Monday, Monday

Today I spent my first day at the hospital.  Carrie arranged for a "taxi" to take us both.  The taxis are motorcycles!  And the roads are gravel.  I think he was probably driving slower than he usually does because he had me and Carrie on the back (2 white women).

I had a great interpreter named Shirley.  She really knows her way around the maternity part of the hospital.  I worked with 2 midwife students and their preceptor.  Tomorrow I will be their preceptor.  I think we'll be assigned to postpartum again.  Today when it was slower, Shirley and I spent time at L&D.  Very busy day there today with the OB handling a miscarriage, 3 midwives, 1 midwife preceptor and 4 midwife students.  There were also a bunch of nursing students there.  It made a very small space very crowded.  Shirley and I also put away in the storage room a bunch of supplies that one of our doctors had brought with them to donate.

The postpartum unit consists of 10 beds in a ward like setting.  4 postpartum women were there with their babies.  There were also 2 older women being assessed/treated for uterine cancer.  There are 3 rooms in L&D.  One of the rooms has two Exam rables, the other rooms one each.  When it was really busy, one of the midwives did a few assessments in the storage room (like BP's, fetal heart tones, etc)

Kenel is a 25 year old guy that comes here each evening to offer Creole lessons for $5.  I attended his class on the patio yesterday and today.  He's really funny and has taught some useful Creole phrases to use.

Each evening I've also gone on a walk with the other providers here.  We walk the trails behind our house through some bucolic fields.  There are small houses scattered around, burros, goats and horses.  Along with other people walking or tending to their yards and/or animals.

Oh! And my bags arrived!  Everything was still in them.  I finally get to start distributing the things that everyone made or donated for me to bring here.  And I have more clothes besides the ones I wore on the plane =-)

The first photo is of one of the midwife students giving a newborn a bath before she does a thorough newborn exam.  His mom okayed me taking the photo.

The next photo is of Kenel, our Creole instructor.