Random thoughts running through my head today:
-I'd better pull out my Newborn Resuscitation manual and peruse that again before I leave. Do they have bags and masks there or are we taking those?
-What exactly is the sequence for responding to shoulder dystocia - McRoberts, then supra-pubic pressure, then...some sort of screw manoeuvre - better look that up too.
-I need some white socks to wear with my white uniform...
-Maybe I should take some frisbees to give away to kids that I meet - I wonder if Ugandan kids play with frisbees?
It still seems unreal that in less than two weeks I will be in Kampala, with Brynne and her family, Anne-Marie, and Cathy our instructor from UBC. We'll be spending our first few days in Kampala, getting oriented to the hospital (Mulago Hospital, featured in 'The Last King of Scotland', a recent movie about Idi Amin's brutal dictatorship). Most of our time in Mulago hospital will be spent working on the low-risk ward, attending up to 8 births per day. We're just spending a few days in Kampala when we first arrive, but will be back for the final two weeks of our placement as well. The second week we'll be headed to Masaka, a small town about 120 km southwest of Kampala. We'll stay in Masaka for 3 weeks, catching babies in the hospital. I think we will also be involved in some training sessions with local midwives and participate in some immunization campaigns, although these details aren't yet totally clear.
We're taking a whole load of supplies with us - delivery kits (clamps, scissors, needle holders), IV needles and catheters, stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, gloves, suture material, medications to prevent and treat postpartum hemorrhage. Compared to a hospital like BC Women's where I've been working this month, resources are scarce in Ugandan hospitals. In labour, babies' heart rates are monitored with a pinard horn,
something you rarely see used during labour here in Canada. It can be an effective way to keep "an ear" on babe during labour, but takes a keen and skilled ear and is more challenging than using a doptone, which is what we generally use when attending women in labour in BC. Brynne and I will be sorting out supplies on Friday, packing everything into bags, separating out items that will be going to Zambia with our two classmates Elaine and Inna, and those that will be coming to Uganda with us.
So, there it is. Nine days.
