Sorry I haven’t
updated for a while. Quite honestly I haven’t really known what to write….
2 months in and I am on the biggest learning curve of my life. Take everything I thought I knew about the world and put it in a box and forget about it. Life here is that different I feel like I am starting from scratch. I am trying to learn a new language…. Its difficult but in order to be able to properly communicate what I want to say to women I feel it is essential. Its hard having to rely on someone to translate for you all of the time and I am never 100% sure that what I want to say is being delivered. There is such a difference here in the relationship between midwife and woman. Shouting at a client is shockingly acceptable (despite many protests on my part) The women here have no pain relief in labour and as part of the culture are expected to keep quiet and get on with it. You never hear a woman here moan or complain. This birth culture is alien to me and I am struggling to adjust. You begin to question all of your morals. How can I let this happen? But in reality the real question is how can I work here and develop a relationship that may have some influence to help them see that this behavior is not ok? As you can see the second question is far more complex then the first. This sums up everything I am trying to do. Everything is complex. You cannot just walk in and make changes. Its very easy to identify where the problems may lie. In fact midwives shouting at women is one of the smaller problems there are many more worrying things that I have been a witness too. Thinking like this alone has taken me a while. Before I would see it all as unacceptable and not stand for any of it. Now you really have to choose your battles and fight for the things that can make differences to life and death. I am struggling with it. I have realised things that seem simple to me are far more complex here. My whole career I have worked on the belief of woman centred care. There really is no such thing here. I am trying to fight bigger issues such as this while addressing the smaller ones such as not leaving babies to get cold after birth….
Since my last post
I have finished my orientation and begun work as a clinical instructor.
I love teaching! I
never realised it before but I really do! The students that I am working with
at the moment are in the 3rd year of their course and have had very
little midwifery supervision in their clinical placements thus far. This is a
challenge as they have been used to being left to get on with it…. So at the
moment I am gently trying to earn their trust so that they can come to me and
ask for help. I am also working with them quite closely to see what they know
and where they might need some support. One of the areas quickly identified was
with suturing so I was able to arrange a particle suturing session in the
colleges very well equipped skills lab!!
Along with trying
to change the way I think and approach everything in life… deep! I have also
been taking some time out at the weekends to travel! This is the best part so
far about being in Malawi! It is such a beautiful country and I would like to
see as much of it as possible while I am here. The lake is glorious, hot
weather and crystal clear waters. It is a very welcome escape!! I have been
twice in the last few weeks and enjoyed every second! Also it is currently
winter here and Nkhoma is set upon the side of a very large hill (mountain) so
at night it get extremely cold! I never really paid much attention when I was
told I would need a jumper in Africa and only brought one with me…. So I have
had to go shopping for some warm winter clothes. Apparently I shouldn’t moan as
in the hot season it is unbearably hot… but those of you that know me will know
that I do not suffer the cold very well at all!!
We have also had
some new additions to our VSO Nkhoma family! They arrived around the same time
I did (good omen) and have been being very well looked after by their mother
and are now big enough to be out and about!!! They may look cute but don’t be
fooled they are vicious.. in a cute way!! We are currently trying to get them
not to be afraid of humans.
To top all of this
off last week I discovered that despite taking anti malariels, sleeping under a
mosquito net and going through daily chokings after spraying myself in deet I
had caught malaria! Typical!!! It totally wiped me out but thankfully because I
had been taking prophylaxis the symptoms were milder then they would have
otherwise been… I just had zero energy and felt dizzy whenever I tried to do
anything… Looking back I think I had the malaria for a while before I got
tested as an annoying health care professional I self diagnosed and commenced
on iron suppliments as I was convinced this was the problem… Oppps but now I am
recovering well and have a very healthy Haemoglobin so win win!!
There really is
never a dull moment here!!
