This week we (Erin and Julia) were placed in the labor and delivery unit at Lewanika General Hospital. After receiving our placement site at 9pm the night before, we quickly rushed to prepare for the week ahead. We were both very eager and excited to start this placement as this area of nursing is one we both feel very passionate about.
Day one, we quickly joined in on rounds with the nurses, clinical officers (in Canada this job would be similar to the role of a nurse practitioner), and physicians. We soon realized just how busy this ward was as we rushed the first actively laboring mum down the hall into the labor room. With a physician, a nurse, and ourselves, we helped mum deliver a beautiful newborn boy within 10 minutes. We were grateful that both mum and baby were healthy, and that the birth was relatively easy. As the physician left the labor room quickly to tend to his next patient, the nurse cared for mum while the two of us had the privilege of performing the newborn assessment. Prior to our departure to Mongu, we were prepped on the differences in labor expectations in Zambia in comparison to those in Canada. In Zambia, the women are alone in the labor room, and bravely and quietly endure labour without pain medication. It was amazing to see the strength of these women.
Day two, we were working with a colleague who we grew very fond of over this week. He is a clinical officer who works on the labor and delivery floor. We are so grateful that he spent many hours teaching, testing and working alongside us. During this shift, he called us to assess a patient and as he and Erin were doing an exam they found 5 toes! Mum was again quickly rushed to the third labor room (as the other two were full) and within 5 minutes the clinical officer helped mum deliver a footling breech baby naturally (for those of you not in healthcare, this means baby comes out feet first and this can be very complicated, yet our colleague made it look easy - very impressive!)
Day three, definitely a tough but rewarding day. We were involved in a situation where we, along with another Zambian colleague, provided emergency life support to newborn twins. We worked with the resources available and used teamwork and innovation to utilize emergency equipment. Luckily, with grace, nervousness, and a lot of sweat, both babies started crying after 5 minutes - definitely the longest 5 minutes of our lives and what a sweet sound! This was an emotional moment for both of us, and we were both very happy that mum was able to take home two new family members.
Day four, a hard day to end on. After a slow morning, we witnessed the more rare and heart-breaking side of labor and delivery that involved the loss of a life. Apart from the scary but positive outcome we witnessed the day before, we had only witnessed the "happy endings" prior to this day. It is hard to put together words to say about this situation, it pretty much just sucked.
Looking back on the week as a whole, we are both very grateful for the learning opportunities as well as our ability to help where we could. The colleagues we worked with over this week were welcoming, kind, knowledgeable and incredibly resourceful. Although our Zambian colleagues were trained in a different country with a very different healthcare setting, all of our goals and passions for maternity patient care aligned. We will forever remember this intense, exciting, and sad first week that facilitated so much learning.
Your mum and baby fans,
Erin and Julia xx
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