Milot, Haiti, 11:23 PM

Between 3 and 6 pm today, did 3 births of first-time moms. They were literally in 3 consecutive beds. Two birthed within minutes of each other so Geoff received one and I the other, literally watching each other as we worked. Both had tears so I did the repairs. Between the second and third women a woman came into the ward having an eclamptic seizure. Geoff treated her while my patient was pushing, then he joined me for the birth. Oh and somewhere in there a pregnant woman came in very sick. Fever > 103, rash, conjunctivitis so severe she was unable to open her eyes. It was determined she has measles. We worked so hard this afternoon! We also spent a lot of time with the wonderful OB I've been learning from, discussing the measles case, reviewing protocol, and laughing over our attempts to communicate -- him in English, me in Creole.

It is so gratifying to work with these amazing, powerful, Haitian women. They are so strong -- there are no epidurals here. The women chant through labor. The women of Haiti truly are the mountains of the country, as a Haitian saying goes. I am really loving being here. There is so much to learn and so much to share. We have "delivered" 60% of the babies born here  in the past 5 days, all with no episiotomy, delayed cord clamping, and initial skin-to-skin contact between mom an baby. We missed dinner and decompressed over some mini Cliff Bars, almonds and raisins I brought as snacks. But we were more tired than hungry.

Off to sleep. More babies are sure to come tomorrow...