La tercera semana/The third week Part I

Sorry I am so delayed in both composing and sending out my third week post! I spent Sunday showing my friend from UNC, Molly, around El Paso and the birth center/school. It was so wonderful to have someone to process my Saturday shift with because it was both busy and incredible on a lot of different levels. We had a fulfilling time chatting and seeing some sights around El Paso together. With class and grocery shopping Monday and my fifth shift this Tuesday, there hasn't been much time to write! It is strange to write last week's post right now since I have already seen and learned so much this week. Every shift brings a new skill, insight, or discovery, yet time blurs and becomes so fluid that it becomes difficult to distinguish the shifts, citas, and births. I began feeling far more integrated into life in El Paso and at the birth center last week, though, and various realizations and experiences that I will always treasure and cherish. I also conducted my first two interviews, which was very exciting! I've included some pictures of the peach room of the birth center (the smallest, but with the most natural light and connected to the bathroom with the tub for water births), my dog neighbors (Kaiser - the big one and Babushka, the Pomeranian), my student midwife ID card (I love that it says student midwife), the kitchen at MLL (we spend lots of time there making delicious meals and getting water for citas), Mesilla, NM, and from the scenic overlook near the casita where you can see la frontera and into Mexico for miles. ¡Que disfruten!/Enjoy!

Tuesday, June 15

I was finally able to get a good night's sleep before my third shift at MLL on Tuesday. Probably due to nerves and the newness of my schedule, I hadn't slept great for the first two shifts and was grateful to rest well before this one. It was a busy morning all the way up until Birth Talks began at 1pm. It wasn't extremely crowded at first, but around 10 or 10:30, the sala was hopping. It had to be divided so that we could take more and more citas. Despite the high volume, I noticed how I was becoming more comfortable with finding heart tones, taking blood pressure, providing recommendations (I had memorized the recommendations for the prevention of urinary tract infections because I had repeated them so much), and reading the woman's energy. This was one of my most valuable lessons of the day because I realized how important it is as a midwife (and in daily interactions with family, friends, and acquaintances) to be aware of a person's energy and consider what they need out of an interaction. As a midwife, you're constantly interacting with a woman, her family, her friends, her children (whoever is at the cita or birth) and each has a different personality, background, and story. While I had always thought about the importance of being attuned to and understanding of another person's energy, I didn't quite get what that felt like and meant until today. I was thankful to realize this through my three citas and that I had the time to absorb and consider this insight.

During Birth Talks, we discussed three births that had been challenging or surprising for the students who served as primaries. The various topics addressed included how to simultaneously address a baby born with an anomaly and manage the delivery of the placenta (extremely crucial due to risk of hemorrhaging and because MLL is required by Texas Midwifery Laws to transport women to the hospital if they haven't delivered their placenta an hour postpartum); how to handle a situation in which the woman and baby have elevated temperatures and the student must decide whether or not to transport; and how to discuss a woman's lacking support system with differences in the age of the student and client and accompanying awkwardness from varying levels of experience. One of the students had just been to a conference in Chiapas, Mexico, "Saber Nacer," and shared some ideas for being less obtrusive immediately after the baby is born. She said it was inspiring to be around 450 midwives, 50 of whom were indigenous.

I shadowed a postpartum cita once I returned from Birth Talks (I will learn how to do those for the July session) and had some time to sit in the sala, work on some birth documentation (I am very behind and after attending nine births the details begin to blur and get a bit hazy), and chat with a woman's husband who had just given birth the day before (I had done one of her prenatal citas the week prior). A woman who had come to MLL earlier in the day for a labor check returned again between 6 and 7 looking like she was in the pains of el trabajo de parto (labor). The student who had just been to the conference was up to catch (sounds like baseball, doesn't it?) and desired to incorporate some of the themes she had gleaned from the midwives in Mexico. This meant allowing the baby to lie over the woman's chest face down (this drains 60% of the fluids inside the baby) until she was ready to emerge out of the transition of giving birth into introducing herself to her newborn. We stayed quiet and low (sitting on stools) throughout the pushing process and immediately after the birth. The silence was beautiful and gave me goosebumps. While I am not sure how she felt during this time because I was documenting and helping clean the room, it was incredible to see this different process unfold.

I was able to get about 4 hours of sleep after retiring upstairs at 1am and more insights began flooding into my mind. They were about appreciating the time I had here; that I was supposed to be at this center, school, and place. That it was okay to miss the comforts of home, but that I didn't need to spend time pining for those things if I wanted to be truly present here. I fell asleep pretty quickly after this and when I woke up, had a nice conversation with one of the students. I truly value those calm moments when we have time to just talk and relax. It was a nice way to wake up. The rest of the morning entailed cleaning the purple room where the woman had given birth and changing out and folding laundry until the next shift came in at 8am. There is always laundry to do, but treating it, washing it, and folding it (along with all of the cleaning and restocking we do in the rooms) makes me feel like I am a small part of the foundations of the center. That level of involvement and dedication is truly inspiring. I left my shift feeling happy and grateful and was excited for my day trip to Mesilla, New Mexico.

Wednesday, June 16 and Thursday, June 17
One of the other short-term students and I headed to Mesilla, New Mexico on Wednesday per recommendations from the midwives and students at MLL. It is about 50 miles away and we took back roads that passed by dozens of farms, mainly with pecan trees. I never knew there would be so many in western Texas and southern New Mexico. And that there would be lush green grass! The mountains in New Mexico are a lot larger than those in El Paso and it was spectacular to see them all along the way. Mesilla is a quaint town with a few shops and restaurants. We had been told it was like a smaller version of Santa Fe, NM and it is just a few miles from Las Cruces, NM. We enjoyed some delicious enchilada's at Felix's (pretty spicy, at least for me!) and looking at the Native American inspired pottery, jewelry (so much turquoise), and dinnerware. Despite the small size of the town square, the stores have a lot in them and I plan to return in July to take a longer look. It's a great place to shop for family and friends :)

On Thursday, I had scheduled my first interview with one of the fourth quarter students (meaning she's been here for nine months) for the morning and it went wonderfully. It lasted an hour and a half! I then returned to the school for my first class ever at MLL, Introduction to Labor, which was a lot to absorb, but extremely enjoyable. We learned all about the signs and symptoms of labor (both conjecture and research-based), the stages of labor, and the mechanisms of labor (what the baby does to wriggle its way out). MLL is very hands on and we practiced these mechanisms with a cloth pelvis and baby. We also carved the landmarks on a baby's head into grapefruits and put them inside of socks to practice feeling for them when the head is emerging. I was pleasantly surprised that class ended early and I was able to conduct forty-five minutes of another interview with one of the second quarter students (here for four months so far). The day had come together so nicely and I was grateful for the small class size, hands-on practicum, and to attend my first of many classes.