Luxuries

Well here are just a few of the things that VCH does not have…

• No hot water from any tap. You can boil water if you like…


• Water in the mop bucket at night. (Yes, one night we just spread bodily fluids all over the floor with a damp and already dirty mop for lack of a better idea.


• Paper towels… we have nothing to dry our hands on except our scrubs in the delivery rooms. We brought a towel on the first day and it never made it to the delivery room. If we get a chance to come back we really want to get an electric hand dryer for the maternity ward.


• Garbage cans that you can step on a lever to open. This means you have to use your hands every time to remove the lids to garbage cans and laundry bins alike.


• Disposable items… We use disposable/single use items more than once. The end result of all this is Olivia and I spend every free moment scouring the place in an attempt to not feel like we are spreading germs from one mom/babe to the next.

Despite the things VCH lacks I think they do an amazing job with what resources they do have. We are actually able to get through most births with half of a single chux pad (disposable underpad) and pair of sterile gloves. Of course it helps that the mommas do not tell us they need to push unless the baby is really eminent. For a point of reference most homebirth kits include 10-20 disposable underpads and hospital births probably use more than that.

There are some British medical students here that just came from the Solomon Islands and they are reveling in the vast luxuries of available supplies and equipment her at VCH. So I guess everything is a matter of perspective.