Midwives Archives - Page 2 of 4 - CleanBirth - Saving Mothers and Babies in Laos

Apr 21 2015

Best Possible Care for Mothers & Babies

I so admire Ina May Gaskin. In my view, her’s is a life dedicated to empowering women. I hope that mine is too. I believe that how babies come into the world matters. My own births were far from perfect. Things happen. But the thing that I took away is that every woman should feel as empowered as possible. Mothers should have as much information as possible.

In Laos where we work, women have very little information. If their birth is normal, they are certainly allowed to birth alone because birthing alone (or with the help of family) is the norm. But when warning signs turn up in pregnancy or the birth shows signs of complications, the women we work with have few resources to identify and act on these problems. And so, many women wait to long to seek help or help is too far away regardless. So women die and babies die.

It is our hope that by making a start: training nurses, giving birth kits, we are beginning the process of giving all women in the area of Laos where we work a chance at a safe, empowered birth. There is a long way to go until every mother has a trained nurse or midwife by her side. But I hope that I will see the day when that is possible.

Oct 07 2013

Giving Birth Lao Style

Looking at the many pictures I have from clinics in Laos, I wanted to learn more specifics about why birthing practices such as the “hot bed” are so important to postpartum recovery in Laos.

I found this blog post which excerpted a “Vientiane Times” July 2006 article that sheds some light:
“A grey-haired woman chews betel nut as she puts a pot of glowing charcoal under the bed of her daughter, who lies there weakly after giving birth a few days ago.
The young mother’s body is covered in sweat due to the heat of the fire, which is as hots as the coals on which she normally grills fish.

I asked Mrs. Yad, who is taking care of her daugther Van, why it was necessary for her to lie over a bed of coals.

Mrs. Yad smiled and said that there were two accepted methods of post-natal recovery, referred to as cool or hot.

The “cool” method involves only taking traditional medicine and does not require the mother to lie over a fire. The “hot” method requires the mother to lie in bed over burning charcoal for at least 15 days.

While both these methods are traditional and have been in existence for as long as anyone can remember, almost every young mother without exception follows the “hot” method as requested by her family. This method is the more effective, according to Mrs. Yad.

The fire must stay alight all the time until the mother has completed her recovery, at a date determined by her own mother. This is done because it is believed that the heat of the fire will heal the uterus and birth canal more quickly. ‘If a new mother doesn’t do this, she may develop backache and an aching waist,’ she explained.

Mrs. Yad believes that if mothers can withstand the heat for this length of time, they will be healthier in the long run. The longer they lie over the fire, the sooner they will recover.

During this time, Van will drink several litres of hot water every day, boiled in a cooking pot and containing herbs to ensure that she will produce enough milk to breastfeed her baby. She also has to shower three of four times a day, again using warm water with traditional herbs. This is the Lao way, and it is rigorously adhered to.

The new mother is not allowed to eat normally after giving birth, and her diet is limited to prevent her becoming ill. In the first three days after delivery, she will only eat fried galangal with salt. AFter this she can eat friend meat of a black feathered chicken and of a black buffalo.”

Aug 19 2013

Half Year in Review: The Stats

Here’s a rundown of CleanBirth.org’s numbers:

We’ve raised $17,537 to date in 2013

Spent 87% ($15,300) directly on women in Laos

The remaining 13% ($2,237) was spent on legal filings and fundraising, namely:

holding a Silent Auction in New Haven (raised $4,400)
purchase and mailing of cards which we sell for donations ($2,400 to date)

We have no paid employees and have been the grateful beneficiaries of in-kind donations of: videography, photography, graphic design of cards, website design, fundraiser event venue, donations of auction items, etc…

With the $15,300 we have raised:

We have enough to purchase 2,000 Clean Birth Kits for mother in Laos.

We have funded the 2-day CleanBirth Nurses Training in June for 16 nurses

We have funded 2 upcoming Clean Birth Volunteer Trainings

We have funded part of the salaries of three employees of our local partner: they track the kits and ensure distribution

Feeling good that 87% of the money spent goes right to the women we are serving.

Jun 28 2013

Clean Birth KitsTraining, Laos: Part 3

So we’ve sent the nurses back to their clinics with the kits!

The nurses will take the kits out to the villages on their scheduled bi-monthly visits. Since only 10-20% give birth in the clinic, they understand that bringing the kits to the villages is critical.
We’ve set up clear reporting procedures, so we can collect data. First, each nurse has a record book to record each mother’s info (12 items) before and after birth. They will also send monthly texts indicating # of kits distributed that month and how many post-partum interviews were conducted.
As another way to check the progress, we are paying one OVA staffer to spend 3 days per month talking to the nurses and villagers of each District about the progress of the kits. Your donated cameras will provide the pictures!
Finally, we are so happy to fund Noy’s work for CleanBirth.org. In her brilliant English, she will email nurses’ texted information and updates/pictures from the field. She will also coordinate the CleanBirth.org-funded re-stock of kits on December 20th. That day all 15 nurses will return to OVA HQ, show their record book, receive kits, a food/transport per diem, and a 120,000 kip ($30) “texting bonus.”

An absolutely wonderful training that exceeded my expectations. We have empowered these nurses to make birth safer in the over 100 villages that they serve!

Jun 28 2013

Clean Birth KitsTraining, Laos: Part 2

The training has been amazing. The nurses are so engaged and committed to the work. Today we reviewed the material presented yesterday on why the Clean Birth Kits make birth safer. We interviewed the nurses individually and, per Dr. Nong’s suggestion, gave a written test that I developed based on CleanBirth.org materials. They all did well and the top scoring nurse was awarded a second hand camera, donated by one of CleanBirth.org awesome supporters!

Once the material about the purpose and procedure of the kits was completely clear, we moved onto plans for the CleanBirth Volunteers Training. The nurses will become the trainers now. Beginning with one clinic in October, CleanBirth.org will fund training by each of the nurses. The nurses will invite a representative from each village that she serves to come and be trained as a CleanBirth Volunteer.

When Dr. Nong posed the question, “Do you think women will volunteer to come to the training and work for free in their communities to make birth safer?” They said, “Why not. We must try and get them to come. They will want to make birth safer.” So that was that. The buy-in that I was looking for was there for the asking.

Dr. Nong and I had planned what we thought the CleanBirth Volunteers Trainings should look like. We agreed that the nurses should use the CleanBirth.org training materials. Further, we thought they should promote breastfeeding and prenatal care. They are trained in these topics during nursing shool and this gives them the opportunity to share information with a representative from each village.

Before we gave too many of our own ideas, we gave the nurses a chance to decide for themselves what the training should look like. We asked them to develop a written plan for the training: topics to be covered, who should attend, budget, etc…

We had the nurses take time to draft individual plans. When they were finished, we found that while all included the topics above, some added topics like infant care and nutrition. They also indicated that a main village chief and a Lao Women’s Union representative should be invited. Wonderful to see them thinking for themselves and making plans that they themselves will execute!

The first training will be in October, to be followed by a second in January. CleanBirth.org will review the nurses more finalized plans and approve the budget. Our wonderful OVA staffer Noy (more details about her role in Part 3) and Dr. Nong will supervise this training to ensure that the the CleanBirth Volunteers understand the information given.

I am overjoyed by this new phase. It is exactly what I had hope for: locals helping each other to make birth safe.