Zanzibar!

To keep my word, here is my midweek post. We had a baby boom on labor and delivery today, having nine deliveries between 8:30 am and 4pm. Eight of the patients delivered before noon! All were vaginal deliveries with healthy full term babies and healthy moms. Hopefully the normal deliveries last through the night so that I can finish out my call shift in peace. On the other hand, I’m almost guaranteed to get a call for a vacuum delivery around 4am. It’s like clockwork.

After three months of long hours and crazy call shifts, I get a week of vacation the beginning of December. Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya have been kicked off our list of destinations, leaving Tanzania and Ethiopia. Zanzibar wins! (yes it’s a real place. But Frank thinks we’ll see some unicorns!). If anyone knows anything about Zanzibar, fill me in. In 2 months, I’ll be relaxing on the beach with a frosty drink.

I realized something pretty crazy this morning. And pretty unsafe. Like the UK, the steering wheel in all MSF trucks is on the right. But … everyone still drives on the right side of the road, US style. Sounds unsafe, right? And as I explored this more I discovered it’s 50/50 whether or not the steering wheel is on the right side or the left side. WTF? I think this might be a good opportunity to make a law.  I guess things like stop signs would help too, but I’m not sure we’re there yet.

The good and bad clinical from yesterday …

Bad first so that I end on a happy note. But here's the bad … A woman came in who tried to deliver a breech baby at home. Unfortunately the head became trapped, and they didn’t know how to deliver it. One of our midwives delivered the head within 2 minutes of her arrival, but it was already too late. Another unfortunate and preventable fetal death.

Good last - I vaginally delivered full term identical twins yesterday. The first twin was breech and the second twin transverse. Beautiful vaginal delivery with healthy babies and a healthy mom.

 

Hopefully, the good outcomes continue to increase!