Healthy, full term baby born at Project Medishare’s Hospital

By PJ Pitts

When I got here I mentioned to one of the OB/GYNs that I’d love to see “the miracle of life”, and last night, Tipu sent one of the physician assistants for me.

The mother came in late in the afternoon, and had been having contractions since the morning. We tried for a vaginal birth – one of the ER guys and I held her legs (no stirrups on our tables) and pushed while she pushed. The baby had defecated in the amniotic fluid (MAC), the heart rate was over 200, and the mother wasn’t responding to oxytocin, so we had to do an emergency c-section.

I grabbed the meds and we headed to the OR.

PJ Pitts holding a new baby that was born today at the Project Medishare Hospital in Haiti.

It went well – slight complications, but today the mother and baby (all 7lb 6.9 oz) are doing fine.

One of the NICU nurses stayed for the birth, even though she was off, and mentioned to me that this was what she needed to see. I didn’t understand what she meant, until she explained that they’d lost three babies today.

Since the mom wasn’t very coherent (the whole being in labor all day, and having an emergency c-section), and we needed to call the baby something, I “named” her (temporarily) “Joy” – since it was such a joy to have a full term, healthy baby here.

*PJ Pitts is a pharmacist from Oregon. She does clinical work part-time in the Portland area, and works part time as a compounding pharmacist at Broadway Apothecary in Eugene. She has agreed to share some of her moments while volunteering at the Project Medishare Hospital in Port-au-Prince. This is her first time in Haiti. You can read about her first day volunteering with Project Medishare here.