STABBIE,S BLOGG

What about us

2010-02-22T12:18:00.000-08:00

People usually choose what to do in life e.g to smoke, drink alcohol and so on. In Europe thus part of life lthough others do not smoking. Yes! it is their own choice , their own life and their own right to do what they want.People smoke everywhere in public places but "what about us" who do not smoke? Don,t we need respect too? it is our own choice not to smoke but we do it secondarily from our collegues who smoke. Policy makers, please look into such issues, everyone needs respect, let them smoke in defined places not in the streets it is HORRIBLE!!!!

BIG GAP!

2010-02-22T12:03:00.001-08:00

"Poverty is pain" It affects all corners of success in life. Women cannot access health services because they cannot afford transportation to the hospital.Children whose parents are poor cannot go to school. Countries which are poor have got the worst maternal and infant morbidity and mortality rates.Guess what, SubSaharan Africa and Asia! The health systems usually have inadequate funding hence inadequate resources both human and material.My being to Scandinavia, has taught me that there is a big gap betwen the South and the North.Hospital equipment is more than what is needed and there is good number of midwives, professors, doctors and specialists. Poverty is indeed pain for it closes all doors of success in life!! No woman has died during my one year stay at KK which shows how good perinatal health care is starting from antenatal, intrapartum and postpartum.This is achievable with good health care delivery systems with adequate funds for running of health services, good policies, good communication, transportation and referral systems and good data management systems, Poverty is indeed pain!

High work load

2010-02-22T11:49:00.000-08:00

No wonder it is impossible to satisfy the women's need for quality care which they deserve.Delivering over 12,000 deliveries annually is the true story of Bwaila hospital. Being a public hospital, obstetric complications e.g ruptured uterus , postpartum haemorrhage, and obstructed labour are the talk of every day life.I salute the midwives , clinical officers and doctors for the wonderful job that they do depite all the challenges e.g, shortage of staff and equipment. They usually stretch themselves to deliver what they can.A midwife usually delivers more than 7 babies or more per shift but she also has to take care of other women with different problems.No wonder the midwives are so exhausted , their morale is down and sometimes loose their temper.Talking of night duty , Herregud! 4.30pm-7.30am, how can such a midwife deliver quality care?? It is just too much for the midwives!!!the work load is too much.

A JOYOUS CRY

2009-07-16T03:19:00.000-07:00

"Now you are in second stage and the baby is near so you need to push" thus the midwife telling the mother. She then explains the pushing process. The mother works hard so that she can have a live baby and get relief of painful contractions when the baby is out. I have seen husbands supporting and encouraging their wives to "press" that means to push på engelsk.i have heard others doing the uuuuu! sound as if they are also pushing. Then finally the baby is born, the midwife does not rash to cut the cord, she takes her time if the baby is ok, she wipes it and directs it to the mothers tummy. Then you see them both"mother and father" sobbing and crying with joy. It is a joyous cry because they have what they have been expecting. I then conclude that male involvement is very crucial in all matters concerning women's health.They put themselves in their wives`shoes and appreciate what a woman goes through when giving birth.

THE NEGLECTED THINGS

2009-05-26T07:11:00.000-07:00

Being a midwife for 15 years has enriched me with experience of what the health personnel even myself usually neglect as not important things. As an experienced para 3, i really missed the support of a midwife who could greet me and put herself in my shoes during antenatal, labour and postnatal periods.Having travelled miles away from my home and live in this scandinavian country, i have really appriciated that there are some things that cost nothing but are important for all midwives to do in the whole world. A smile, greetings, giving of comprehensive information, explaining procedures, respect, empathy, sympathy.With these little non costly commodities, our hospitals will be wonderful places for women.

THE FACE MASK

2009-05-09T07:24:00.000-07:00

When Mr Harris brought a bag full of face masks during the FK perparotory course ,i thoguht "OH! my God", what is he to do with these. What an interesting topic it was . Human beings use alot of face masks in thier everyday lives. Some are defensive, worrisome, judgemental, mind readers, pretence e.t.c Human beings most of the times tend to hide their real self by putting on a different face mask.The world is full of pretence and there is little truth, very few people are honest to others and within themselves "Face masks" are used by all of us whether one likes or not.

Times to Remember

2009-05-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

The labour day (1/05/09) was a joyful day for me. To be invited by the paramount boss and dine with her from the same table is not something that can go without my comment.That was at my boss's home, ostandel, ( sorry that first O is supposed to have /, man en computer har ikke norsk vowels) I hope the spelling is correct if not mistaken.She drove almost for 2 hours to reach this beautiful home with a good view of surrounding mountains.I saw the craftmansship of God the creator, great rivers and lakes.As usual , visitors always feel their berries with good delicious food, the dish was just too good i should admit.Tussek takk for your invitation.

FULL OF GREED, LUST AD JEALOUS

2009-05-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

One day i was chatting with one of my collegues at the work place about "going to church"She told me that her faith does not belong to any church therefore does not go to any church. I asked her why. She said "the world is full of greed, lust and jealous and people do not love one another" I then realised her point, people want all the best for themselves and not others.Like the pharisees in the old times people feel they know the best and not others. All the fighting that is happening in this world whether war political , economical e.t.c, the genesis of it is greed, lust and jealous.OH Lord relieve us from this tense atmosphere in which we live. Give us peace and love till you come again

Learning to ski

2009-04-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

Skiing is the paramount norwegian sport, am told during summer thus when you know who the true norwegians are, WHY? coz they climb up the mountains looking for snow so that they can ski. YAA, it is fun but you need to be very careful otherwise you crash your bones especially when it is your first time to do this sporting activity.Thus me triying to learn how to ski! You cannot say you had been in Norge if you never went for skiing!! It was fun but the shoes are heavy. At first i wondered why the skiers change their steps when they are fully dressed for this game, until i had it thus when i appreciated, it is the nature of the shoes, tight and heavy.Tussen takk to Mildrid who drove me to the skiing field and taught me how to ski.

EQUALITY

2009-04-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

VOSS

2009-04-24T11:49:00.001-07:00

Acouple in labour

2009-04-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

Life after Haudeland

2009-04-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

STORKEN 30/03/2009

2009-04-07T00:14:00.000-07:00

The above name is derived from a bird that is usually put on tins of stork margarine.Is a small bird with very tiny legs. Here in Bergen, it is the name of low risk labour and postnatal wards. In this ward the labour process is not interupted by any drugs. In other words the natural process of labour occurs in this ward. Women who chose to come here are prepared for this and it is wonderful rather than having tubes all over around your body.
One natural method used to facilitate the labour process is the warm bath, yaa it is wonderful. In active phase the woman goes to the bath tub with warm water if at all she is interested and the labour process just goes phyuuuuuu! Fast!!!, I hope i will try this in my labour ward.
Women are in full control of all the process and they chose what they think is best for them, this is wonderful

A COUPLE IN LABOUR

2009-04-06T23:54:00.000-07:00

One could wonder at the title, yes, in Norway, both partners feel the pain of bieng labour. The man despite not having the pysiological labour process that a woman goes through, he feels the psychological part of it. The man is always by the bed side through out the labour process giving support to his partner. I have seen some partners changing their faces when a woman has a contraction as if they are also in labour, yaa it is the pyschological pain they go through and try to put themselves in the womans shoes.When the baby is born, the man cuts the cord. Bonding to the new born starts right away in the labour room, this is great.
I feel this is challenging in our environment where women are put in a single room with 14 beds, however involving the men during antenatal and postnatal period and involving them in provision of care is crucial. We are looking forward to having men with their labouring wives in the new maternity wing, this can avert some of the challenges that my fellow women are going through at Bwaila hospital. Having a hsband around the delivery bed, makes the woman feel suppoprted, makes him appreciate what a woman goes through when giving birth. Other men do not know that it is very painful to go through the labour process and give birth. They thing it is as easy as cooking nsima, they have to be around the delivery bed thus when they will know.

VOSS on 10th March

2009-03-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

After one hour train cruzing, i reached Voss, where i was to stay for three weeks. Weather was very bad and it was snowing. I was taken to the hospital by car. This hospital is under Haukeland university hospital in Bergen. I was warmly welcomed by the midwives although other greeted me in Norsk thinking i know it.The incharge was attending a meeting, so i had to wait.

One midwife took me to a restraunt and was given some food for free. The room was full of the blues and i was the only one different. Gathered courage and joined one lady infact she was a patient taking her lunch, she behaved like a collectilist very friendly. After she finished she left, i was all alone, tears of loneliness circled around my eyes. I could actually see others looking at me and talking about me but i could not get anything.I quickly finished my food and went back to the ward. The sister incharge took me around and was friendly too.

I was later taken to my room some 10 minutes walk from the hospital, i felt so exhuasted physically and pyschologically hurt. Oh ! why did i go to Huadeland then i said to myself?? Yaa i will try to fit myself in and cope to this otherwise if my blood pleassure shoots up here it will be chaos, "life is what you make"

EQUALITY

2009-03-21T07:23:00.000-07:00

On 9th , i went to report at my working place in the maternity wing, i found something touching in the Norwegian culture. Bente, the research nurse took me around the whole maternity wing, moving up ad down, yaa she was so friendly to me i should admit.

Everyone i met was putting on a white uniform which is worn by nurses and clinicians in my country. I then asked Bente "who are! as i was about to say "cleaners", we then met, a cleaner putting on a white uniform carrying a mop. All looked equal in white uniform. I then asked why it was so although i aready knew from Haudeland, "In Norway we are all equal" yaa there is some differences among people but equality is the talk of all the people in this land.

I would have forgotten something, most Planes have "business and economic class" The day we were leaving for Oslo,the norwegian plane had nothing of this sort, Kristine told me" in Norway we do not have such type of planes becoz we are all equal"

Life after Haudeland Hotel

2009-03-21T06:56:00.000-07:00

This is the third week since we came out of beautiful Haudeland Hotel. FK spent millions of NOK on all the participants to have that delicious food, room and lessons etc . At first i felt it was not all that important to attend this preporatory course. I was totally wrong, the lessons at pogrammed by FK prepared me pyschologically to face the real Norwegian culture. I remembered Rolf and Josh,s movie which was voted the best "CROSS ROADS" and really appreciated that whenever two different cultures meet, there bound to be diversity. I cannot finish writting without commenting on PELLIGRINO,S presentation which made the whole class broke into laughter, i nearly felt like throwing my intestines out due to laughter. The individualist (Blues) and collectivilist(reds). life is hard after Haudeland where we actually lived together as a family along with our humble , accommodating, Peter.Do not forget that the REDs like to live together as a family!!!! Making friends is difficult(individualised culture)

Life after Haudeland is tough, "no more desert during dishes" Thanks to FK for such a wonderful job and preparing us pyschologically to face the blues

FIRST EXPOSURE TO SNOW

2009-03-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

How amazing it is to have the other view of the world totally different from your country. The cold weather, mountains, cars and the whole ground covered with snow. Life is totally different, the food, the type of cloths, the type of shoes and the steps too. Yaa you have to be very careful with your steps otherwise you fall down , its like you are learning to walk, the ground is very slippery.