First Assisted Birth!

This is lovely Gina and her new son, Kent John Christopher. Yesterday, I worked swing shift (2pm-10pm) and though I had class from 2:15 pm 'til 3:30 pm, I got to assist in my very first birth!
Now, some of you may wonder what "assisting" means when talking about birth....so let me explain.

The first step in the birth room is OBSERVING 10 births, then you get to CHART for 5 births, next comes ASSISTING for 10 births, after that.....you get to catch and handle the babies!

So, 9 more assists and I get to deliver babies...!

Ate Susan was my supervisor while Josephine was the handling midwife. As Gina was laboring, it was my job to check the fetal heart tones every 5 minutes, as well as get any supplies Josephine might need for the birth.
As Gina began to push, I got to continue checking the heart tones in addition to making sure that Gina was still doing well.
And once the baby's head was out, I prepared to get handed the baby to bulb suction and wipe down.....THEN KENT FLEW OUT sporting his umbilical cord around his middle, shoulder and neck! Josephine quickly unraveled him and passed him to me to suction his snotty, amniotic fluid-filled mouth and nostrils and meanwhile, dry him off and put him on his mommy's chest.

Then, I got to give him an Apgar score....he was at a 7 because he wasn't crying and his coloring was pretty blue....but I flicked his feet and poked his hands and he began to cry....then I gave him his Vitamin K shot and he HOWLED! Good sign....then I gave him another Apgar score...it was 8 by then, and put him to his mommy's breast. He started to feed a bit.

Then I palpated his mommy's abdomen (called the fundus) to make sure all the clots were out after she delivered the placenta (that was quite the job!) and then I gave her an oxytocin shot to stop the bleeding.

I checked her blood pressure, pulse and fundus every five minutes for 15 minutes and then I was done!

I cleaned up the birth room, the birth cart and the pink pads and thanked the Lord I hadn't made any drastic, devastating mistakes. The only one I made was forgetting to put on another set of gloves to palpate the mother's belly! Ooops.

Assisting a birth goes so fast and you really have to be on your toes....I was so grateful that Ate Susan and Josephine were so clear with their instructions and so gracious in their teaching. What a blessing! The best part was that Kent John Christopher is healthy and his momma is doing well.

Despite the crazy schedule, insane amount of homework, and my heading into the night shift this evening, I am doing okay......busy, but blessed.
Below is another pic of Gina, baby Kent, Gina's awesome bana, and her midwife, Beautiful Josephine. What a joy to be a part of their birth.
Please be praying for Mercy Maternity Clinic as we are being inspected by the Philippines Department of Health. It is a scary and stressful time. Please pray that the Lord's favor will reign down on the clinic, the Filipina staff and the patients. We really need the Lord's grace.

Please also pray for our health and finances as we have hit some rough times, too. Most of us are hitting some serious spiritual warfare right now, both internally and externally. Thank you for all your prayers, comments, encouragements, and e-mails! We are feeling well-supported and equipped by the grace of God to continue in this adventure. We are so grateful that the Lord is taking care of us as we do our best to serve Him in whatever capacity He desires!

Be blessed!