In the Dark of Night

Scroll all the way down (through the adorable pictures) for the written blog update :)

Baby girl Asami during the newborn exam

The daughter of one of our supervising midwives, born via emergency cesarean section

SarahBeth and I enjoying free bubble tea from Infinitea

SarahBeth and I on our way to church

3 Day Postpartum Checkup cuddles for sweet Gabriella who came into the world within minutes of her mama arriving at the clinic

Baby Prince: The biggest baby I've helped welcome, weighing in at 3800g

Studying for my Intrapartum exam

A beautiful sunset last week

I feel like I start my blog posts the same, boring way every month, but it has been so true...September has flown by. It has been filled with new friends, lots of new babies, learning about fearless authenticity, and getting to understand the Lords faithfulness a bit deeper. There has been some rain recently, which make the nights cooler, and the days more bearable.

A quote that I have recently been struggling to remember is: God is no stranger to pain. When you cry to Him, He isn't looking down on you and saying, "Here we go again." He's leaning down, feeling every tear of betrayal, anxiety, and grief that you are crying, and saying "I know, I remember, and I love you." It's a reminder that even on your hardest days, He is walking beside you, never willing to let you walk alone.

As I look out the open doorway at the growing rice fields, with the clouds shading the mountains, and the big, concrete building with the strawberry red roof at the base of the mountain, I'm reminded of how far He has carried me, and how far He will continue to carry me. I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I've been here for almost 10 months already.

Not much has changed around here. Still working on homework, escaping the heat and rain, watching the sunsets while my housemates play guitar, and enjoying all the sweet mamas and their babies. We had an IV class, where we got to practice IV's on each other. There are days where I am ready to pack my bags and go home, and then there are days where I wonder how I'll ever leave this wonderful place.

I had a patient come in last week who was pregnant for the 6th time, but her last two pregnancies ended in a miscarriage. She was only 7 1/2 weeks along, so I was expecting her to be too early to detect the heartbeat with the handheld fetal doppler. Since she had a history of miscarriage, my supervisor and I decided that we should at least try to hear the heartbeat, just to give her some peace about the pregnancy. We explained that it might be too early to hear, but that it could still be normal, and I placed the doppler on her stomach. As soon as I put the doppler on her stomach, the loud, pounding of the babys heartbeat filled the room. My supervisor came in and said excitedly, "THAT'S THE HEARTBEAT!" The mother kept praising Jesus, thanking Him that her baby was okay. I was shocked that we found it so quickly and early, and we sat there in silence, listening to the babys heartbeat echo off the concrete walls for a full minute before continuing on with her prenatal. I knew that the only reason we were able to find it so quickly and so loudly is because of Jesus. It might not sound like a big deal, but it was a moment of praising Jesus for His guidance and goodness.

I had a memorable night shift last week, as we had two women laboring at the same time, both to deliver that night with complications. As I came onto shift, one of the patients was in active labor, feeling about ready to push. After the baby's head was born, we couldn't feel the anterior (top) shoulder, so my supervisor quickly tried to feel for both shoulders. Immediately we started putting her in different positions, trying to get the baby's shoulder out, which was stuck behind the pubic bone. This is called shoulder dystocia, and can result is serious complications, such as, hemorrhage, 4th degree tears, breaking of the fetal clavicle, fetal death, etc. For 3 minutes, we tried to get the shoulder unstuck and get baby out. Finally, after 3 minutes of intense position changes and maneuvers, a baby girl was born...not breathing. Two of my supervisors immediately started positive pressure ventilation (PPV) with a neonatal bag and mask to get baby to breath. I can't even explain the intensity and adrenaline in the room as we watched the baby's chest rise and fall with each breath pumped into her body, her face still blue. We were all praying out loud for this baby to start breathing, and after what felt like an eternity, she starting gasping for air and breathing on her own. Baby Asami ended up being completely fine, not even needing to be placed on oxygen after the birth. The mother suffered a large tear that we were able to suture, and is now doing great.

Around 3:30am, the other labor started pushing, just as I was finishing the newborn exam on baby Asami. A former student who is here visiting welcomed the sweet baby boy into the world, and all was fine, until it was time for the placenta to come out. She started bleeding more than usual, and we were trying everything we could to control the bleeding. Eventually the placenta came out and the bleeding was controlled, but it took a while, as my supervisor had to manually remove placental membranes that had broken off inside the uterus. It was another intense and adrenaline filled birth, and by the end we were all exhausted and praising God for His guidance in both births.

We started a new assignment, Fetal Development, and it has been so interesting learning more about the development of the baby, from conception to birth. I'm thankful for the staff that I work with, and the girls that I live with. This life is an adventure, and I'm so thankful for this opportunity, even when the nights are long and hard.

I have been overwhelmed by the amount of support that I have received lately, and I am so thankful for all of you who are willing to read my updates, support my financially, or faithfully pray for me and the women here. Please don't hesitate to contact me, and I especially love receiving updates on how everyone is doing back home, or what the Lord has been teaching you lately! THANK YOU!!