A Baby is born!

Today I caught my first Chadian baby!

The lady is the wife of my friend’s language helper. I’ve met both husband and wife before. Let’s call them Isaac & Rebecca. Tuesday my friend sent a text to see if I’d be willing to help out when Rebecca had her baby. She thought she might be in early labor. Later that morning Isaac came by to take me on his motorcycle out to check on his wife. Well, she didn’t really appear to be in labor (but for all I know Chadian women having their 3rd child don’t ever look like they’re in labor), and when I assessed her more, decided if she was it was really early. So I left, after advising her to carry on with her normal activities, drink lots and told her to call me when things got stronger.

I didn’t hear from them until today, and kind of thought she might have had the baby without me. But then, at 2pm today, Isaac calls and says she’s in real labor now, can I come? Of course! So, he comes for me on his motorbike again, and I grab the little backpack I’ve prepared with my midwifery supplies and out we go to their house (just outside the city). We park the motorcycle by a wadi (dry riverbed) and walk to their house, passing kids at the well and a couple donkeys on the way.

When we got to the house, I went through the usual greetings, and than sat for a while to see how things were going. Rebecca was lying on her back on the floor, and a couple other women sat with her. (The women came and went throughout the afternoon.) She was definitely having some strong contractions, and trying to push with each one. So, I asked if I could listen to the baby and check her. She agreed. Baby sounded great, and she was about halfway dilated. Not bad. I sat back and settled in for a bit of a wait, encouraging her not to push yet.

Thirty minutes later, she asks me to check her again...she thinks its almost time. I’m skeptical, although I can tell things have been getting stronger. Well, now she’s 8cm (sorry to any male readers who don’t want this much detail). She didn’t have anything ready for the birth, so I’m trying to gather a few things with my broken arabic...some towels/cloths, some warm water, bowls, etc. A few more women show up, among them one that I later found out is also a midwife. Not much later she’s ready to begin pushing in earnest. Less than 2 hours from my first check, Rebecca birthed a beautiful baby girl into my waiting hands. She was still in the sac, although it had ruptured on the way out. I peeled it gently away from her face and removed the gunk from her nose and mouth. She was crying right away, so we rubbed her dry a bit and waited for the placenta. They didn’t want me to place the baby on the Rebecca’s tummy, so I held her while the other midwife coaxed the placenta out. I clamped and cut the cord and handed baby to mom. Throughout this whole process Dad was nowhere to be seen. He was sitting outside the yard, under a tree, listening to his radio. Not because he doesn’t care about his wife, but because labor and birth is a women’s event here.

Praise God for a safe and healthy birth. And here’s hoping this is just the first of many births I get to be a part of here!