Birth #4!

On Monday morning Juanita woke me up at 6:30 am to say there was a birth. How lucky – another birth just two days after Rebecca’s AND I got a whole night of sleep, awesome! We got to Dilma’s house (a 21-year-old with her first baby due on June 24^th) around 7:15 am and she was 2.5 centimeters dilated. She had been up since 3:15 am with contractions. I showed her the moves to do to speed things up and deal with contractions – at first I was doing all of the labor support, then she was using her mom, mother-in-law, and aunt. Her husband works in Guatemala City so he wasn’t there for the birth. When she was ready to start pushing, she squatted, leaning up against her mother-in-law who was sitting in a chair. Odilia was on all fours, pushing her head into the uterus and supporting herself with her feet on the bed behind her. She did this with every contraction and push! No wonder her neck hurt so much afterwards. We were all rooting Dilma on and pushing her in all sorts of directions – Odilia on her uterus, me on her knees pushing towards her head, her family members on the top of her belly and holding her hands. Odilia said I had to catch the baby since she had no free hands – it was hard to do with Dilma squatting instead of lying down, but I did it! Then the body didn’t come out and Odilia told me not to pull so she grabbed the shoulders and delivered the rest. We co-delivered it! A big 7 pound baby boy at 12:28 pm. Odilia suctioned and it cried right away, then she clamped the cord and I cut it. After wrapping him up he went to Dilma’s chest. She was so happy and relieved and I started to tear up – it was a group effort to get the baby out and I felt so accomplished afterwards! I think it may have been my favorite birth… also sad because it’s probably my last birth here. Odilia weighed the baby, cauterized the umbilical cord, dressed him, then we washed our hands and had puliq de carne for lunch in the room. We had also eaten breakfast there earlier! I teared up again when I saw the husband got there and looked at his new baby for the first time… precious.

Afterwards we went to Norma’s house, a woman having pain and thought she was pregnant, but the test of Odilia’s that she took read negative. Then we stopped at Odilia’s friends house who has brain cancer – she only has a little tuft of hair left after the operation. She stared at Odilia and kept saying “gracias” but that she didn’t know who Odilia was or what she was saying. So sad – her youngest child is only 5 years old, whom Odilia delivered. Then we made one prenatal control stop at Fidelia’s, the house with the crazy dogs. Then finally to Rebecca’s house, the woman who had given birth on Saturday morning. Her and her baby boy got their second temascal baths while I read – I was so tired! We got back to the house at 7 pm, 12 hours after leaving for Dilma’s birth. The life of a midwife! And we never even visited the 10 or 12 other women that are due for prenatal controls.

Yesterday morning we got up early and went to Dilma’s house – her and baby got their first temascal baths with Odilia. A woman came from the public health department to ask questions about the mom, baby, how the birth went, if the baby got Hepatitis B vaccinated, etc. It was cool to meet her and see the questionnaire she gives all the women. Odilia keeps her up-to-date with who’s pregnant and who has given birth.

Afterwards we went to Chimaltenango because Odilia had to get blood tests, then on to Guatemala City to pick up the other student, Hayley. She is awesome and it’s nice to share this experience with someone before I leave. Going to the airport made me realize I would be going there all too soon to come home to Madison. I am sad about leaving but also anxious to get home!