The Hospital

This morning we had our tour and orientation at the hospital. According to the team leader, Heather, much has improved since she was last here in November. We were happy to see running water and a/c in labor and delivery. Walking into the hospital was quite different than a US hospital . The lobby was filled with hundreds of people all going in different directions. I felt like I was at Grand Central Station in NYC during commute hour! People were lined up in long lines outside of clinics and there were medical students in groups everywhere! We were told to meet the doctor at 8:00 and true to Hispanic culture he showed up at 9:15. :)

The tour of labor and delivery (separate rooms) and surgery rooms was interesting. Labor is many women (12 beds, I think) in one room. This morning was a slow morning and only two women were laboring. The delivery rooms (two) are white, old, and with a table with stirups. I felt sorry for the woman who had just given birth who was subjected to a parade of ten women trooping through. There seems to be very little privacy for a woman here. The nursery was a small room, about the size of one of my children's bedrooms. The babies were adorable and many of them were put two to a basinette. Babies are taken from their mothers immediately after birth and often not returned to the mother for 12-24 hours. In the postpartum ward you can see the mothers looking vacant and emotionless without their babies.

It's a blessing to be here and I work my first shift tonight. The people are incredibly friendly and their faces light up if you greet them in Spanish. I am looking forward to being a blessing to them!