Kenneth, the Stubborn Baby

(Welcome Kenneth!)

(Bosco and Kate, the morning after the battle)

My mom has started calling me her “Ugandan Mid-wife.” On Thursday morning I called her after a sleepless night in the village maternity clinic; I was waiting for a Suubi woman named Bosco to deliver her baby. Somehow I have pinned myself a champion of the pregnant Suubi ladies. What with the birthing kits I passed out earlier, and the maternity video project I am currently working on, I have witnesses my fair share of contractions, morning sickness, and now live births!
Around midnight Bosco called to tell us she was “paining” and needed a ride to the nearby health clinic. We picked her and two friends up and of course brought along her birthing kit so she’d have the necessary supplies to stay safe. Her friends/neighborhood nursemaids and I tried to nap on empty cots while Bosco paced in pain. Finally around noon the next afternoon Bosco’s moaning, groaning, and whimpering escalated into screams, grunts, and loud prayers. About 45 minutes later, a healthy baby boy was caught by the all-too absent nurse, and with flailing limbs was plopped onto Bosco’s chest to meet his new mommy.
Bosco graciously let me film her delivery. And although I think I made an enemy while pointing my camera at her during her 15 hours of labor, I am sure we are best of friend now, because she named her baby boy after my grandfather, Kenneth. We picked Bosco up at the clinic the next morning, and both she and Kenneth were rested, healthy, and ready to go home.
After speaking with an OBGYN in Kampala, I learned that many Ugandan women have a difficult time in labor because their hips are too narrow. He explained that when these women are growing up they are malnourished and never grow into their full womanly bodies. I am not a medical expert, but the last two women who have delivered babies have had the curves of a 15 year old gymnast. And in both cases, Jacinta and Bosco struggled very much to push their baby boys out of their petite frames.
Light Gives Heat encourages their volunteers to get to know and bond with the women of Suubi; I think Wednesday night’s delivery is about as close as you can get to any one woman. I am honored and grateful to have been a part of this experience. Welcome to this crazy world baby Kenneth!
(The Happy New Mommy)