The Baby Factory

On Tuesday we started our clinicals in the maternity hospital, Sotomayor. It is so interesting.

This hospital services Guayaquil and much of the surrounding area. About 25,000 babies are born there per year! I couldn't believe a hospital producing more babies than Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, but they've done it! It is very much a baby factory.

Because of the high number of births, they have a very different system from ours. It isn’t better or worse, just different. They start out in a room with about ten to twenty other women, all lying in stretchers. There are so many women that there is no room for spouses or family. Each woman is totally alone! They do not receive epidurals unless they have a special circumstance. Also, the nurses do not perform labor support.

As soon as we entered, we found a woman alone in the corner wailing in pain. I went with my instructor to see what we could do. The woman was eighteen years-old and having her first baby. We started counterpressure (pressure on the knees during contractions), massage, and just talking to her. Soon I turned into a doula for this young girl. Three times she sat up and collapsed into my arms. I had no idea what I was doing but I guess maybe it was nice just to have someone there. I turned into a cheesy, Spanish motivational speaker whispering, “Si se puede!” J She gave birth within an hour or so.

The birthing room is also neat- just a row of fifteen beds with stirrups!

 Despite the different facilities, their nursing and medical care is very up-to-date. The birth was similar to those I’ve seen in the states. After, they go into a room with twenty other women to recover and sleep. Their stretchers are just feet apart and they are all out cold snoring! It’s awesome.

The baby is not given to the mother for a few hours because it would be too hard to supervise all of them together. I felt bad for these new moms anxious to see their babies so I became the baby photographer! I would take pictures of the babies and then go to show the moms in postpartum.

Here's one of my favorite baby shots. He's not too happy about being in this world yet... 

Me with the angry cutie

All in all it was a fabulous day of clinical. We aren’t here to “save” these people- they are thriving in their own way under their difficult circumstances. I was impressed by how much they do not waste equipment. Even every wrapper for sterile gloves was used as a drape for the baby scale. Most of the nurses and doctors are also very friendly towards us, always wanting to chat and work together. I love doing clinical with them! 

Ecuadorians are tiny people! Here's us in our L&D scrubs... more like capris on us! 

And some of our friends on the L&D staff

 It’s been fun to use my Spanish and witness a world of birthing very different from a labor and delivery unit in the US. I will be there all week!