This week I started to go to the Gyneco/obstetrics department. As in other parts of the hospital I am amaze by the quality of the people who work at the hospital. Everyone is so caring, and they treat each other with respect and care that you give to someone you love. The senior resident worry about the physical and mental health of the junior interns, and they collaborate with each other across all levels. It really does not feel like work, but like family. It is a nurturing environment that reflects the Nepali culture as a whole. Senior residents are also very good teachers and they take the time to answer the questions and to make sure that the inters learned well. I had the opportunity to assist two natural births and I was taught how to cut the baby's umbilical cord!!.
I realized that mothers don't get the amount of analgesic options that we get in the developed countries. Some mother are given moderate amount of analgesic if their health requires it. However, for the most part, birth is very natural. I saw a woman whose baby head was stock on the exit of the vagina. The baby was not getting any amniotic fluid or oxygen during the process, and something needed to be done ASAP. Therefore, the doctor had to elongate the vaginal exit with scissors (called episiotomy), but due to the emergency of the situation there was not time for local anesthesia. That mom was the bravest woman I have ever seen!!.
At the labor and delivery room, I also saw several cases of neural malformation in fetuses, all of them incompatible with life. Unfortunately, these pregnancies were terminated before time. Most of the mothers were very young, and had no previous children. At the time of delivery, the miscarried babies were severely malformed. I cannot imagine the fear of these women regarding the outcome of their future pregnancies, after seeing their malformed baby. So, it was a priority for the doctor to make the experience as non-traumatic as possible for the mothers. The mothers already had the trauma of not having a viable fetus, of seeing the other mothers in the ward carrying their newborn babies, and then; they had to go through the pain of delivery, without the happiness of becoming mothers. The worse thing is that these malformations are preventable by supplementing the mother's diet with folic acid. Therefore, neural defects which are rare in developed countries become a big problem in Nepal due to food insecurity. I guess heaven got several little angels this week. I will pray for them, as I am sure their mothers will.
