A Baby was Born -- in a ditch!

  Thursday morning I woke up late and was sitting down to have tea and do my devotions when a visitor came.  I was handed a letter from the nearby clinic. 
The biggest  part of their health service across the river is helping deliver babies as well as keeping track of the babies’ development as they grow.  Mama Lily is the main nurse there and is quite experienced in delivering babies.  When there are complications in childbirth such as an emergency C-section, the expecting mother needs to be rushed to town – Sumbawanga which is 24 miles away. At the regional hospital they have the training and equipment to handle these situations.  When they reach an emergency situation such as this, they tell the family members to start looking for transport.  Often they come across the river with a letter asking for help.  We run to town at all hours of the day helping out.  In the car with us is the expecting mother, a nurse or two and as many family members as can fit in with us. 
  As I pulled up to the clinic Thursday morning, there were a lot of people standing around outside. Most were there for their baby’s monthly checkups or follow-up medical treatment of other types.  There was even a group of people there waiting for a class on AIDS medication that they were about to begin taking.  I walked into the office and found a nurse that I knew.  I was surprised to see so many nurses around. They explained that there were a dozen nurses in training doing their practicum at this clinic.  They nurse explained that the mother had been in labor for hours and the baby was transverse, or as she explained, laying sideways with the umbilical cord coming out first.  They had failed to turn it and the mother would need a C-section. 
   After getting the paperwork in order and figuring out which nurse, students and family members were to accompany us, we began our journey.  The first couple miles are extremely bumpy and then we reach a more maintained road.  Before we even reached the main road, we stopped for the nurse to check on the mother.  Then we began again.
   Just a few more miles down the road the mother asked to stop and use the restroom, so we pulled over and they helped her out of the car.  It didn’t take long to lay her down there in the ditch and within a few minutes it was clear that the baby was coming!  I sat in the car and watched as the nurse and her students were busy with the mother. She lay on a sheet of plastic, which is part of their typical birthing kit. The nurse was able to turn the baby and out she came!  After hitting the baby and holding her upside down to get her to take a deep breathe and to cry, the nurse set about opening her kit in the little metal container.  They had a razor blade and strings to tie of the umbilical cord and other supplies they needed.  For several minutes the nurses went to work on mom and the little one.  Finally they were able to get things together enough to start out journey. We turned the car around and headed back to the clinic.  The crowd of people were still gathered and when we pulled up they all feared the worst.  As the nurse stepped out of the car with the newborn wrapped up, everyone began to trill and congratulate us. 

  We can only praise the Lord for His help in delivering that baby girl safely alongside the road.  Mom and baby were tired but healthy.  This trip goes down in the history books for sure!  



  Below is a picture of the little baby still all white, just shortly after being born!