Changes

 

 

It’s arrived! At last, ten days ago, a small lorry drew up with the new equipment for the maternity unit. Using quite a lot of man power and a few coca-colas the pallets were transferred to the unit and Helen and I set about unpacking .

''It’s like Christmas'' said Helen

 ''Better'' I replied.

 

Then it was time to test our Ikea skills as we put together the flat pack normal beds and delivery beds, drip stands and wheeled support for the baby bed. Everything seems to be fine and just what we need. It fits well in the space we have and begins to make it all seem a reality.

 

 

 

There are a few final touches to be made to the building and then we can distribute all the equipment around, plan for the opening and get ready for the rush. This month has already been busy and with around 4 babies a day we always looked likely to pass our previous maximal number of deliveries, 120. 

 

In our cramped and basic existing unit we have managed to assist even more women than we expected with a safe delivery. Today with 15 hours of the month left there have been 142 births with 3 women currently in labour! Looking at the graph puts it in context and it looks a little less amazing and  more like a logical trend, helped this year by the community outreach project. However it is more difficult to predict the quantum leap that may well happen once the new maternity unit with its shiny new beds and spacious rooms is opened.

 

Hopefully with the new equipment we can now provide even better care. We have more of all the basic tools and also a new oxygen concentrator/small surgical lamp/pulse oximeter/electronic baby scales/electric blood pressure machine and most exciting of all a CTG machine to enable us to monitor a difficult labour and see when the baby is in distress. We hope this will help us to avoid some still births especially when the women have come with other signs that the baby may be having problems and up till now we only had very basic ways of checking all was well. It will remain to be seen if the women will accept a caesarean under these circumstances but we can only hope and pray.

As you know our work in Chad will be changing over the coming months. This gives us plenty to think about as we unpack and organise, make local purchases and get the final touches done before opening the new unit. There is the potential for a further big increase in the number of women and babies helped and plans for the future need to be carefully laid so that all goes well during this time of transition and beyond. The hospital needs to  be well prepared to meet the challenge of the numbers whilst maintaining quality of care. Please pray for wisdom and Gods guidance.

One rule for you, one rule for me.

Last Tuesday, our day off after the weekend at work, we were at the house trying to sort out hospital statistics and I popped over to the hospital to speak to Dia our head midwife. ‘Oh’ said Sarah another midwife and laughed ‘She’s gone to see about adopting a baby!!’ Well it was the first I’d heard but yes it was true 2 babies were available for adoption at the main maternity hospital and as Dia had shown some interest before her friend had rung her to ask if she still wanted one .

Two days later and Dia has a baby girl, to the delight of her son Richard who’s 12, she’s called her Divine. Her husband chose the one who wasn’t as light skinned he didn’t want a white baby! I’m sure Dia will make a great mother and Richard a doting brother as he was big softy with the kitten they have. My initial concern was also how this would work as Dia is at work all week and we weren’t aware she was about to have a baby! Fortunately this is not a problem and she’s found someone to look after the baby while she’s at work-according to her she’s much better than Dia herself. It all feels rather strange to me I’m used to hearing about all the difficulties associated with adopting in the UK .The idea that then you would hand the baby over to someone else to look after all day and are able to simply say  we don’t want the whiter baby just doesn’t sound normal!

Many apparently strange things happen here and they still take us by surprise even after 5 years. Last Saturday was Sarahs wedding, we didn’t make it as the hospital was rather busy .She already has 2 children and had her engagement party last year after the second was born. It’s considered best here, in certain ethnic groups, to be sure things are working out before you get married! Ahmat who works in Admin has a ‘wife and a baby’ and is just trying to get money together to pay the bride price. It’s all rather back to front.

Yesterday we went for a swim it’s hot and sticky and Rebecca started her half term so a good excuse -the notice near the childrens pool said    ‘’Unsupervised area, all children to be under their parents supervision,’’ a good idea it seemed. As we looked over sitting on the bench next to the sign were a policeman and soldier with a Kalashnikov employed for increased security and surveillance at the pool who needs parents! Hard to imagine at the Lido in Plymouth. ( the picture is a few months old and shows just the blue sign without the new attendants).

All this is just every-day in Chad where sheep ride on motorbikes as the easiest way to get your celebration dinner home and everyone wears the same dress to the party in fact you feel left out if you’re wearing something different.  Life here is played by a different set of rules