Brenda

Pretty grainy because of the light filtering in. This was our crew, including the child that started wailing when she was watching the shoulder dystocia...kids are so perceptive. Oddly enough, the one holding the baby is not the mother. She is the one in the white dress. Her name is Susan.

It was a 5 day labor for a woman who didn't speak the local dialect. Madi >>  Acholi >> English >> Acholi >> Madi in everything that was said. Initially I thought it might be twins (Which are often surprise twins in the end) because I found two heartbeats. There are no such thing as Ultrasounds here to let me know before. Plus, it is a local belief that the mother should not know if she is having twins before the labor because it means that her delivery will go smoothly. Her big belly was just so big!

She was exhausted by the end and could barely move to the floor where she wanted to deliver on all fours. Her water ruptured all over the floor and it was an enormous amount. The baby was very big and had a shoulder dystocia, meaning the shoulder get stuck after the head delivers. This is an emergency and requires the mother to listen and follow direct instructions to get the baby out. This was not happening. She went into "Labor Land", or so it has been called, and was not fully with us. I believe that rationale thinking sometimes is lost during active stages and pushing for the mother. This is how it was...things got hectic, the cord then snapped off the placenta, kids were screaming ...... it was a good birth.

Traditional Birth Attendant, Catherine, with baby Brenda

The next morning she smiled up at me her beautiful white smile and said she wanted to name the baby after me to remember how much I helped her. Steph-a-nie, I spoke out slowly a few times. With difficulty in the pronunciation for the mother-in-law, it was decided to forgo my name and name the baby the name of my mother. Brenda. This was much easier and they all smiled and clapped with delight.

So, Mom...this one is for you. Lots of Love from Uganda.