Helping Babies Breathe

In January I had the opportunity to visit MercyShips, an international nonprofit healthcare organization located on a massive ship, in Tamatave on the east coast. I was aboard the ship for two and a half days and fully enjoyed my time there (apart from feeling seasick when looking out the windows). The ship has a fully functioning hospital and surgery ward, international school, pool, Starbucks, and many other amenities. It seemed pretty luxurious after living in the bush. The MercyShips volunteers got a kick out of watching us clean out the snack shop.

The first day we visited some of the patients as they relaxed on the deck. They were so surprised when we spoke Malagasy and couldn't believe we've only been speaking it for one year. That was encouraging! It was fun to see the workers playing the younger patients (everyone on MercyShips is also a volunteer) and hearing patients stories of their home and families. The second day was spent learning about the 'Helping Babies Breathe' (HBB) program, what to do when a newborn isn't breathing, how to use an ambubag, and how to train CSB staff on these skills as non-medical personnel. We received equipment for our CSB as well. 

I was very nervous to train my CSB staff because I didn't want them to think I was stepping on their toes or telling them they weren't treating properly. However, they were very receptive to the training and excited for the new equipment. My doctor helped me train which was so helpful as the midwives and birth attendants had questions with technical language that I struggled with. There were quite a few 'aha' moments and everyone did better on the post knowledge and skills test. I'll test them again in March and April. 

This program has been successful in other countries but this is the first time it's been done in Madagascar. The success (or failure) with the 10 participating PCVs including me will determine if the program continues here in the future, and our results may be published. My CSB was perfect for this program because I have a larger staff and also many women give birth at the CSB in my community. In other towns, the program was harder to adapt because more women give birth in their house with or without the help of a traditional healer that doesn't have medical training.This was apparent when comparing data with another volunteer. For 8 weeks prior to the training, we tracked the number of births at the CSB. 35 women gave birth at my CSB compared to just 4 women in a friend's community. It will be interesting to track the data for next 8 weeks post training. 

You know you're a PCV when

-about one year into service, most things you own are broken, worn with holes, or on its last leg. 

-after being away from site for a while, you worry about the state your house will be in when you return.