As many of you know, when I began this blog last year, I was in Peru volunteering in a hospital in Trujillo. My job (if you want to call it work!) was to help deliver babies. There was no greater job than helping bring babies into the world.
I'm currently doing my OB rotation in Escondido, CA- let's just say, I'm in love. OB is my calling. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing a baby be brought into the world. On Monday, I got to see a few births and it was amazing to see the difference in medicine from Peru to America. Here is a little insider view into some of the differences in the "birthing experience"
Peru:
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| "Waiting Room" for family & friends |
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| Infant Warmer |
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| Birthing Center |
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| Baby Nursery - all babies share a bed |
America:
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| Infant Warmer |
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| Birthing Room |
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| Babies stay with the mom after birth |
It's a completely and totally different experience both from a medical and patient perspective. Patients in Peru are not allowed to have any family or friends in the delivery room. In America, you'll likely find cousins, friends, and good ol' Aunt Jane standing by the mom's side. Both have their advantages, but it was very enlightening to experience the American way!
Another fun tangent of the day:
Yesterday one of my patients told me she was a mother of 10. That's a lot of babies.
Then she told me she delivered them all herself at her farm in the "campo" (countryside). She delivered every single baby, without a doctor or nurse, not even an extra pair of hands to help catch the baby. She said all of the births were without complications and to this day all are alive and well. Unbelievable. She also told me that they would feed the placenta to the cows. Interesting :) What a contrast from the elective c-sections, inductions, and epidurals that mothers are able to have thanks to modern medicine!
My lesson learned: (Besides that she was my instant hero...) Our bodies are pretty amazing and 99% of the time, they know exactly what to do and when to do it.
Another fun tangent of the day:
Yesterday one of my patients told me she was a mother of 10. That's a lot of babies.
Then she told me she delivered them all herself at her farm in the "campo" (countryside). She delivered every single baby, without a doctor or nurse, not even an extra pair of hands to help catch the baby. She said all of the births were without complications and to this day all are alive and well. Unbelievable. She also told me that they would feed the placenta to the cows. Interesting :) What a contrast from the elective c-sections, inductions, and epidurals that mothers are able to have thanks to modern medicine!
My lesson learned: (Besides that she was my instant hero...) Our bodies are pretty amazing and 99% of the time, they know exactly what to do and when to do it.
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