Homeward bound!

Well here we sit at the Freeport airport and the only entertainment is Divorce Court... Lord, give us the strength! We are hoping to make the last flight out of Toronto tonight but it may not happen - cross your fingers for lots of no-show ticket holders...

We went to The Rand yesterday to say our goodbyes and were thrown a surprise farewell party by the maternity staff! It was very touching. They had bought both of us Bahamian gifts that were given to us along with a speech, and then we enjoyed sandwiches, cake and drinks that were supplied by the staff. The hospital photographer documented the event for the newsletter and the staff were very sweet by telling us what they had learned by our presence.

We spent our last day visiting the Lucayan National Park which we were told about when we first arrived on the island. Pity that we forgot that the high point of the park was the underground caves... we went to the other side of the park instead and enjoyed a mangrove walk and deserted beach for a couple of hours. Oh well, I guess we will have to come back to see the caves!

We feel privileged to have been able to come here to assist the women that we met. I feel so much more confident in my midwifery skills and we both are sure that the women we helped had a better birth experience because of our help. What we didn't expect was to make so many new friends :)

Thanks to all of our blog followers - it was really nice to know that you were all with us in spirit.

We'll be back. Yea mon.

A funny "ting" happened on the way to the hospital...

Helen has now managed to secure 15 births with a huge amount of success in her outcomes all around.

We thought we would update you on several funny things (tings) that we have witnessed here :

• Firstly there is NO coffee culture here so as 2 loyal Starbucks customers, you can imagine our withdrawal...the nurses think its funny when we say we are going for a coffee
• The are literally no rules of the road...."Oh sure...go ahead...after you...." of course we have no choice in the matter
• Friday is payday so watch out for the drunks on the road and the many broken bottles they throw out the car windows
• Even though there is a seat belt law...it is not enforced and children climb all over the cars and babies leave the hospital in their mothers arms. The law was passed in 2002.
• At social gatherings, each Bahamian brings a large Styrofoam container to fill up on the hosts food first....takes it to their car for another day and comes back to eat from what is provided....make sure you make double!!!
• Each meeting that we have attended starts with a prayer and blessing
• Pickled sausage is a favorite
• Many girls are named after their fathers eg. Rogernika, Stevette, Glenisha
• Career goals for little boys..."When I grow up I want to be..." a drug dealer so I can wear gold chains and drive a fancy car
• There is NO fresh seafood available and fruits and vegetables are very expensive....Burger King is cheap though
• When it cools down....out come the flip flops with socks
• The PACE Clinic (for teenage moms) is on Young Husbands Drive

This is our last full day and we plan on saying our thank yous and goodbyes...

Wham, bam thank you ma'am

Another 2 births occurred on our watch yesterday. To say it was craziness is a huge understatement. We called in first thing in the morning to find out if anyone was in labour, and were told that there was someone in the early stages of active labour so we made our way in.
When we arrived at The Rand there were 5 women in the labour ward! Keep in mind they only have 4 beds. One of them was a "grand multip", so named because this was her 9th pregnancy (at 27 years old). 3 or 4 of the others weren't actually in labour but were there to be assessed for various reasons. There is only 1 nurse/midwife assigned to that part of the maternity ward so she was busy and happy to see us. Then she disappeared down the hallway for a minute to grab something and said she would be right back...
We turned around and all of a sudden from out of nowhere was a pregnant and obviously labouring mom in a wheelchair. I knelt down in front of her to get some information from her - I found out her name, she didn't know when her due date was (eek), I asked her if she had seen any doctors in her pregnancy and she said no (EEK). I thought she must be confused or not understand my accent so I asked for her passport (that's what they call the prenatal record that all the pregnant moms have a copy of with them) and her friend gave me her Haitian passport. So truly she had had no prenatal care - wow! And then her waters broke and they weren't clear so that can mean the baby is not happy - yikes. At that point I'm wondering where I'm supposed to assess this woman given all the beds are full... but then the nurse reappeared and we found a bed in the next hallway. Off come the pants (never wear tight pants in labour!) and she was checked - fully dilated. OK then I guess we are having a baby of unknown gestational age today! The nurse went down the hallway to set up the delivery room and Jen went out in the hallway to grab some clean gloves. Thank goodness she did because I looked down and could see a baby's head - yikes! OK I guess we are having a baby of unknown gestational age with meconium and no resuscitation gear right here, right now... and then we did. We knew nothing about this woman other than her name, no bloodwork, no history, nothing. She had a 9lb girl who came out screaming in spite of all of the chances that things could have been so different. Intense.
Shortly after that our mom with the many children gave birth...a silent labourer so that was interesting to watch. It was nice to see how much she obviously loved her 6th little boy.
We felt we should reward ourselves after our 7th birth in 3 days and drove to Our Lucaya, a tourist area and enjoyed a wonderful dinner and crazy limbo show...we are very happy that we feel like locals now and not tourists...a good plan to keep the preying men away!!

Joys and frustrations...

Yesterday I went in to The Rand after checking in by phone in the morning. I feel like the staff are finally understanding that I want to be called in, and want to be busy helping them. I doula-ed and then delivered a healthy little boy to an 18 year old first time mom in the back-up delivery room, as the main one was in use at the time by a private patient who was also delivering. I thought of my Midwifery Care instructor from SMS/Bastyr Suzy as the young girl said "The baby is coming". Indeed it was, so off to the smaller delivery room we went, her very shy partner in tow. She did beautifully of course and Nurse Dillett left me to my own devices to catch the baby. It's nice to know that they have enough confidence in me to just let me do my thing, and that is helping me to FEEL more confident. Yeah, actually I am starting to feel like I really do know what I'm doing :)
I'm still beyond frustrated with the immediate care practices here re "bonding time". They seem to think that a minute or two of mom and baby time is all that is needed, and then baby is whisked off to the nursery to "warm up and bathe" for a couple of hours... sigh. I've taken to grabbing a couple of towels (if there are any) to warm up in the delivery room so I have something to cover the baby while he/she is skin to skin with mom. There are no baby hats, and most of the time there are no towels, then in the small delivery room there is no baby warmer to put them or baby. Plus the A/C is always on (I suspect for the comfort of the staff - again, sigh...) so of course once I have used up the one paper towel baby cover thing and it is all wet and cold then I have no way to keep the baby warm... and of course the staff are by then wanting me to clamp and cut the cord and hand over the baby so "it doesn't get cold"... the first thing I will buy when I get home are some packets of cheap receiving blankets to send over here and some newborn hats that they use in the hospitals in Calgary.
Later in the day there was another mom in labour with her second. She was alone because her sister couldn't get a ride to the hospital to help her. I was in and out and helped her when I could, but was also busy helping new moms with breastfeeding in the postpartum ward. Whenever I went in to her I rubbed her back and encouraged her as much as I could. Around supper time I heard that familiar phrase again "The baby is coming" and sure enough it was! Into the main delivery room we went and I got my second birth of the day (the 5th in the last 2 days!). A doctor was watching over my shoulder but I didn't even care and just did my thing. I was surprised later when I tucked the mom into her bed and gave her a hug for a job well done - she thanked me for rubbing her back and "being nice to her". And that's the rub here - Jen and I have heard that several times from the people we have assisted. They seem so surprised and so incredibly grateful for the things that we take for granted, just giving tlc and encouragement... it feels good but at the same time makes us sad.
Funny story from the other day - a pregnant mom showed up with her Burger King dinner and Coke, her friend and her bags... no contractions, no issues. So why was she there you ask? It was "her time" she said. OK then. Apparently prenatal education here is lacking some basic information too...

Busy and crazy day at The Rand

OK so yesterday we got called in to The Rand at 6:15am as there was a mom in labour. We arrived to help her - a 20 year old first time mom. Large and loud but lovely! We had to laugh at one point because she asked us when she could have her tubes tied! Jen and I helped her all morning through her trials and tribulations and I caught her healthy boy just before lunch. Right after that we were told that the delivery room was to be transformed into an operating room (theatre) as the main OR was having power outages! Well you would not believe the commotion - first our one and only delivery room was emptied into the hallway, a cleaning crew went in and bleached the floor and walls, and then all manner of operating equipment went in there. We had to empty our other labour room (keep in mind there are only 2 labour rooms) and transform it into a delivery room. During all of this we had an 18 year old mom in active labour who Jen and I were assisting. In the middle of all this a bunch of women all showed up at once, 2 women in active labour and 2 women with pregnancy related health issues, all needing to be triaged and addressed. Chaos reigned. One of the women who came in was a multip at 7-8cm, so we assumed she would need the delivery room first. Wrong! Our little 18 year old first time mom got busy with Jen's incredible assistance and I caught her little boy in the labour room while another mom laboured on the other side of the curtain behind me. Then I went across the hallway and caught another boy to our multip, and then managed her postpartum hemorrhage, while simultaneously checking on the mom across the hallway who was getting busy too. Keep in mind there are loads of OR personnel walking by and chatting loudly in the hallway... and we hadn't even started with the paperwork, let alone have anything to eat or drink. By this time it's 8pm and I was desperately trying to catch up on the charting (making sense of all the little notes I had scribbled to myself on scraps of paper), and Jen was floating in the postpartum ward assisting the new moms with breastfeeding. While I was doing this the second of the 2 OR surgeries that had taken place in our delivery room/OR was finishing up and an elderly man lay snoring on a gurney right behind me... I was tempted to reach over and give him a push to shut him up but thought better of it. We left tired but satisfied that we had made a difference and been of invaluable assistance to the staff.

For those of you who think all we have done here is lay on the beach here are the facts:
We have yet to lay on the beach
We have had one scheduled full day off
We have attended 13 births. Of those Helen has managed 10. She has a very sore arm from protecting perineums but does not regret it.
When not attending births at the hospital we assist in the postpartum ward visiting and educating "our" moms
We phone into the hospital every morning to check in - if there is no-one in labour we run along the gorgeous beach and/or do schoolwork. Yes it is lovely and we are enjoying it.

A Day Off....

We decided to take a day off today as there was little activity at the hospital and we thought hey...we can be active right here....so...a small preview of our surroundings and where we are living.


This is a view of the beach we live on looking east.

We do get to enjoy some of it !!!

The local bus stop....no kidding....lucky we have access to a vehicle.

A pay phone in the middle of nowhere and of course it does not work.

The library down the road from us.

The beach to the west where we run each day.

Here too !!!! Yes we are in awe each moment.

Where I do yoga.

Helen trying to return a book at the jungle entrance to the library. Honestly we are not having fun.....!!!!

On call, off call

Helen and I were asked by Mary, our host, months ago if we would doula and help manage a couple who Mary was very fond of....of course we agreed and as soon as we arrived here we were "on call" for them.
She called today to say her water had broken and we were thrilled for them. This was an educated couple who knew what they wanted and hoped to have the best experience they could.
Mother nature would have her way though and after a day of augmentation, decels and little progress (I dislike that term) she went to section while her poor husband went out for a drink because he was nervous.
Here, the women are put out with a general anesthetic so he had some time.

In other news Helen caught a lovely baby girl earlier in the day to a first time mom, and then conspired with a NICU nurse to "allow" her to breastfeed the baby BEFORE the apparently obligatory bath... and the nurse thought it was so cool that the rooting baby latched herself onto the breast! No kidding... Planting seeds, planting seeds...

We look forward to seeing them all tomorrow....goodnight.

Odds and sods...

Front Entrance of the hospital

The Labour room, delivery room and dilation aid!





Today was slow in terms of births - no babies today. However we were asked to give a presentation on our goals in coming here, and to talk about some of the differences in protocols between Canada and The Bahamas. Our host Mary was very excited about another opportunity for us to promote change here, and so she spent the morning baking as we polished our powerpoint presentation and gathered scientific papers to back up our information.This was well received and we feel accepted by most of the staff.

The meeting began with a prayer as apparently is protocol here as well as the practice of taking a doggy bag of treats home with you - therefore there was nothing left to bring home for us. Weird but that's the way here.

Our talk was quite well received and we got some really good questions and feedback from the people who attended. We gave the presentation in one of the labour rooms and everyone that attended sat in the hallway to listen to us! I tried to pave the way for other Bastyr students to come here in the future and was told that as long as they are as nice as me that would be OK! I'll happily take the compliment :)

In other news it seems like winter is coming to The Bahamas as it will only be +16 or so in a couple of days - shocking! We may have to break out the sweaters even. Our lovely couple from the other day contacted us by email to tell us how much they appreciated our help during their birth, so that was really special.

Here's hoping that I (Helen) will be busy, busy, busy for the next two weeks before we have to get back to frozen reality. Jen is looking forward to helping Mary teach some prenatal classes and accompanying me to some births. We are both loving the interaction we are able to have with the families here, and of course the beach is not bad either...














 


Another day

We began our day the best way we know...running along the beach at low tide and doing 100 squats....even if it kills Helen!!!

We visited The PACE program for teenage pregnant girls this afternoon and they lapped up all we had to share...information and supplies....Thank you Robin Merrill for the baby clothes because the girls already picked out what they wanted to take before the session was over. These gals were aged 15 to 17 and either were pregnant or had just given birth. They were also dressed in a black uniform and clearly wanted to be integrated back to their past lives.

Ironically the woman we helped birth her 3rd baby today was only 22 years old with her first child being 9 years old....you do the math!!! She was alone though and we gave her support, she was not ready to go into labour and we gave her encouragement, she had dinner on the stove and wanted to go home and finish it as she did not believe what was happening to her and we validated everything she felt.
Trying times for us but we welcome the challenge for sure.

Quiet Wednesday

No you are not seeing double...well maybe a bit...this was the amazing Mother from yesterday. We arrived at the hospital today to the local newspaper photographer waiting to take our picture with all the supplies that we brought down. Seriously with "Island Time" the gifts we brought were still sitting in the head nurse's office and we hope they will be distributed tomorrow.

Today was very quiet at The Rand so after bringing homemade pumpkin bread to the lovely nurses, we came home for a rare night in.

Tomorrow we visit the teenage pregnancy home/school and hope to be able to make a difference to them as well. They unfortunately are singled out as they are forced to wear a black uniform to school which labels them as pregnant...sad.

A day to remember

Today we were given the opportunity to accompany public health nurses into the homes of moms who had given birth over the last short while. Helen and I were not only eager to see how they were doing and how the system worked here but also how these families lived so.... we were up at 6:00 am to join these ladies only to find out by 10:30 that due to the fact that it was raining...."all bets are off" !! No one goes out when it rains....school attendance is threatened by the rain...why??? Because one might slip and fall. OK so can I use that excuse when it snows in Calgary??? Too funny but entirely serious.
So Helen and I paddled our way back to The Rand Hospital and had an awesome day.
Upon arrival we were given permission to work with a 2nd time mom to manage and support her birth. We conspired with the couple to see how interested they were in bucking the system and keeping their baby with them for bonding and feeding right after birth. They were so interested....cute, cute couple.
We managed to keep the augmentation to a minimum, keep the staff from cutting the cord, babe went straight to Mom's tummy and stayed there, no stitches required after a shoulder dystocia,  Dad cut the cord (though why they insist on him donning sterile gloves to do that is beyond us), baby self latched 10 minutes after birth in delivery room... all unheard of here!!!
We had to battle the nurse who wanted to take baby off of the breast to bath him and then install him in the incubator. The four of us were in cahoots about it... Helen, myself, Mom and Dad and it worked for a time.....baby steps excuse the pun.
An hour after birth baby was finally hijacked by the nurse to go to the incubator to warm up because apparently mom can't do that. She was thoroughly unimpressed with the written and verbal instructions to not formula feed him. The Dad and Aunt tried to see the baby later and were kicked out by the irate nurse....see we make friends so easily !!!
We are making banana bread as a peace offering as we type!

Dedication

As most of you know, Helen and I are good friends so wherever she goes I go ....even if it is a scheduled day off !!!
We called The Rand Hospital today and a woman was in labour so we went in to see if we could help. She was a tiny gal  who was lighter at the end of her pregnancy than she began with....we believe she was malnourished. She lived on one of the neighbouring islands and had been on Grand Bahama for a few weeks awaiting labour. Her husband had flown in this morning to join her.
She gave birth to a small babe as well....just over 4 lbs.

The other day we supported a couple who gave birth to their second baby. Helen asked the Dad if he wanted to cut the cord which really is unheard of here. We ran into him yesterday and he said he is a fisherman and he is going to bring us a lobster tomorrow night....so kind.

There are alot of backwards medical models here however the tenderness and compassion we experience is universal and we are honoured to be part of it thus far.

The Hospital...

 Thought we would share a few pictures of where we work each day.







Believe it or not, this poster is on the door as you enter the obstetrical ward ...for a cost of $475.00 one can have a DNA test done and then go after the biological father for a total of $52.00/month child support.



This is one of 4 labour beds. There are two in each room with only a curtain in between. Since we have been here....a couple Moms have even given birth here because there is only one delivery bed. There is a dodgy fetal monitor that works sporadically at best.

There is ALOT of augmentation of labour and most moms get an IV.

Cytotec is used to induce labour, the safety of which is questionable according to SOGC and Helen's training.

The staff by the way are just excellent and so welcoming to us !!!

3 babies in 6 hours

Today was not dull in any way whatsoever.

• Helen caught the first baby to a multip, walked in fully...all is well
• Helen caught another baby to a mom who was a baby herself....all is well
• Jennifer was bit in the arm by the above mom...all is well
• Helen and Jennifer were treated to a Bahamian Thanksgiving dinner but did not sample the yams with marshmallows, we even snuck 2 plates of food to some new moms on the unit.....all is well
• Helen caught the third baby to a multip who did not make it to the delivery room...all is well

Home, Tired, Satisifed....Goodnight

What a difference a day makes...

We rocked today..have to admit.
After feeling somewhat frustrated about the lack of trust in our skills, Helen took the initiative and gently said...I can do this and did.
Results...began to push side lying....What??? Not done here!!!
              intact perineum....What??? Never here!!!
              babe directly on Mom's chest....What??? No one knew what to do then...bravo Helen
Great run on the beach this evening at low tide.

Even nicer dinner at the neighbours who have their own outdoor pizza oven...simply awesome.

BTW.....I drove today successfully on the "wrong" side of the road!!!

A good day....

Put on the spot..

Woke to a dead battery in the van....great because we seem to be walking disasters the last few days.
Today Helen and I attended a free prenatal clinic where it was obvious I was only there for moral support to Helen.
The nursing staff were wonderful....until...only kidding but..I was put on the spot when asked to give an impromptu education chat on anything for 15 minutes to all the lovely ladies (and a few men)...about 70 people (gulp) in the waiting room !! Really...ok, why not....I yammered on for almost 90 minutes..it was very fun and even the staff were taking my animated picture.
Helen saw many ladies in the examination room and was shocked by the amount of obesity she witnessed...and we thought only their dialect was tricky.
We did manage to find a coffee shop where we treated ourselves to an Americano....not Starbucks though.
Tonight we met a few pregnant ladies who we will be working with privately.

Trials and Tribulations...Day One

We began our working adventure today and that it was....We arrived at the hospital at 8:00am to meet up with Sister Rolle who we were scheduled to meet. We found out at 8:45 that she was off sick so we luckily we introduced to many other wonderful nurses who took us under their wing and showed us around. Helen spent most of the day reading practice protocols and taking notes on how they manage things here re medications etc. She is hoping to get to do some more hands on care in the next couple of days but planned to observe initially.
A teenage first time Mom was in labour so I was able to accompany her all day and as we were just about to leave....she went fully and we were able to attend the birth of her son.....who was told by the way that she was having a girl.
Sparing the details, although rewarding in many ways, things were so backwards compared to what we experience in Calgary. We have our work cut out for us to say the least. There is a lot of pregnancy induced hypertension here, most likely a result of poor diet and obesity. We arrived this morning just after a mother had delivered by C/S after having 5 eclamptic seizures during the night! The laboring women are not given the freedom of movement and food/drink etc that we are used to seeing in Canada so that was difficult for us to witness. The nurses, midwives and doctors are kind to them but the protocols are not what we are used to and the women are woefully uneducated and uninformed during the process...
We arrived back home at 7:00 pm....tired and full of hope. No pics today - it didn't seem appropriate...

Pictures from paradise

Apologies in advance to any Calgarians who may read this, in fact to anyone who is not here! We have had an amazing couple of days introduction to life on Turtle Reef where we are staying with the delightful Mary and Basil. Mary has kept us very busy getting to know the island and seems bent on showing us both a good time before we start volunteering tomorrow.

On our first full day here we were invited to lunch down the beach by some friends of Mary and Basil, a lovely retired German couple who live about 2 miles down the beach from where we are. We had a lovely time getting to know them and then walked back to Mary's home along the beach at low tide. It was completely spectacular and we stopped many times to pinch ourselves and consider how lucky we were to not be in the frozen tundra that Calgary has become. Here are a few pics to ogle over...

Jen's starfish

Helen's starfish and glorious beach in the background

This is what the beach looks like at low tide - beautiful but hard on the feet!

Our lunch hosts Karl and Eva - lovely retired German couple

Our evening was spent at a moonlight jazz fundraising event in a place called Garden of the Groves. The event was to raise funds for the nursery and we were treated to live jazz, appetizers and coconut rum drinks that matched Helen's blue-green dress!

On Saturday we were joined by Mary's friend Sonya and we loaded up the truck with kayaks and spent the day snorkelling and kayaking. Again - completely spectacular! We first stopped at a beach with a "blue hole" that we were able to snorkel around. It is formed when the roof of an underground cave collapses and there are thousands of tropical fish and reef formations around it. Then we went on to the very end of the island where we put in and kayaked for a few hours. Helen saw a stingray and we all saw lots of bonefish that were hiding in the shallows. We kayaked around an exclusive fishing retreat and then anchored on a reef where we snorkelled for an hour or so. Helen got to swim with another stingray (while keeping a respectable distance!) and we saw all kinds of gorgeous fish - the colours were so vivid. There were lion fish (apparently an invasive species here), parrot fish, lobsters, crabs, bright blue and yellow fish, anemones galore... we could have stayed there all day but the light was fading so we headed back. As we packed up a boat came to shore captained by a friend of Mary's who had been fishing for the day and he decided to give us a huge Martin snapper which we cooked up for dinner!

Snorkelling at the blue hole

The take out bar

We stopped at this little bar to buy some local beers for the drive home - gotta love the relaxed "Island attitude", and were treated to this sunset on the way home... no complaints from us!

Sunset on night #2

Part Two....Arrived

All is well in Freeport....no really it is....honestly!!!
We left the -20 degrees in Calgary and the threat of snow in Toronto to a balmy 26 ...maybe more.
Upon arrival, we sailed through immigration and customs. I think the customs agent thought Helen was a "real" doctor as she quizzed her about a friends inner ear problems....let me tell you even I said intelligent things!!!
We went to the local grocery store....then were slapped with a power outage....good thing we are white so we could see each other in the parking lot! Our host Mary and her husband Basil are SO lovely :) We have certainly found a wonderful friend and she is very excited that we are here to model a different style of care. Mary has 3 dogs and a crazy parrot called Webster who talks and imitates the phone, the appliances and likes to forage in the garbage when he is let out of his cage!

We had a very quick tour of the hospital because Mary had to drop off a breast pump for a new mom. It is a one story affair and quite primitive, though the staff are lovely. We get to have a proper tour/orientation with one of the nurses on Monday. There are 2 labor rooms, each with 2 beds and a flimsy curtain between them. Privacy is not a priority, or maybe it is just not possible given the resources here. There is one small delivery room which the moms are moved to when they are close to delivery. It is not much bigger than the labor room and they get to lie flat on their backs until birth because that is the most convenient for the delivery staff... hopefully we can make a difference in this department at the very least.

Tomorrow we get to explore our surroundings and Mary is taking us to a fund-raising jazz event for the infant nursery, at which she promises to introduce us to lots of people. Pics to follow.

Part One

We left the frozen Cowtown and thanks Heather for the lift to the airport through the crazy traffic. I was stressed and Helen could have walked faster for most of the ride....this we will not miss at all.
We were treated like royalty on the airplane....thanks honey.
We arrived safely in Toronto and had a nice dinner with my parents.
Heading to Bahamas tomorrow....much more to follow.

A thousand thank you's!

We are overflowing with pride as we pack all of the supplies donated by our wonderful friends and family.
We have collected:
desk blood pressure monitor
3 dopplers
baby shampoos and lotions
breast pump
2 pulse oximeters
5 digital thermometers
4 boxes of probe covers
4 infant stethoscopes
4 adult stethoscopes
dvd player
6 disposable cameras for bereavement kits
bag of stuffed animals for the bereavement kits
5 babycare/safety dvds
pack of diapers
box of Q Tips
blood pressure cuff and stethoscope set
4 fetoscopes
1 pinard horn (low tech way to listen to baby's heart in utero
4 boxes of gloves
bag of medications
birthing magazines
Bastyr loot for the nurses

We are sure that they will be really happy to receive these items
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you ....

2 sleeps!

Wow - it's hard to believe we are now this close to departing for our adventure. We are SO excited to be almost on our way to this incredible experience. Bags are getting packed, final supplies are rolling in and we are preparing our families to do without us for the next month. Tonight we are getting together to assemble the HUGE pile of medical supplies that we are donating with the help of our supporters. There will be at least 1 large suitcase full of goodies, maybe 2 depending on how well we pack. I must say that the timing re the weather seems to be working especially in our favour - tonight the snow is coming to Calgary and the cold we have avoided so far is here to stay for at least the next 2 weeks. Meanwhile in Freeport the forecast for this week is 29 Celsius and sunny every day... sorry folks but it won't be all fun and games for us. Our host Mary has organized some acclimatization activities for us for the next few days and then we will officially start at the hospital in Freeport on Monday. We are preparing ourselves to see some situations that will be very difficult but we are confident that together we will be able to offer the women a more compassionate and empowering birth experience than they would have without us. We go there to offer the best of ourselves and hope that it will make a difference...

Many steps forward and a few back...

Yes we are now officially counting sleeps....7 to go. It has been a busy time for Helen and I as we get prepared for this fabulous opportunity.

We are overwhelmed with the generosity of our friends and family as we have raised over $1500.00 in a few short weeks. We have been successful in purchasing everything on the “wish list” and more which delights us as we are able to hand over all the needed supplies….most of which we take for granted in our privileged lives so a huge thank you to everyone.

There have been rumblings from our host in The Bahamas that they wish to have some media attention brought to us when we arrive and we believe this is because this is the first time that someone has offered the services that we can so naturally provide….We do realize that we may have some big shoes to fill and very much look forward to this opportunity to educate ourselves.

We love to give and that is why we have chosen this field. I for one feel blessed that I have met so many wonderful people along the way and are able to witness a woman become a mother and a man become a father. I applaud my good friend Helen who has taken her passion one step further and is a few months away from becoming a midwife.

Good Karma/Bad Karma….this past week however, someone took it upon themselves to empty out my bank account…fortunately, my bank is replacing all the money but it does leave a sour taste about the motives of some individuals!!

I am teaching the DONA Birth Doula Training course this weekend and Helen has a few births she is still on call for then our lives will be changing in so many ways….at least for awhile.

Have tickets, will travel!

So our trip is really starting to come together now. This week we booked our flights from Toronto direct to Freeport so that was pretty exciting. We made a large order of supplies and then another as the donations keep pouring in - we have so many wonderful, supportive and generous friends! Stay tuned for a detailed list of all the items that have been donated to help make birth a better experience for the women and babies in The Bahamas. Our host in Freeport is working hard to ensure that we will not be charged duty on our donations and has been busy organizing our orientation to The Rand maternity ward, a media frenzy on our arrival, an island tour and visits to prenatal and postpartum clinics on the Island. Our departure is less than 2 weeks away now!

Supplies ordered!

Thank you SO much to everyone who has donated items or money so far. Jennifer and I are overwhelmed with your generosity. Today we placed a large order for some supplies that were on the list that Sister Rolle sent to us. Our order includes multiple adult and infant stethoscopes, thermometers and probe covers, pulse oximeters and other goodies. We have also gathered quite a collection of other items including a desk blood pressure monitor, baby shampoo, a DVD player for the teen pregnancy program, a blood pressure cuff and stethoscope, 4 fetoscopes and a pinard horn (for listening to baby's heart beat in utero) and newborn diapers to name a few. We are still collecting items and hope to snag some used gowns for the moms to wear and various other comfort items for them. It will be so fun for us to show up bearing these gifts that have been donated by our friends and supporters. We anticipate taking at least one, maybe two suitcases full of supplies to donate. In addition Birth Unlimited has offered to ship a box of magazines on our behalf so that is great, plus we SO appreciate not having to transport them ourselves! Stay tuned for further updates - it's getting close now...

A wish list

Hello friends….as many of you know by now, the purpose of this blog is to tell you about our volunteer trip to Freeport, The Bahamas for 4 weeks beginning November 16^th 2010. Jennifer will be providing doula services and I will be managing deliveries at the public hospital in Freeport. The population that we will be serving are very poor and the resources are not what we have become used to here in Canada. We have financed the cost of our travel and accommodations but are looking for some support in helping improve the experiences of women and babies in The Bahamas. Some of you have generously offered to donate either supplies and/or funds to help with the desired equipment that are desperately needed there. We have received quite a comprehensive list from Sister Rolle whom we have been in contact with from the local hospital where we will be volunteering.

The unit wish list includes:

Rectal thermometers
desk blood pressure apparatus
Fetal heart pinna, for listening to fetal heart
Oxisensor, for NICU monitoring
skin probe covers for thermometers
Baby supplies - wash, shampoo etc
Pamphlets (mother & baby)
Magazines with baby care
Old DVDs - Bathing infant, use of car seat
stethoscopes, adult and infant
hand held pulseoximeter x 2
Diagnostic sets
Bowls for bathing infants

Disposable cameras for bereavement kits

If you wish to donate goods please make arrangements to get them to us before November 10^th. If you would prefer to donate funds for us to use to purchase supplies, please feel free to send an email money transfer to Jennifer at cresthaven_jlm@hotmail.com  We would need these funds sooner rather than later so that we will have time to order and/or purchase the supplies before we leave. I will be able to purchase some medical equipment next week in Seattle.

Thank you so much for your help…it will be a thrill for us to bring these items with us.

Supplies requested!

OK peeps - so we asked one of the Sisters at The Rand to tell us what supplies they wished for that we might bring to donate and she has come through! She sent us a list tonight that is quite long and detailed. Jen and I will go through it together and post it in the next day or two for all to see. We are hoping to gather some donations of goods and/or money so that we can purchase and bring some of the supplies that are so desperately needed for the women and babies of The Bahamas. In the meantime if you have any old mother/baby magazines or baby care DVD's lying around that you don't need anymore please gather them as they were mentioned on the list. We will post more details shortly as we gather more information.

We are going !!!!

We have had confirmation that all is a go for Helen and I....thanks to everyone's hard work and persistance to nudge this amazing opportunity along for us.
There were a few major details that needed to be worked out and confirmed by the authorities and we are thrilled to have authorization to donate our time and resources to the birthing women of Grand Bahama.
Helen...my travel partner and friend, you have done so much to make this possible for us....it is going to be awesome !! We are a great team.

Helen's input - well it is GOING to happen but I still have to submit a bunch of documents in order to get approval from the Nursing Council. It's just a formality but it has to be done. Jennifer is apparently pre-approved! How on earth??

"The waiting is the hardest part" Tom Petty

So...several weeks ago we recieved confirmation that all was a go. The Ministry of Health, Nursing Council of The Bahamas just needed to send some necessary paperwork to Bastyr University in Seattle.
This paperwork would enable Helen to count each birth she attends as a primary caregiver which is needed for her graduation in June.
Well....we have been warned about "island time". Those of us who simply do what is needed have to muster up some patience right now which we are quickly realizing  may not be our best assest!!! (We think the island might be exactly what we need!)
Two weeks has gone by and perhaps the paperwork may still be sitting on someone's desk....hmmm.
However, we have huge faith in the universe and are confident that this will all come together.
Send positive thoughts our way.

"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination" Jimmy Dean

It has been awhile since we have had anything intelligent to say so here is the attempt. Ahhh

There were a few setbacks….very minor I assure you…as some extra paperwork was needed for the Council of Nursing in The Bahamas.

Helen and I were asked to send a resume pertaining to our birth experience for their approval.

I have to say…..I love my friends!!! After submitting a valid resume for Helens endorsement….she and my friend Heather completely edited it for my and their entertainment. I have to say they had me crying I was laughing so hard….thank you to both of you however that version needs to remain in safe keeping.

I want to send a thank you also to Dr Allan Lin in Calgary for generously donating latex gloves for us to use while we are away. This journey is being funded entirely by Helen and me and we are very appreciative of any assistance given thus far.

Tomorrow I meet with a woman who makes her own scrubs…..many fun colours and designs….and I am confident I will come across something fabulous for us.

We are getting so excited about our adventure and will begin counting the sleeps soon!!

"I am not one of those who in expressing opinions confine themselves to facts" Mark Twain

Helen and I have recieved some very interesting "facts" about the healthcare in Bahamas, the eye opening realities that affect women and children and the realism that we will encounter while we are volunteering.
The following are a few harsh truths:

• Pregnant women are mandated to birth in a hospital. At 32 weeks, they move to Nassau or Freeport for the remainder of their pregnancy.
• 75% of first time moms  in The Bahamas are single...the Bahamian culture is macho in orientation.
• Issues of rape, child abuse and sexual assault are ignored.
• 2 out of 3 of the world's poor are women and their children.
• Poverty  is due to lack of child support, depression in healthcare, education, social and financial support, means by which to earn a living, disempowerment, abuse of all kinds....physical, sexual, emotional.
• The Bahamas has the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS in the English speaking Caribbean
• This is the leading cause of death for 15 to 44 years olds and 1 of 2 leading causes of death in 1 to 4 year olds.
• 20% of females aged 15-16 are overweight.
• 70% of overweight children become obese adults ....therefore they experience hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, cardiac issues and poor pregnancy outcomes.
• Bahamian men prefer larger women.

We are fully aware of some of the challenges that face us however we can only offer what we are capable of and that is the very thing we do best....present ourselves in a generous, kind-hearted and considerate manner with a smile and warm heart.....stay tuned for much more !!!

"Women's strongest feelings (in terms of their birthings), positive and negative, focus on the way they were treated by their caregivers". Penny Simkin and Annie Kennedy

This quote is the reason why we want to go to The Bahamas and describes what we want to achieve while we are there. It is our hope to make a difference one woman at a time, while understanding that we cannot change the system during our short stay. We go there to simply offer the best of what we do.

At this point we have plans to travel there towards the end of November for 4 weeks. We have had many emails and conversations with our friend and host Mary Delashmutt, and feel like we are already firm friends. The plan is this... we attend births together at the hospital in Freeport in the role of doula extraordinaire (Jen) and senior student midwife extraordinaire (Helen). We do our best to provide the women we support with safe, compassionate and empowering care with the assistance of the maternity staff. Jennifer also has plans to help Mary teach prenatal classes to the local women, while Helen will gain more valuable experience "catching" babies as she prepares to graduate in June 2011.

Every now and then we might have to debrief on the beach... and/or share our passion with our lovely host and her husband (poor man).

It is our hope to raise funds so that we can leave the hospital with more than just fond memories of us, and that we can bring back a new appreciation of how lucky we are in Canada.

Watch for another post in the coming days about some of the pressing public health issues that affect maternity care in The Bahamas.

"Leap, and the Net will Appear" John Burroughs

A respected friend once gave me a card with this quote on it and instantly I took a liking to the concept.

For several years, in my work as a birth doula, I have often had the desire to volunteer my services in another country. For some reason, life perhaps, everything seemed to get in the way or there was never the perfect time or obstacles were around every corner. I believe now that I was my obstacle, I am my perfect time and this is my life.

So therefore…..I am doing it….in The Bahamas.



Bahamas you say….well that sounds more like a vacation!!! My thought to some extent as anyone who knows me knows how much I enjoy the sunshine.

After further eye opening research and discovery, I am beginning to trust that the warmth I will be experiencing will in fact be the compassion that I will provide.

Details will unfold......