Day 3 - Chiquimulilla

Today we traveled to a nearby community, Tecuaco, to teach Guatemalan midwives how to take a blood pressure and pulse, as well as basic techniques in infant CPR. Although all of us knew that these were going to be a difficult skills to teach in Spanish, what we were not prepared for was the educational level of our audience. None of us expected to teach the women how to read a clock or how to count past 45. Basic knowledge we learned in grade school in the States was something we took for granted. We quickly realized that perhaps anything was possible and we needed to be prepared for anything... let's just say that you can never know what to expect in Guatemala. After many hours of powerpoint presentations and student demonstrations, we still felt like we had not made any progress in helping these women to learn these skills. Despite our frustration, there were many moments throughout the day that kept our spirits lifted. Many of the midwives were able to share detailed stories regarding complicated births or how they had been called by God into this line of work. Regardless of their skill level, it was evident each one of the women was passionate about being a midwife and all that the job entailed. It was a privilege to learn from these women through their stories and various experiences. I can only hope that I will continue to be as passionate and knowledgeable about nursing as they are about being midwives thirty or forty years from now.

A free clinic for pregnant mothers was being held simultaneously with the teaching sessions today, as well. Each one of us was rotated into one of two exam rooms to help with the expecting mothers. We were able to take their blood pressure, pulse, listen to fetal heart sounds and monitor for proper growth. From all of the donations we were given, we were able to supply the women with vitamins, a toothbrush & paste, and a hat for their baby. This was an amazing experience for all of us to not only practice our Spanish, but to connect with the women of this community in a unique way. I will never forget the countless expressions of pure excitement and awe when the mothers would hear their baby's heart for the first time. This was truly a priceless experience. For many of these women, this was probably their only wellness visit they will receive from a nurse/doctor since a majority of births in Guatemala take place in the home with midwives. Considering the heat and lack of transportation in the area, we were blown away by the number of women that came to the clinic. In approximately 4 hours, we saw about 60 women and ran out of all of our supplies. This was an awesome opportunity to serve the community and were blessed to have experienced it!