Three Nurses From NYC Volunteer with Midwives for Haiti
Three labor and delivery nurses from Mount Sinai hospital in New York traveled to Haiti to volunteer with Midwives for Haiti.
Three labor and delivery nurses from Mount Sinai hospital in New York traveled to Haiti to volunteer with Midwives for Haiti. They were able to put their skill sets to work in a unique and important way. They helped familiarize the midwives and nurses at St. Theresa Hopital in Hinche with some of the medical supplies that have been donated to them. As we’re launching our Every Mother Kit Drive this week to help mothers in Africa, it’s good to remember that supplies are essential, but our willingness to share knowledge and time is just as important.
Leaving New York City on a chilly, rainy winter morning for one week in the Caribbean is an ideal vacation wish for most of us. Our destination spot: Hinche, Haiti, which is not exactly your typical location to choose for a rare week of vacation when we are working full time and attending graduate school part time. But by the end of the week, we knew we would absolutely do the trip again and in fact we plan to go again next year. Arriving in Port-au-Prince with multiple oversized suitcases, it may appear that we over packed! However, considering our luggage was filled with gloves, baby hats, cord clamps, medications, hand sanitizer, alcohol wipes and scrubs, one would argue that we did quite the opposite since the list of needed medical supplies is always growing. Outside the airport, we were greeted by our two drivers in the famous hot pink Midwives for Haiti (MFH) Jeep! We insisted on riding in the back, bouncing around for 3 hours, taking in the sunshine, the dust, the breathtaking mountainside views, and just being in Haiti!
When we finally made it to the MFH house in Hinche and slightly relieved that the bumpy ride was over, the coordinators welcomed us and immediately made us feel at home. They showed us our twin beds side by side, gave us tricks on how to use mosquito nets effectively (so helpful! ) and fed us a delicious Haitian dinner. Luckily this generosity continued throughout our stay.
Since 2006, MFH has been training Haitian men and women to become skilled birth attendants to improve the lives of mothers and babies throughout the country. The graduates of the program become proficient in providing excellent care for women and newborns during and after pregnancy. To be chosen as part of the program is an honor because it is competitive acceptance and the students must move to Hinche, spending the year studying and working hard. The students we met were at the end of their training, so we observed their impressive knowledge and skillset especially managing the laboring patients and catching the babies when it was time. We were moved by their apparent passion, trust and teamwork with one another and it is evident that will make positive changes throughout Haiti by improving maternal and newborn outcomes.
Walking into the hospital of St. Terese, it is evident that resources are limited, medications are not readily available and space is at a premium. The outdoor hallways of the hospitals surround an open garden and are lined with small crowds of family members and patients. There is always a group of grandmothers and expectant fathers outside the maternity ward as there are no visitors allowed at the bedside. Women sit with their babies overlooking the poorly kept garden while laboring women walk and sing in the open halls almost as if the crowds were encouraging her to keep going.
Our time in the hospital was spent in the maternity wards, which are run by midwives, most of whom were trained or are currently being trained by MFH. We quickly realized comparing St. Terese to our hospital in Manhattan was impossible and instead we found ways to offer our support and skillset, doing our best to pay close attention to cultural differences. What we did see was the strength of laboring women and health care providers providing the best care possible in this setting, making the most out of their limited supplies.
The midwives are extremely creative and flexible as they lack regularity in their supplies and often are unaware of how to use new supplies acquired. We showed the midwives how to use some of these supplies including IV start kits that had just been collecting dust on a supply shelf but are quite useful for securing an IV in place. We distributed clean gloves to the maternity wards and made sure the midwives had a hand sanitizer in their pocket especially since we saw that the water could be shut off at any time. Of course our favorite part of the week was helping to catch a few babies along the way! Overall we had an amazing, unforgettable experience with Midwives for Haiti and we are already planning our next trip!
Kelly, Nuranisa & Yarlee January 29, 142
