Wednesday, July 31st was one of the best days of the Race so far, and we only have three weeks left, so there’s not a lot of time to beat it out… not that I think that that is possible.
On Wednesday, July 31st, I helped deliver a baby.
Whoa whoa whoa back up. HUH??
Okay, so this month is our LAST MONTH of the World Race and we are in Manila, Philippines working with an organization called Kids International Ministries (KIM). They’re incredible people doing incredible things in their neighborhood and all over Manila. This month, we are visiting their children’s home, working in the pregnancy clinic, leading Bible studies, and going on feeding runs to neighborhoods all over Manila.
Wednesday morning, Ally, Marah, Lynden, and I worked in the pregnancy clinic. The women at the pregnancy clinic receive free weekly check-ups, prenatal vitamins, and a tray of eggs. They are very loved and well-taken-care-of by the staff, and every time they visit there is a Bible Study for them, which we got to lead. We learned how to take blood pressures, measure fundal height (distance to the top of the uterus), and take the fetal heart rate. Marah was a pro at the blood pressure cuff and apparently I’m an expert fetal heart rate finder?! It was so much more fun than I was expecting, and I learned so much about prenatal care.
That afternoon, I asked the KIM representative of the pregnancy clinic if she needed us to do anything the rest of the day, otherwise we would be doing painting projects on the base. She checked her phone then looked at me and said, “There’s an 18-year-old mom whose water broke a few hours ago. Do you want to deliver a baby?”
Ummmm… YES!!!!
I jumped into action and grabbed Marah and Lynden who also really wanted to be at a delivery (Marah’s birthday was the day before and she really wanted to catch a baby on her birthday but none were born that day). We RAN to the pregnancy clinic down the road.
For the next three and a half hours we were this beautiful momma’s number one fans. We encouraged her, held her hands, fetched her water, rubbed her back, put pressure on her hips (apparently that helps the contraction pain), helped her stand up after squatting to push, and even got to check her dilation. The mom, Jacqueline, was a CHAMP. I think she maybe whimpered once or twice, but never cried and never yelled. The baby’s father was there with her, and they were really sweet together; the midwife says that they almost never have dads come to deliveries.
We were at her side for the entire delivery, and when the baby came, we saw the whole thing. Wow, it was incredible. I had so many endorphins and so much adrenaline; I think I’m addicted to being at births now hahaha. Marah had the sweet honor of cutting the umbilical cord, and I got to carry the baby into the next room to be weighed, cleaned off, and clothed.
Here are some pictures from this awesome day! (My hands were full most of the delivery so there’s not a lot of pictures from that, only memories haha.)
I’m not going to lie, I’ve been praying for God to send me back here again soon. I love Kids International Ministries, I love working in the pregnancy clinic, and I love the feeding program. Philippines is a DREAM and I already can’t wait to come back.
xoxo,
Jess
