I had a baby- by Laura Marie

Mwalibiya buti! Good afternoon!

    These last two weeks have been wonderful. We travel about an hour away on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to spend the day at the Macha Mission Hospital. They did not have accommodations for us, so we've been commuting. Macha is particularly special because of the Macha Malaria Research Institute next to the hospital. They have ERADICATED malaria in Macha because of this institute. They've been doing research for years on mosquitoes and their breeding vectors and totally eliminated the carriers. Malaria is one of the primary health concerns here and kills so many, so this is an incredible feat.
Last Wednesday, I worked in the Labor Ward and was hoping to get to see a delivery since I have never seen one in the states. Well, we had a couple of mothers going into labor and the nurse asked if we wanted to do it and guess what?! I did EVERYTHING. Coached the mom, delivered the baby, clamped the cord, cut it, clamped it again permanently and snipped it short, weighed the baby and swaddled it, left it under a LAMP haha, then went back to the mom, wrapped the still-attached clamp around the cord and started working the placenta out, delivered that, and then delivered oxytocin IM into her thigh and manually worked her uterus into a contraction. It was INCREDIBLE. She had a 1st degree tear posteriorly. So the nurse asked if I had sutured before and I told her that I had seen it many times. So she walked me through it and I did the whole thing! She asked again after I was done- Have you sutured before? I said, "No this is my first time," and she said, "Wow, you did very good." :D :D :D I don't think I'll ever forget what it felt like to carry that baby to his momma in the postnatal ward (where she walked by herself not 5 minutes after delivering!) and the feeling of joy knowing a new life was in the world. Praise the Lord!
The hospital at Macha is big enough that there's only 2 or 3 of us at a time on each unit, so we are getting to do a whole lot. In OB there were 3 of us girls and 3 births so we each got to deliver one!!!! SUCH an awesome opportunity.
One of the Zambian women who works for World Hope came to our class on Tuesday and spoke to us about Zambian traditions in how a person reaches maturity and then the marriage traditions. It is CRAZY. She said that these are not things that are ever spoken about until you are in your 3 month training period before you marry so they are quite private and secret. A woman has a three month training when she reaches puberty where her father's sister will come and teach her for three months. She does not go to school during this time and is always with her aunt; food is brought to her and she is even accompanied to bathe. She is taught how to be a woman. She is no longer to be friends with girls who are not yet mature, she cannot spend a lot of time with boys, and she is to be quiet and strong. The first boy a young woman brings home to her family is the man she plans to marry. He has to pay a "bride price" which is paid in cows, fabric, and money and can equal over $1500. He must pay this bride price the first time he visits the family and then both the bride and groom go into a three month training period. The woman is taught to be a good wife and to serve and take care of her husband. The husband/wife relationship here is quite different from the US= the men are to be served at all times. Polygamy is rampant here in non-Christian homes, and a man is taught never to leave his wife- even if he has a girlfriend, he is never to leave his wife. He can take other wives and builds huts for each wife and her children next to his hut. I was astounded to learn what goes on in marriages here, but as Zambia is a Christian nation, the church advocates for fidelity in a marriage and for that I am grateful.
We also learned this week about some of the hash-mark-like scars on the chest, neck, and abdomen of some women we have seen here. There is a pagan practice of making these small cuts to release evil spirits within the person. Two of the women I cared for on Friday had these scars so I was able to silently pray for them as I cared for them. The Lord has been reminding me this week about my calling to care for His people, not just African people, but all children of His. It is so beautiful to think that I can have a heart for any nation and any people, just knowing that these are His children for whom He desires so much good.
The Lord is ever faithful! Thanks again for reading and for your prayers and support.
Many blessings,
Laura