Photo Frustration

Well, either my memory card reader has quit working properly or this is the second computer that is unable to read my card. Either way, I'm still unable to post any photos, which is unfortunate, because I have some lovely ones to put up. But I probably shouldn't be too grumpy about it, given that I'm pretty lucky to have relatively speedy internet service at all. So you shall have to be satisfied with my words and thoughts and use your own imagination to envision what we are seeing and the people we are meeting.

My mom posted a comment to my last entry regarding the flowering vine I was describing - she was right, it is bouganvillea. I remembered the name as I was sitting in the back of a landrover today, heading out into a rural area to meet with some Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) in Kalungu District. What a nice change of pace today was - we left Masaka mid-morning, after purchasing some supplies to donate to the TBAs and some bread, pb & jam, and sodas to share for lunch. We met the TBAs at a rural health centre, just a small outpost staffed by a couple of nurses. There were 9 TBAs who came from the surrounding area to spend the day with us. We met outside, under a huge jackfruit tree that was completely laden with fruit. It was a warm sunny day, but a strong breeze kept us cool. I kept glancing up, hoping that none of the jackfruit were ripe - you'd have a pretty sore head if one of those beasts landed on you!

We started our meeting by talking with the TBAs about their successes and challenges attending births. Most of these women have had some formal training, usually consisting of occasional courses taught by the local midwives or health educators. They are trained to manage normal births and trained to recognize what conditions or complications are beyond their scope of practice and thus require referral. One of the ladies, quite an old woman who estimated that she's been attending births for 40 years or so, told us a story about catching a footling breech baby. Many of the women described lack of adequate, reliable transport as one of their biggest challenges. The road is really rough - we bounced about in the landrover driving in there - huge ruts and potholes in the red-dirt road. We were told that in the rainy season it's impassable. Most people don't have their own vehicle. If a vehicle is found, the people don't have money for fuel to get to a hospital. It is a huge problem. Even the local midwife, whom we met with after our meeting with the TBAs, said that transport is her greatest worry because although an ambulance is often available, the woman's family has to pay for the fuel for transport. This midwife described begging the In-Charge of the Health Centre and the Sub-County Supervisor for money to transport women out in labour. Can you imagine calling an ambulance in Canada, having them show up at your door, and then ask for money for gas?

We talked with the TBAs about positions for giving birth - they did some demonstrations for us and then we reciprocated. There was much laughter all around. We also talked about reasons to refer women into the Health Centre or Hospital.

Oh dear, I'm already out of time. Seems that I'm underestimating how much I have to say. Until next time!

Heather