After a very interesting course in Shantala today as well as eleven hours at the hospital, I have seen sixteen births in two weeks--four cesarean sections and twelve natural births. Shantala is a series of massage techniques for babies to be used by the parents to promote healthy living and bonding between the baby and massage-giver.
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| Our lovely model baby, Ana Beatrice, and her mother following the instructions of teacher, Sister Ellen, to demonstrate Shantala |
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| Ana Beatrice meets the other baby in the class (yes it is a doll) |
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| Ana Beatrice and I! Such a happy baby! |
After the class, in which I met some of the new interns with whom I will be working, I caught a second baby today. This one was a girl and I happened to be in the room when her mother realized that her head was coming! By the time the doctor arrived, the head was out but the rest of the baby got stuck (I guess I should mention that this baby was rather large...) so I had the privilege of leaning all of my body weight on the mother's belly while the doctor delivered the rest of the baby. What a crazy few minutes! However, both mother and baby are happy and healthy and should be able to go home on Sunday. It is also interesting to note that this is the first baby I have seen here that did not have a mass of dark hair on her head. She was, in fact like many American babies, bald.
