My South African Pregnancy: Delivery Time

Prior to Grant's birth we had anxiously been expecting him about any day after 38 weeks as Adalyn was born at 38 weeks, I never thought my second baby would come later.  Day after day passed and my doctor even thought he would come before his due date of 3/15 but like all babies, they have their own schedule and won't come until they are ready.

At 5pm on 3/14 I started having contractions lasting 30 seconds and 5 minutes apart.  Mark was already on his way home from work so I got all our stuff packed into the car so we could head to the hospital after dropping off Adalyn at a friend's house for the night.  By 7pm we had gone through the admissions process after checking into Labor and Delivery first to see if they wanted me to stay.  Just like in the US, I was hooked up to a monitor for the baby's heart rate and another one to monitor my contractions.  Labor was progressing nicely, though the nurse thought it would be a long night ahead so she offered me sleeping pills.  I laughed and said, "I don't think I will be able to sleep through this even with medicine".  Then came the first of 3 offers for coffee/tea and she was quite surprised I did not want either (this culture loves their tea and I doubt it is rarely turned down, even in labor).

The nurse allowed me to walk around and came back to check on the baby's heart rate often.  It was very quiet in the Labor ward as I was the only patient.  The nurse commented that my hospital is nicknamed, "Caesars Palace" because of all the c-sections.  In fact the day I gave birth of the 15 total moms, I was the only one who did not have a c-section.  Plus the fact that I did not have any pain medications made my natural delivery even more unusual to them.  The nurse kept trying to figure out from my breathing how things were progressing, she was surprised by how fast the labor and delivery went, commenting on it several times after Grant was born.  The nurses were quite good, seemed to have the same duties as they do in the States.  Once it was time to push the baby out, the doctor was called, who barely made it there in time, coming in the last 5 minutes.  This happened with Adalyn but at least there was another doctor standing by, here in South Africa the nurse would of had to deliver Grant.


One different aspect of delivery here in South Africa is that the doctor stands at the side of you, sort of holding back on your knees.  There are no stirrups and the bottom of the bed does not come off as it does in the States.  There is a nurse at the other side holding the other knee and one more standing by for the baby.  I thought it would be quite a bit harder for the doctor to stand at my side versus facing me like in the States, but she did not have any issues.  No one counted to 10 as I pushed here and once the baby arrived he was bundled up in towels instead of blankets.  The process was just the same as I had in the States with Adalyn with only a few differences mentioned above.


With my delivery done, I was once again asked if I wanted coffee/tea, this time I accepted.  After a few hours I was moved to the Mother/Baby ward.  I did not luck out and get a private room but shared with 3 other moms.  I figured it would have been difficult to sleep but since all of them had had c-sections, none of their babies were rooming in with them, so it was Grant and I who made all the noise.  Even on day 2, some of these moms could not get out of bed but the nurses would let the babies sleep with them, covered in a million blankets of course.  The locals think it is much colder here than we do and wrap their babies up in what I thought was way too many layers as if there is no risk of suffocation.  I did not mind rooming with all the other women who rotated in and out as some were being prepped for their c-section then arriving back in the room an hour later with their babies.

The pediatrician and my OB would visit once if not twice daily to check on Grant and I.  Their duties seemed to be the same though neither gave much discharge instructions.  Grant had immunizations, hearing tests and all the other necessities as he would have in the States.  The pediatrician did order lab work on Grant which the nurse said is not routine and they only do it a few times a year but since the pediatrician knew we were American he knew we would want everything checked out.  After getting my fill of tea which was brought to my bedside 3 times a day, we were discharged on day 3 and followed up with the pediatrician a week later.

Circumcisions are not performed in the hospital as it is not customary for boys to have that procedure done in South Africa.  This past Sunday we traveled to Johannesburg to see a physician who is also a Rabbi that will perform the procedure.  One would think we were taking Grant to some back door doctor since we came on a Sunday and had to pay in cash.  Mark actually watched the procedure and said everything went well....not sure if he knew how it was suppose to go, but we both feel fine with the outcome.  It would have been nice to have it done in the hospital before going home so I could ask more questions as Grant was healing.

Overall the differences from having a baby in the States to having one in South Africa were minimal to me.  I did not think it would matter as much to me that Mark could not stay the night in the hospital, but looking back it would have been helpful to have another set of hands, especially in the middle of the night.  There is nothing that would keep me from having a baby here again as I never felt that my care was compromised. Though given the size of this baby, next time I will opt for pain medication as two natural deliveries have proven to be enough for me.

A lesson in humility

When we made the decision to move to Africa I expected to take up volunteer work to fill the time I used to spend working while Adalyn was at school.  I had reached out to 2 orphanages each with approx 250 kids, a soup kitchen, and a homeless program all of which turned me down stating they did not have any work for me.  I finally had some luck with a church we started attending but they only offered 2 hours of work every other Tuesday.  After figuring out that a large volunteer project was never going to work out for me I began looking closer to home.

Our domestic, Joyce, was the perfect place to start.  Since she was supporting a family of 8 on her salary of $2 per hour I started to give her groceries, clothes, household items.  Then in January when after 6 months of working for me, she mentioned that she did not have hot water in her house, I knew this was my next task.

Joyce's home which currently sleeps 6 people

The brick room in the back was built this year and sleeps one of her nephews
 and there is an identical one next to it which sleeps her son.
For the past 13 years the two boys were sleeping on the dining room and kitchen floor.

Joyce's nephew's room.  It has electricity for a light
and he shares the family bathroom in the adjacent house.
Her 17 year old nephew told me he was happy to have his own bed.    

Joyce and her husband's bedroom in the main house.
 There are no doors separating it from the other room, just a cabinet and a curtain. 

Second bedroom in Joyce's house.  Her 17 year old daughter, 3 year old daughter and 1 year old grandson share the bed.  Her 13 year old nephew sleeps on the floor.  No door separating it from the rest of the house, just a cabinet and a curtain.

 Despite living in a government owned home for the last 13 years, it only had plumbing for cold water to two sinks.  It had a working toilet, but no bath tub.  Joyce put in a bath tub but could not afford to complete the plumbing to fill it.

 When asked about how her family bathed, I was immediately humbled.  Every morning Joyce lays out rocks in the sun along with buckets of water, comes to work at our house, then returns home to hopefully find the rocks and the water warm.  She then brings them into her home and each family member will give themselves a sponge bath as filling the tub would make the water only usable for the first few people.

Of course I pried more and she said that the government was suppose to give them a solar water heater years ago, but the program folded.  Joyce always wanted to install a solar water heater but the cost was more than they could afford.  I kept picturing Joyce bathing her 3 year old daughter, and 1 year old grandson in cold water each night during the winter, and my heart would sink.  Each morning as I took a hot shower, often enjoying it longer than necessary, I would feel guilty that Joyce came to my house each day to clean it with hot water while going without at home.  I began my search into the world of solar water heaters, not knowing anything about them, but that it had to be done.

 150 Liter Solar water heater

After contacting several companies, I found one that offered a good model at a reasonable price and would install it in one day.  I can't even put a price on what I would pay for hot water, as it is something I have never had to think about.  But for $750 I was able to provide Joyce and her family with something that I hope will change their lives for the better.  Joyce took off the day of the install, I joined her at her home, along with some of her kids and neighbors, and we watched the men install the hot water heater.  My intentions were to give Joyce this gift but really I am the one who received more.

New copper plumbing installed for the bathroom and kitchen sink.

Worker installing the solar water heater. 

I found myself crying just by seeing how happy Joyce was.  In 42 years she has never taken a hot shower and never complained about it.  Prior to living in her current home she did not even have running water, electricity or a toilet.  Five different sets of neighbors also came over to watch the install and thanked me for doing this for Joyce's family, and I was thinking "how could I not do it".  Her kid's came home from school and were excited about what now appeared on their roof.  Joyce took her neighbors into her home, turned on the kitchen sink and they were all excited for her that warm water was coming out.  She even showed them the newly plumbed bath tub and they celebrated.  Since several of her neighbors do not have indoor plumbing, this was a big step up in their eyes.

Joyce's kitchen complete with a 4 burner stove and oven, sink and fridge/freezer. 

Joyce's dining room, they only have 3 chairs currently so family meals can't happen all together at the table.
 (next on my to do list)
Behind the curtains are the two bedrooms. 

Kitchen with 2 faucets for cold and hot water

Bathroom with taps for cold and hot water. No sink in the bathroom.

Living in Africa has really opened my eyes to what a privileged life I have.  I am a different person for living here, not only from what I have seen other go without, but how gracious they are for what little they have.  I have been humbled by this experience and thank God for putting Joyce in my life.  I made sure she knew this was happening because of all the wonderful care she has given my family since we arrived.  God has blessed our family with plenty of gifts and I never thought that my "gift" to Joyce would really unfold as another one of God's gifts to me.  Spiritually I knew God had plans for me while I was here, but it just took some time to figure out that trying to help a group of people was not the way to go for me and I needed to start in my own home.

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow"