Little did I know, I would never make it to the party (foreshadowing…).
In Keita Kunda it was business as usual, Chinese was away attending a funeral for a few days, and the kids were being rowdy.
Fatou cornered me and asked me if we could call her mom, so we trekked to up the hill. We didn’t reach her mom, and as we returned Fatou said her stomach had been hurting since 11:00 am that day, and she was worried.
I didn’t think too much of it- I figured we could head to the hospital in the morning if it didn’t get any better. I had estimated Fatous due date around late april or early may, so I was a little concerned about false labor, but since Fatou was up and about I didn’t get really worried.
After dinner I put on my nice complet to go to the party, but again Fatou asked me to make a call. This time I called Chinese because something was definitely not right. I told him we were going to the hospital in the morning if she wasn’t better.
By the time I got back from making the call, a neighbor woman had come by. Fatou had to go to the hospital in Basse. Now.
This was turning into a serious deal. We went out to find a car to take her, and picked up the Traditional Birthing Attendant (TBA) on the way.
Around 9:00 we put Fatou in the back of the car (a blue 4 door of unknown make/model) flanked by me and the TBA, the driver and some guy (along for the ride/as a friend for the driver?)
We started off, Basse was 20 k away (12 miles). Fatou was not doing well, and clearly in a lot of pain. She grabbed my shoulder and was moaning and groaning. I was of little use, just taking up space in the car, really. About 3 k down the road we stopped and put a piece of plastic on the back seat to sit on. Apparently this could get messy.
It did quickly. As we continued, the situation escalated quickly. There was pain, and groaning, and then a whoosh, with fluid, and more fluid, and then,
WAH!
OhMiGoshThere’sABabyInTheCar!
So we pulled over.
And Fatou gave birth on the side of the road, 6 k out of HK, at around 9:30 pm.
We got her and the baby situated and continued to Basse, stopping on the way to the hospital to get gas. (We weren’t in much of a haste now.)
The hospital was a terrible, terrible place. To say I was disappointed and appalled would be an understatement. We were hassled at the gate by the watchmen who didn’t want to allow us to drive in. (Hello, we have a woman in the process of giving birth here!)
We pull up to the clinic door and help Fatou walk in.
The nurses at the nursing station give us balnk looks. ‘Saalaam a leekum’
They return a lackluster ‘Maaleekum saalaam’ and that’s it.
I walked up to the window, ‘Hi, my host just gave birth.’ (As if they couldn’t see that.)
Finally they responded with some life and asked if she had birthed the placenta.
(Answer: no.)
The TBA (who was great through this whole process and very capable and kind) brought Fatou to the back to a birthing table (?) covered in dust of course…
One of the nurses (Nurse 1) threw what looked to me like a tarp over the table and essentially told Fatou to hop up. No offer of assistance whatsoever. (Fatou being the amazing woman that she is was able to get up.)
Then, this is probably my favorite part of the Terrible Hospital Experience, the nurses told me to go buy soap and a razor blade from the shop around the corner. We had to buy our own razor blade to cut the umbilical cord. And our own soap for Fatou to wash. From the shop around the corner that also sells bread and cigarettes.
I was furious, but apparently this is standard procedure.
We got all the ‘medical supplies’ and the nurse cut the cord and weighed the baby: 3.1 kg or 6.2 lbs, girl, apgar score 9/10.
And then we left.
We stopped by a street vendor stall and bought a bunch of meat for Fatou (iron replacement and protein) and were back in Hella Kunda by 10:30.
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