TooManyFlowers

I am so thrilled after my living and loving in Baseco Manila, and discovering the plight of women who birth in the slums I “GAVE BIRTH” to a new vision Birthing Better Babies.….

I am organising in association with John 14:12 sponsoring women from the beginning to the end of their pregnancy, supporting them financially/ emotionally and spiritually. Baseco women predominantly birth at home in the slum, some with no electricity by candle light and no running water even with limited and dirty shelter,  because they have literally no money to spend on a hospital birth. They birth with or without a traditional birth attendant who are untrained and have questionable practices….

So we sponsor them providing a Hospital Birth, transport to and from hospital for a monthly checkup, pregnancy vitamins, injections for tetanus and Hepatitis, the baby’s immunisations and newborn screening.  It is a package deal!!!

So check out my new website and pass the message on….

We can make a difference…….

ONE BIRTH AT A TIME!!

BIRTHING BETTER BABIES

Gorgeous Prince!

You don’t need fancy highbrow traditions or money to really learn. You just need people with the desire to better themselves.

Adam Cooper and Bill Collage, Accepted, 2006

This was one of my favourite classes……the ladies around here were so lovely and responsive

Gasungan is an area by the sea wall (River wall….ummmmm both!)

The houses are closely packed on sandy gritty soil with lots of water in wet season

They have an outdoor church, under a shelter that an Aussie team erected whilst we were there…..perfect for meetings, classes, even washing!!

The only downer was the flies……they were thick as there! Dunno why, just are.

Here are my ladies……….one of my ladies had 16 children and she looked a million bucks……amazing

Gasungan Church simple and humble…makes our churches seem gaudy

Built in benches and shelter from the sun and rain……..perfect for classes too

Classes range from formal to informal in a circle, I even play games with them!

This class was on breastfeeding, what is exciting is when the LIGHTS go on in the people’s eyes, when they understand what I am talking about.

This was very apparent as we talked about breastfeeding, especially the bans that they are NOT subject to in the Philippines…….they were amazed at the deception of the multinational companies and angered at the advocacy of infant formula. Rewarding indeed!!

Precy my faithful, gorgeous interpreter……in the begining the scary embarrassing words were too much for her, but by the end she was confident and secure!!

We were having a Brainstorming session on problems after birth, eg breastfeeding etc

Breastfeeding in action……………..

An informal fun photo of kids and mums in my class!

They LOVE my baby doll and pelvis…the kids just love the WHITE baby doll

Matilda’s son just loves baby doll!!

Sweet Matilda who is an upcoming leader in Gasungan

Don’t you love bulging bellies!!

A final goodbye photo!!

Classes were a drop in the ocean……but it was a start, the leaders were certainly impacted and learnt lots of things…this I think was a victory, but a small one……..

Education must result in change that is my prayer!

The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.

Herbert Spencer
English philosopher (1820 – 1903)

I confess I am just in love

Manila did not help

Ever since I was a small child

A girl

A teen

A young women

A young mother

An older mother

I have loved “the baby”

Mine

Yours

Black

White

or

Chocolate.

My love affair is with the baby

It is who I am

It is what makes me tick

It is why I do what I do

Gorgeous Prince!

New baby Josiah

Sweet Kissable Delilah

Esther and I a few hours old

I am only just realising the power and impact a love affair can have on nations and individuals

One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love.

Sophocles
Greek tragic dramatist (496 BC – 406 BC)

“Cathy get up now, wake up!!!!”

“Get up now I have a baby I want you to check out”

Mark yelled rattling on our iron gate, unlocking the padlock and chain at the same time, making it impossible for me to ignore the 5.30am early morning wake up call. As  I scrambled up from James’ and mine makeshift bed on the floor which we methodically pack up everyday, I shook the sleep and fuzz out of my brain.

If it was not important Mark would not have come!

He is just like that!

I knew it I had to move no questions asked…..yet!

Working in Baseco has it’s moments and I knew this was  one as I  kept shaking my sleepy head to make it clear knowing I would need all of my faculties to be alert and happening. A baby born again in Baseco slums I thought, without a midwife or doctor (again) , it just came….as Mark filled me in on all of the details, scant as they were I kept my fears at bay. I raced into our tiny bathroom that doubled as a shower and laundry and threw on yesterdays clothes……I knew what could happen and what may be happening but kept pessimism (and medical mind) out and faith in. I had too. I immediately began to pray in tongues claiming life and thanking God for this life.

As we raced out the door, leaving James in a bemused fuzziness, I grabbed my bag and money and we raced out into the early morning light, Mark even turned the light off for James!

I knew it was really an emergency when Mark hailed a tricycle (motorbike with a side car) to go up the road, that takes about 8 min to walk, we never do that. The morning was quiet but people were bustling around as Baseco days start early……

Ignoring them we raced down to main road and I could hear Mark yelling directions at the driver on the outside, I was cocooned in the sidecar, we stopped near the High School I paid the driver and I followed as Mark raced through the houses and prepared me verbally for the scene ahead…………..the umbilical cord needed to be tied (now he tells me!!) so now I had to start thinking, looking desperately around for cord, twine or something (yes from the rubbish lying around-do not usually have an umbilical clamp in my handbag!!) that we could disinfect and use to no avail luckily you think. I thought “Well God will provide”….He did!

We wove through the slums for what seemed an eternity of unfamiliar houses  to me….. funny how diversion and adrenalin can alter reality, in fact it was a path we had traversed many times just behind Prayer House, but I had NO idea where I was. I walked out later and discovered where we actually were I was amazed at how close we were to “home”.

We were greeted and welcomed by neighbours as they made way for us as if we were the Knighted Cavalry…..well we were on a mission!!

The house from the outside was a poor one, even to my untrained eyes I knew……

The roof was so low even Mark had to crouch, I squeezed in and there they lay.

In the squalid kitchen dear “Istine” (her real name is Christine but nickname “Istine” ) had delivered a baby boy…..she was familiar to me as she faithfully attended all of my Birthing Classes…..I guess we were the first port of call in distress. She had attempted to transfer to hospital but got outside and felt the baby coming so reversed back and just HAD the baby in the kitchen……..probably the most dirtiest part of the house but OH WELL when you gotta birth it just happens!!!!!

A neighbour had raced to get Pst Annie and Annie raced to Prayer House and tapped (hmmmmm she said knocked) but Mark swears she tapped on the door asking for a First Aide Kit……then in the dark they raced off together to the house where the baby had been born and the placenta was on the way. After Mark made sure Annie was ok he came for me……so really God had already birthed the baby we just cleaned them up.

Baby was breathing, a little snuffly but ok,  the airways were clean, he was responsive……..AGPAR scores were applicable (except heartbeat) but in the next 10 min we watched him become more alert and his colour change….all the time I am telling Annie what I am doing…what to watch for the signs of distress etc.

Mark stepped back and hovered and took pictures (thanks GOP……I could not have)

Someone (God Bless em!!) found us cotton and Annie disinfected it diligently, doubled and tripled it over and we began to tie the cord. (the placenta had been born so there was no imminent bleeding danger so it was not rushed either) we tied it on two sides and I got Annie to cut the cord so she could feel the tough blood vessels and slippery covering for herself (no good me doing it…….she needs the experience so that if she ever faces it again she can do it without panic)….what a blessing we did it. I checked Istine for bleeding, we washed the baby and Muma a little and they were ready for the first breastfeed.

Moving Istine and then unamed Josiah to the wooden floor (that was scary that floor could hardly take my weight it was so rickety- no fat jokes ANYONE!!)

Not as quickly as I would have liked but HEY it was our first time, and considering our circumstances!!!!! He fed and sniffed and all was happy!

The baby was great, Istine was fine, Annie had done it basically alone I was only moral support!!

Oh and Mark procured buns and coffee for Istine from somewhere

…Praise God.

A good ending to this story in the slum………………..

Mark had an unbelievable response on his blog…over 1000 hits (a record breaker)

We raised money to build a new house for the family WHAT A CHRISTMAS!! They received a Christmas Food Hamper and more!!

So that is my Christmas story about a Christmas baby born in humble home with humble birth attendants.

The miracle of birth never ceases to amaze me!

Same feeling and  atmosphere  in the sanitized room or slum kitchen

Holy awe……electric with life and hope

Every new born baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.

The buzz and high of birth in all circumstances!! Poor or rich!

OH WAIT THERE IS MORE!!!!

In the glorious “after baby glow” that shone through the dirt and grime of this humble home, I asked Istine what was the baby’s name, she told me she did not know yet………not thinking and just being comfy I said “Ohhhh that is ok with one of my babies it took me a week to name him Josiah”……..she sat up and smiled at me and rattled something in Tagalog…everyone oooooohhhhhhedddd and aaaaahhhhheddddd and they told me that she had called him “JOSIAH” how cute is that!!!!!!!!!!!!! A legacy in Baseco!!!

A good ending to this story!

But on a serious note…..

One story with a happy ending can in reality mask many stories that do not have happy endings….I personally was involved with two babies and newborn’s dying in the short time I was there……………….SO stay tuned for my ideas of how to be a REAL help in this harsh birthing world……………….It is good to DO something!!!

I have just had an amazing baby birthing experience at the moment I cannot blog about it I am a little wordless, blessed, shocked and touched….please read Mark’s blog, the link is below the picture….he was there through the whole thing…….awesome pictures too!!

Here is one to whet your appetite

http://markpedder.wordpress.com/

Thank you God

I am writing because I am concerned, this  is a global concern that we in the west need to be aware of.

It is a story of  malnourishment and poverty, but one that could have so easily been averted, today as I blogged about Nerida and Delilah I was struck with irony of the situation, each week I buy her Infant Formula to keep her alive, each week I see her gain weight but still not at the peak of health. I can only trace that back to her malnourishment and lack of nutrition, but then I can trace that back to her being bottle fed not breastfed for months depriving her of LIFE GIVING immunities and nutritional benefits.

I thank God I have Infant Formula to give her, but it is a poor second to the powerful advantage of breastfeeding.

You may think I am on a bandwagon, and yes I agree…….in Australia Formula feeding is a norm and because of the higher standards of care, cleanliness and medical support our babies SEEM little impacted or deprived from the advantages of Breastfeeding (I say seem because there is UNTOLD damage that we cannot see that is supported by research and studies)…….But in Baseco and devleoppping countries the IMPACT is irrevocable and dangerous and results in DEATH and SICKNESS.

Here is one story

You have met Delilah before if you have followed my blogs, she was malnourished and suffered from gross dehydration and chronic gastro etc, she was 3 kg. Her problems could have easily been averted, hers is a BREASTFEEDING FAILURE that nearly cost her life.

Nerida Delilah’s mother stopped Breastfeeding because she “ran out of milk” she then had to source Infant Formula close to 60 pesos a day, her husband only earned 100 pesos a day…….As a consequence Nerida too went out to work to alleviate the financial pressure on Meseda her husband leaving the small baby with siblings to care for her, the children were small the oldest only 13 and Delilah was not fed or cared for properly.

Bottles (when they did have formula) were filthy and never cleaned properly with dried milk caked inside,  and unpurified contaminated water was used to make up bottles, she grew sicker and sicker, suffering from chronic dehydration and gastro , sores fever and more

There was still not enough pesos to feed the family, let alone live, the formula was purchased in fits and starts as there was no left over money for food for the other five chn, so the baby suffered.  Formula was not purchased as it should be and Delilah NEVER had enough to eat because they could simply NOT afford it.

With proper education Nerida would have never run out of milk, she could have built up her breastmilk supply and continued to give adequate nutrition to her baby, and helped the family income not depleted it. If the option of Infant Formula was not promoted and aggressively advertised targeting  the poor and uneducated population (like Nerida’s family)  this story may have never happened. Nerida may have persisted breastfeeding (because she had no alternative) and not had to resort to Infant Formula.

Infant formula companies (such as Nestle) continually break international laws and codes for advertising, and we in the west know or care little about this battle. We must realise that women like Nerida and Babies like Delilah are the direct result of this international and global injustice. God give us eyes to see!!

Why are people so passionate about breastfeeding?? It is much more than the luvvy duvvy mummy and baby image (which we perceive and believe in the west) It is life and death over here…………………the difference that may break a families physical health and financial back!

Nerida and Delilah is just ONE story in thousands…….breastfeeding is the ONLY logical solution in this harsh world.

Am I passionate YES

Am I gonna teach it YES

No apologies, I have seen the consequences

No turning back now!