Not This Time!
Serving in Liberia has many blessings, and many challenges. We have never met anyone who serves here, that doesn’t have similar stories, whether they be the blessings or the challenges. One challenge, that is often gut wrenching, is the many deaths that occur… many of them preventable. Too many times there is the same-same tragic story… but this story has a happy ending.
She Recognized the Distress
The little boy above was almost a tragic statistic. 1 in 10 babies are born not breathing. This night, he was the 1 in 10. According to one of our missionary friends in the area, the nurse and midwife recognized right away that the baby was in distress. According to Lena, “the Golden Minute’ was a critical point they had learned.” The “Golden Minute” (TGM) is part of the Helping Babies Breathe training that Michelle, Linda, and Maya provided for these nurses and midwives in June.
The ladies went over this key component of the training over and over and over. They drilled the midwives and nurses on TGM by teaching them what to look for, what to do, and then not only how to do it… but how to do it all in only a minute! The repetition is key because it helps the midwife to overcome some practices that are harmful, or at least, that are not helpful. Training counters the engrained “way we do things here” thinking. The result… they do not do out of habit, what they would normally do.
Normally, here in the bush, if a baby is born not breathing, they turn the baby upside down and slap his feet. After that, if he doesn’t begin to breathe, they would say that he was dead. And, that would be that. Another one of the many tragic stories that makes one numb and discouraged. Another tragic, yet preventable statistic.
She Refused to Quit
But this delivery would not be normal… and this baby would not be a tragic statistic. The midwife immediately went through the steps she learned and began to provide oxygen with the baby resuscitator.
Still the baby did not breathe. Several people told her to give up. But she refused to quit. Because our workshops are biblically integrated, this one also emphasized that since all life is a gift of God, and since all life is precious, then we must fight to preserve all life. So for the next THIRTY-THREE minutes the midwife kept squeezing the resuscitator.
One of the resuscitators donated by Crossing All Borders
She Went Skin to Skin
Then, to everyone’s joy, the baby boy began to breathe! The boy’s breathing, however; was still irregular, so the next step was also crucial. Applying her training, the midwife immediately took it, again going against the normal practice.
The normal practice is to wrap the baby in a blanket. Helping Babies Breathe emphasizes the importance of placing the baby onto the mother… “skin to skin”. The warmth and bonding that happens through this crucial contact was another factor in the baby’s survival.
As the baby began to warm, his breathing became regular. Lena also shared that, although this was the mother’s fifth child, this was the first time experiencing her newborn on her chest. She said that it was “beautiful to see the bonding.”
Practicing putting the baby and mother “skin to skin”
God’s Healing Hand
As good as this news was, however; the boy was not out of the woods yet. Born at 33 weeks, his head was severely misshapen and unusually soft. Though breathing, he was not active. The thought was that they would need to carry the baby to a hospital in Monrovia. But by the morning, the baby was crying and sucking. Not only that, but his head had hardened… he seemed like a completely different baby! He continues to do well.
We praise the Lord for His grace shown to this mother and child through the caregivers and through His healing touch. Please continue to pray for this family and this boy. Please pray that God would continue to use him for His kingdom purpose. To God be the glory… great things He hath done!
Linda, Michelle, and Maya pray
before the workshop. We thank
God for answered prayers!