first week in Ecuador

Hola todos-

My first week in Ecuador has passed. I spent most of my time with students at the maternity hospital. It is a large hospital, with up to 100 deliveries a day. As with hospitals in Mexico, families are not allowed to stay with patients once they get admitted to Labor and Delivery. Up to 20 moms labor in one big room together, without their families and with no privacy whatsoever. On one side they line up the laboring women, in the middle they have a few patients who have had miscarrages, and on the other side are the women who are waiting for their c-sections. All of them get examined right there in front of the others. When a mother is ready for delivery, they will take her into an adjoining room where they have 8 beds with stirrups on them, ready for delivery. The mother moves to one of these beds, delivers, and then is moved to the recovery area. This is another large room where 20 or so mothers "recover" after their delivery or cesarean section. The cesarean sections are done at the other end, and fortunately, with only one patient per room.

Babies are put briefly on their mother's stomachs after a regular delivery, and then taken to a transition nursery where they are assessed. C-section babies go straight there.

The postpartum rooms are on the second floor. The main postpartum room as 57 beds. At least two days last week all of them were full of patients. Babies who are well stay right there in the beds with their mothers. Babies who are sick have to stay in the nursery, if it is something small like needing oxygen, or if they are really sick, they go to the newborn intensive care unit.

With all of the lack of privacy and shared space, however, the doctors and nurses do seem to be taking good care of everyone. One problem was some mothers had not gotten to see their babies for hours, sometimes days.

I need to go. I will write more later. It has been a big week. One cool thing is that Alison started a blog for us--I will include that in a follow up e-mail.

Shelly