During my first visit to the Mota Fofalia hospital, I found that the nurses and facility were unprepared to provide care to Pediatric Patients. The structure is beautiful! But the nurses are untrained. I taught them how to do vital signs. That's right, they didn't do them! I taught them how to count a heart rate, a respiratory rate, and take a temperature. And, what these numbers mean.
We ran into some bumps. The most significant to me was a low birth weight baby that was born while I was there. This baby weighed less than 3 lbs. The mother started coughing up blood, so we knew she likely had TB. The hospital was not equipped to care for a mother with TB, so she could not stay there. We knew that if the baby did not stay, he would die. He was too weak to breast feed. This was against the culture. In India, family members are required to stay with the children to care for them. We talked them into going against the culture. I tried to teach the mother that she must keep hand expressing breast milk, or she would loose her supply. The grandfather insisted he take the baby and mother home, but we convinced him that wasn't a good idea. So, the baby stayed. The doctor ordered a minimum amount that the baby must eat. The baby wouldn't eat that amount, but the nurses didn't realize that was a problem. I reinforced time and time again that the baby must eat that amount!
That's not the end of the story. The doctor followed up a month after the baby left, and the baby was almost dead. Mom hadn't pumped and lost her milk supply. They couldn't afford formula. It's really sad that a baby born healthy could die.
We ran into some bumps. The most significant to me was a low birth weight baby that was born while I was there. This baby weighed less than 3 lbs. The mother started coughing up blood, so we knew she likely had TB. The hospital was not equipped to care for a mother with TB, so she could not stay there. We knew that if the baby did not stay, he would die. He was too weak to breast feed. This was against the culture. In India, family members are required to stay with the children to care for them. We talked them into going against the culture. I tried to teach the mother that she must keep hand expressing breast milk, or she would loose her supply. The grandfather insisted he take the baby and mother home, but we convinced him that wasn't a good idea. So, the baby stayed. The doctor ordered a minimum amount that the baby must eat. The baby wouldn't eat that amount, but the nurses didn't realize that was a problem. I reinforced time and time again that the baby must eat that amount!
That's not the end of the story. The doctor followed up a month after the baby left, and the baby was almost dead. Mom hadn't pumped and lost her milk supply. They couldn't afford formula. It's really sad that a baby born healthy could die.
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