Baby Buddha

April 30, 2018

On Buddha's Birthday we spent 6 hours at the T U Teaching Hospital Birth Centre. This birth centre is a collaboration between MIDSON and Tribhuvan University Hospital. The intention behind the birth centre is to have a centre for low-risk women to deliver with Auxillary Nurse Midwives (ANMs). Women who arrive at the hospital in labour are assessed and are sent to the birth centre if they meet the criteria for delivering there. The birth centre has about 3 births each day.

Compared to the birth centre, the labour ward of the hospital has about 20 births each day. The caesarean section rate at the hospital is 59%. The majority of nulliparous women will have an episiotomy when giving birth. It costs women and their families 5000 R (500 USD) to give birth at the hospital and birth centre.

When we entered the maternity ward we walked past the post-natal ward. All of the beds were full and there was a busy hum of noise. The women are dressed in their own clothes and many of them were wearing their red kurti or saris. It is like a room full of colourful flowers.

The birth centre is down the hall from the post-natal ward. It is much quieter but also very colourful. There are brightly coloured blankets on the mattresses, which are on the floor, and draping the equipment not in use.

The birth centre is very different from the labour and delivery wards we have seen at other hospitals. The mattresses were on the floor, with lots of comfy foam wedges and pillows. There were also several birthing balls and posters to encourage women to move around in labour. It was very refreshing to see such a warm inviting environment to give birth in.

There are two rooms in the birth centre. One room is for the women who are not yet in active labour. There are 4 mattresses on the floor for women to rest on, and  large windows, that brighten the space.

Across the hall the labour room also has 4 mattresses on the floor. There are stools for staff and family members and there is a birthing ball for each bed. Each bed has nice and clean privacy curtains that can be draw around them. It is clear that a great deal off effort has been made to create an inviting atmosphere in the birthing centre.

There are posters on the wall describing respectful childbirth, comfort measures and positions for birth, Helping Mothers Survive and Helping Babies Breathe.

Kiran, the president of MIDSON, asked us to read the policies and guidelines for the birth centre and to write an observational report of our time in the birth centre.

A woman arrived in active labour, about 30 minutes into our day. She was pregnant with her 3rd baby and was 8 cm. We introduced ourselves and with her permission began providing labour support as we were not there to provide clinical care.

She quickly progressed with the support of us, a UK student midwife, and a staff nurse. Within two hours of us being at the centre, she delivered a chubby baby boy. To us, born on Buddha's birthday, he was Baby Buddha!

After welcoming this "Baby Buddha" into the world we ventured out to Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu. It felt like the perfect day to visit this world UNESCO heritage site on Buddha's Birthday. It was meditative to walk around and around the giant stupa with hundreds of others. We arrived just in time to eat a late lunch with a view of the parade involving school children and monks.

Our day finished with a lively discussion with an organizer from the NGO HESS and a doctor from the government hospital in Phaplu. Health and Environmental Society of Solokhumbu is a non profit organization working towards better health care and education in rural Solokhumbu. We learned about some of the programs they have established such as a nutrition program that provides a super cereal to pregnant and breastfeeding women and children. It was important to meet these individuals and learn more about the Solokhumbu District of Nepal, where the next leg of our journey will be.