No Cockroaches=Bed Bugs and Mice

I have exchanged not having cockroaches for bed bugs and 2 mice. It seems I cannot escape beds infested with bed bugs!  It is the 4th time that I have acquired bites from these hard to kill insects. But my host family has tried to rid them so we will see if they return.

The project has been running smoothly, that is to say for being a foreigner in Uganda.  Yesterday I went to the Hospital and visited the maternity ward and met with midwives and nurses in the antenatal, labor suite, and postnatal clinics.  Everyone was very inviting which is a huge difference from last time I was here, especially the young nursing students who are my age. I observed some deliveries and was told that I shall deliver the next one!  I politely declined but they insisted the only way to learn is by hands on practice.  We will see if I can escape this request.  I observed how exactly the mothers are shuffled through the wards and unfortunately witnessed how small the wards are and how poor of condition things are in.  For instance, the delivery beds are metal and somehow managed to get two large holes in it where the women's feet would sit.  There are only 3 beds available for mothers who are about to deliver, and 2 working beds for mothers in labor.  The rest must sit on the floor.  Birth is quite uneventful when compared to the images the US depicts.  Mothers are discouraged from making any noise and there are no machines on or fast paced action for that matter.  It is simply daily life to give birth and go home, back to work.

This morning I have met with a women named Sister Rose Bulaka who wholeheartedly supports the project and we have discussed in detail how it will be implemented in the hospital.  (She adored the baby hats as well!  A pregnant mother nearby our meeting even asked if she could have one when she delivered at the hospital.)  The project shall begin tomorrow morning at 8:30 am as mothers are only discharged between 8:30 and 10:30.  Eventually my afternoons will consist of following up with mothers.  The only thing that remains is finishing of document printing (it is more expensive than I expected-50 cents a page!) and meeting of more doctors and midwives at the hospital.  I will update after the project begins!