So I have now been living here in Tabuk for 6 months and I've decided it is finally time to get my act together and start giving you a peep into what is is like to train as a midwife on the mission field. I know my title is a little silly but that's exactly what I want this blog to be; a look into my life here that will hopefully raise a few smiles, maybe even the odd laugh!
So far on my grand adventure I have had the pleasure of catching 15 babies to date. I won't be posting pictures of every birth, but a surprising number of our patients are gracious enough to give consent for me to put pictures on my blog of their precious newborns.
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| Baby Althea Rose Born Dec 13th 2012 |
It's a bit strange when I think back to 6 short months ago when I was packing my bags to come here, the closest I had been to a birth was watching back-to-back episodes of One Born Every Minute. Now here I am being a part of prenatal care, supporting women through their labour and birth. I have a long long way to go yet but so far I'm enjoying the journey!
One of the most important things I have learned so far is that midwifery really is a skill. There is no amount of reading you can do or leactures you can attend that could prepare you for the experience of being in a room with a woman giving birth. Of course the book learning stuff is important, those heavy medical books that I dragged all the way here are getting lots of use! But when a woman is experiencing the most intense contractions and looks to you for support, it can be frankly terrifing the first few times! Especially when there is no pain relief to offer all you can do is support her, be with her through the pain and congradulate her on her strength after each contraction. I am in awe of my teachers, the midwives who answer all my silly questions and guide me through each birth.
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| Clinic Christmas Party 2012 |
Where I am living is really beautiful, Tabuk is in the Northern Philippines. We live in an area that has a long history of tribal war but thankfully things seem quiet at the moment. Tabuk is the capital city of the privince of Kalinga, but it is not a city like the ones we are used to. Tabuk feels more like a small town that is surrounded by rice fields and hills. It is peaceful here and the pace of life seems to move with the rice harvest. The fields are a hive of activity at the moment with everyone planting the rice and then it will be quiet again until people reappear to harvest the rice.
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| First step, plowing the field by hand |
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| Families and neighbours help eachother out to get the fields planted as quickly as possible |
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| Typical evening view from our balcony. |
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| The village of Bugnay, where there is a sister maternity clinic |
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Our neighbors and their buffalo
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Anyway maybe that is enough ramblings for one day, more photos and stories to come soon!
Aisling x
