuesday, May 31st

Today was definitely my favorite day so far! The one thing I wanted to do while in Panama was help deliver a baby and I got to do just that today. When we arrived at Alto Caballero this morning we were told that two separate women were in labor. One was a 16 year old who the doctor suspected was having twins because she was huge and he had detected two separate heart beats with the Doppler. The other one was a 20 year old pregnant for the first time who was already 5 cm dilated and wasn't due for another month. We were told that they would both be going to the hospital by an ambulance that was on the way but we all secretly wanted to see a birth at the clinic. Cristina, Tina, and I stayed with the 20 year old and we started noticing that her contractions were getting closer and more intense pretty rapidly. Then we noticed that her nagua was wet and we assumed that her water had broken. No one who worked at the clinic seemed to notice the changes that were occurring so we decided to take it upon ourselves and tell the doctor what was happening. Once he came in and examined her we realized that with no ambulance in site and the closest hospital about 45 minutes away, this baby was going to be born at the clinic and we all would get to witness it! We then moved the women into the room that was prepared for delivery just in case it were to take place at the clinic and we all piled in too. All nine of us, the doctor, Melvin (the nurse), and the girl's mother were crammed in this tiny room to see this new life be born. I got to stand right by her side and help her push with every contraction and after about 5 or so pushes the head was out. This is when it got a little scary. The doctor was worried that the cord had been wrapped around the baby's neck because the baby was blue. He suctioned the baby's nose and with the next push the baby was out. It's was a little girl! :) The cord was not wrapped around her neck but she did not start crying right away so we all started to worry but after about a minute she let out her first little cry. Thank goodness for a healthy baby and a healthy mom! Today was truly incredible and is definitely a memory I will cherish forever. I can't wait to see what is still to come here in Panama!  

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