Home again

Hi 

I am home again, but before I write about re-entering my life I want to tell you all about the last couple of days in Bali. I am going to break my own rule and describe two births. I am not going to give any names or anything though. 

So 

Only in Bali

A few days before I left Bali, I was oncall as the western midwife.  I was called by a woman in early labor. She was Australian and wanted to check in with the midwife who would be at her birth. She had been having contractions for a while but they were not regular or very hard yet. She just wanted to know who the english speaking midwife would be. As it turned out I had done a prenatal for her a couple of weeks before so we knew each other. 

I asked her to call back after a couple of hours. 

Later they called to say that the water had broken, but contractions were still sporadic. I let them know that they would increase in frequency and strength and that they could stay home a while or come in to the clinic. 

They arrived at the clinic with contractions that were 7 minutes apart but quickly became 4 minutes apart once she had a room.  She had the support of her husband, mother, and a Doula from the clinic and of course the Indonesian Midwives and me. 

Now here comes the only in Bali part. 

While I am checking her in, and getting everything ready for her birth, a local midwife is calling the local woman who provides massage to the midwives and arranges a Lur Lur for me. 

So after I check them in I go back to the Ashram (with my cell phone and the Massage lady) and receive a full body massage and lur scrub. The scrub was made of spices, the main one being tumeric, first she massaged my skin vigorously and then smeared the spices on. Then she proceeded to rub the spices into my skin until they pilled up taking all the dead skin with them. Then she whisked it all away. 

I felt and smelled wonderful. My skin was silky smooth. I felt refreshed. A quick shower and back to the birth center. 

My client was doing great, her husband rubbing her back,  a Doula was with them, and their family was waiting on the couches outside the birth room. After checking in with the birthing mom, she was progressing great, and sending the family off to eat, I was able to thank the midwives for setting up my massage. 

I also noticed that the men of the clinic where having their hair cut by the barber, on a chair in the parking lot. I inquired as was able to get a trim of the back of my hair while I waited on the baby. Now all of the men had a good laugh at this crazy American midwife getting her hair cut by the barber. 

Soon the mother wanted to push. 

I had the most amazing experience as a midwife.  The mom was pushing, her husband holding her  in his lap, the grandmother, a midwife was loudly encouraging her, her doula was quietly encouraging her. Her MIL was asking questions in german, and I was surrounded by the Indonesian Midwives, one sat behind me and rubbed my back and reminded me to sit up straight, one sat on my right, her arms brushing mine and occasionally embracing me. Another was on the left, holding the mothers leg. Soon another Indonesian midwife came and added her bright smile. 

Together we encouraged her to push, in English, and Indonesian  we encouraged her, keep pushing, truess,  truess, truess, and slowly slowly, palon, palon, and all singing the Om Bur a mantra that is sung at most of the births at the clinic. 

The midwives sang so beautifully, I never learned all the words, I was only able to hum along, but I heard and felt the support and love of all of them, for the mother and family and for me the midwife at that birth. 

I will never forget the peace of that birth, the mom crowned her baby slowly and then was able to reach down and bring her baby to her chest. She was amazing and strong and incredible. Her husband cried, as did her mom and MIL. 

Soon the grandpas wanted to see the baby and after everyone had a look, I kicked out everyone but the dad and told them that we needed some privacy to have the placenta, so they all went out and mom and dad had time with the baby. 

Then the placenta came over an intact perineum. 

NSVD of a baby girl.

Normal Spontaneus  Vaginal Delivery

the Birth happened at 7 or so in the evening. 

Clean up and then go eat. 

Read a bit and to bed.

My Last Birth

at 1 am a call

Over to the clinic, two women in labor, oops make that three one more just came in. 

I check in with the Midwives and find out where I can help. 

A doula with one of them 

I work with the moms, check babies heart rates, moms cervixes, everyone is doing fine. Progress is being made on all fronts. 

Then the mom I am working with is complete and wants to push. The baby is high, really high. So we set up a make shift birth stool with two office chairs, (don't tell the office staff) and woosh the water breaks, heart rate is fine and then the baby has descended. It came down and then it stayed their, pushing and pushing, sit up, squat, lay down, push baby doesn't come down any more. 

All of the midwives try things, the Indonesian midwives encourage her to push hard, keep going. Finally we do not know what else to do. So we consider transport to hospital. 

The baby is big and the mom is small, they measure her height and estimate the babies weight. 

The Indonesian Midwives call the doctor, and I get the mom up for one last try squatting. Something shifts the baby comes down. 

In come the Indonesian Midwives, we are all excited. She goes up on her husbands lap, and then she pushes with all her energy and the baby is born. The mother was so strong, and she is so happy to hold her son. 

It needs a bit of help, an so we stimulate, suction and help the baby to breath. 

One of the Indonesian midwives sutures the mom. 

NSVD of baby boy.

In both of these births I feel the strong sense of trust that the Indonesian midwives and I have found with one another. It is what I will take from Bali the sense of working together with all of our strengths to help mothers.