Slow but Steady

It's been quite a while since an update so this may be long!  I have spent everyday at the hospital so far (meaning Saturday and Sunday as well) and think we finally have a system down.  After the first day with Sister Agnes, a different midwife that I have never met before was discharging-which means she should have also been in charge of the education program.  I tried to explain to her what she needed to do, but she had a very difficult time understanding me and basically ignored the project.  But all is not bad! I decided to use this group of mothers as controls-meaning I will still track them one week later and compare the results between the two groups of mothers: those who received the proper education and those who didn't.  And theoretically those who didn't receive the care should have a higher infant mortality rate.  This may be hard to prove because the numbers of mothers are so small but it does make the project a lot more reliable (though I do feel a little unethical depriving mothers of proper information).  The same midwife was there the next day as well, so I just collected the same information and will do so in the future.

After getting nervous that Sister Agnes may not return to administer the education (she is incredibly busy and in charge of a lot of areas), I expressed this concern to Michael.  We quickly set up a meeting with the two in charge, Sister Rose and Sister Agnes and decided to create a private contract to ensure the education is given.  Sister Agnes is now responsible for ensuring the education is given everyday and she will be compensated for this extra effort.  The past two days she has followed through on her word and beautifully executed the education, interview, and follow up information that needs to be given to the mothers.  This Thursday I will be starting the follow-ups of the first mothers that went through the programs and will be accompanied by Sister Baluka for translation purposes.

As for the "runaway mother" issue--I've decided to do some interviewing of the mothers who do not run away to find out why they stay. And I will also be asking others in the community, if we can track them down, why they didn't stay.  Some answers I've been given so far all lead the mothers simply not knowing that they should stay for the extra care.  I'll probably address this by contacting the antenatal clinic and delivery suite to have them make sure the mothers are aware of the entire process.  I may also make some signs...

That's about it for the project updates! I go through about 8 hats a day and am worried I'll be running out within the next two weeks but I may be able to purchase some here.  And I finally got a new bed!  But instead of bed bugs, for the past two nights I have found a lovely mouse turd laying next to my pillow. I can't win.