Born

A letter. Written by a neighbor, delivered by a child, on behalf of a mother in early labor. That is how our Saturday began. We were sitting at the Breakfast table when we heard someone at the door, and my Aunt received the letter. It was explaining that S. (name shortened for privacy) was in labor, and she needed help quickly. My Aunty got some things together, told our neighbor a few doors down, Aida, a Philippino lady who knows English and Tagalog quite well, and asked if I wanted to come. The three of us hopped in the family car/truck vehicle even though we were going only a three minute walk away just in case we needed to drive S to the hospital, and we were off.

Once we parked on the street, which, by the way, is extremely common, we started down a little dirt trail. On a side note, you park wherever you want as long as you don't block the whole road, and you're not on a main highway. Then other cars and trikes and Jeepneys just swerve around you. In the event that there are two cars coming the same way, one will just back up or go to the side or turn slightly so that the other vehicle can fit by. Often there are pedestrians walking along the roads too. Happily the vehicles don't go all that fast, because of the various obstacles.

Back to the path. We walked down the dirt trail by the house porch where the little community church service is held, and further back, further from the road. We walked under a clothes line strung with clothes drying, past a some corn which was growing, and to a little tiny shack without a door. It had a tin roof, and I can't remember what kind of walls, something thin, either tin with supports or plywood or something like that. The roof hung off both sides so that there was a large eav that a group of children were getting shade under. The house was low, slightly sunk into the ground and the doorway perhaps 5 feet tall. And as I mentioned before, no door.

I didn't go in right away. There was a whole group of ladies around and crowded into the shack. I could hear lots of talking, but didn't understand it because it was in Tagalog. Aunty Melita and Aida went in. I noticed a bedraggled dog hanging around, with something wrong with her tummy. There are lots of neighborhood dogs around, and Noah says that many of them have ticks and other types of sicknesses. An old lady arrived, and waved for me to enter the house. I was still a little hesitant, because I didn't want to be in the way, but Aunty Melita said it was fine, so I entered the house.

It was mostly a square shaped house about the size of a North American average to small bedroom. Along the back it is extended just slightly so that if you walked straight from the front to the back wall, you could turn right and out the back door. Most of the floor was dirt, but about half of it was board, raised about a foot from the ground. There was a wooden rail dividing the board part from the dirt part. There was a wire rack with some dishes in it, drying, and a fire place with two pots. A counter was made of a few tables leaning against the wall directly to the left when you enter the door. Umbrellas and other odds and ends were hung up over the edge of the wall which didn't quite meet with the roof. There was one window in that wall which is to the left when you first step in the front door. I saw I think two chairs and one stool.

S was standing on the wooden floor, wearing a dress, and Melita and Aida asked her how she was doing. She has had four children already, but this labour felt more painful to her than ever before. He labour started during the night, and now her water had broken, so she had to give birth. She thought she was a few weeks before she was due, so not too early. She didn't have any money and wanted help. We prayed with S. She is a Christian lady who has been faithfully attending the little church here and the lady's Bible study. The study used to be held there, in her little house when it first started. She used to be Muslim, but converted to Christianity several years ago.

Somehow through talking with the various neighborhood women clustered around, we heard there was a Christian midwife nearby. Aunty Melita, myself and a different Philippino lady went to fetch her. We drove, and only had to go a little ways down the road. She was somewhere else in Silang, but the people who knew her said they would let her know. We went back to the shack and told them. Aunty Melita asked if they needed anything for the birth, and they (the general concensus of neighborhood women, etc.) asked for alcohol for sterilization, oil for helping the baby's head come out smoothly, and cotton balls. Aunty Melita made sure that they knew we would drive her into the hospital if they wanted or needed it.

We went back to the Roots house and gathered some supplies, passed on the news, talked to a couple Second Mile neighbors, and then went back to where S was. When we got there, the midwife was there, S was lying down and there were slightly less neighbor people. The midwife said that she was fine, but it was looking like the baby would come out bum first. We again prayed with S, asking the Lord to protect and bring safe birth to the baby, puting our trust in the Lord. I couldn't believe how quiet S was. She is this tiny lady, and so quiet, there is no way I could tell she was in labour. Even when she had contractions, she was so quiet.

It ended up the midwife already had some of the supplies, but did need some of the things we brought. She didn't not have adult diapers for S, however, so Aunty Melita and I drove to a drug store in Silang to purchase these.

When we returned, we stayed for a long time, praying and watching and praying. Birthing is a not a private thing in the Philippines (not that it is anywhere else, either, but it wasn't at all like I would imagine a North American home birthing). Many people were making suggestions, and touching S and patting and pushing and giving advice and arguing here and there. All women, except for S's husband. They didn't mind having me there at all. I was concerned at first, but everyone waved me in. The ladies asked some questions about me. From time to time, different ladies would pop their heads in and see how things were going.

At one point the midwife checked the baby's heart rate with her stethoscope, and said that it was weak. The women were saying "Mabilis, mabilis!" (Quickly, quickly). Aunty Melita interpreted for me that they believed the baby needed to be born quickly. I didn't understand all they were saying, but I watched and prayed. I was there for several hours. Some of the things I saw didn't look good to me... pushing on the mother while she was having contractions, having her lying down all the time, other things. But I'm not trained at all. I just know that if I was giving birth I wouldn't want so many hands on me!!

Whenever little children would poke their heads in the door, the adults would yell and yell at them to go out. The oldest daughter of S, about 10 came in (they didn't mind her), got some plates and scooped a big pile of rice on each from the pot on the fire. Then she was trying to open a can of sardines, and having trouble, so I helped her. She put them in a bowl, and then scooped one sardin and a little bit of juice onto the rice for each plate. Her younger brother came and did the same. This is what they ate for lunch. None of the adults ate at all until later that evening. I found out afterwards that the midwife was also not feeling completely well. I also found out that the sardines and rice had been from Aunty Melita a few days before. S's husband is usually good at finding new work, I'm told, but has been out of work for several weeks now. I think they are renting, and the problem with low income workers here is that companies hire them for five months, and then right when they'll have to start paying them benefits and other things they let them go and hire new people. So many of the poor are constantly trying to find new work. There is no shortage of labourers here, so the job market is difficult.

For a time I went outside with the children and talked to them. My conversation goes something like this:

Me: "Ano pangalan mo?"
Child: states their name
Me: "pangalan?" pointing to younger sibling
Chilld: "Isa."
Me: "Eesa?"
Child: giggles and says with emphasis "ISA!".
Me: "Ilong." pointing to my nose.
Child: giggles.
Me: "Ano sa Tagalog isa?" pointing to my eye.
Child: "Mata."

Basically, all I could do was ask them their names, and then start naming facial features I knew, and then asking them how to say new things in Tagalog. They liked this though. The tiniest children here are so much more bilingual than I!!!

Eventually I decided that I would be spending my time more wisely if I went back to Second Mile and helped my cousins with the garden they were building, so this is what I did. Every few minutes I would pray for S and the baby again. It had been several house since the heart beat was weak and they said the child needed to be born quickly.

Aunty Melita offered to drive S to the hospital numerous times, but S didn't want to go.

Finally, in the middle of the afternoon Aunty Melita came back with a big smile on her face and declared that the baby had been born, head first!!! This must mean that either the midwife was mistaken, or God directly answered our prayers and turned the child around. It was a little girl, and she was healthy. S was also doing well. What joy!! To know that this child we had feared may be stillborn was healthy. My Aunt and Uncle paid for the midwife.

Several days later, after lady's Bible study we went over to drop off some food for S and her family (five children now, and husband), and we asked her what the child's name was. She said that Aunty Melita was going to name the baby. Aunty Melita was quite shocked. She had been forewarned by Aida, but wasn't sure if S really wanted her to name the baby, or if there had been a missunderstanding. But it seemed S wanted her to name the baby, with Bible names, she requested. So Aunty Melita suggested that we all think about names, and so the Bible study ladies started suggesting names. They seemed to all like Ruth, but were trying to come up with another name they liked. I suggested Hannah, because it is a pretty name, and I admire Hannah's faith and passion and her complete devotion to God in the Old Testament. Everyone liked this, and the baby was named Ruth Hannah. Praise God for new life!!

One thing which was disturbing for Aunty Melita (who saw the actual birth) was some of the folk practices which went on right at the birthing. While she was giving birth, someone took some coals, put smokey leaves on them and circled the mother and baby. Also, while the placenta was being birthed, the mother clenched salt in her hands for "good luck". This is a concern, because this was a Christian woman, and many of the neighbors there also claim to be Christians. It is our sincere desire that they understand the need to trust in God Alone for our strength and security, and not in "Old wives tales"! My Aunt and Uncle say that here, sometimes the Philippinos see church as something for Salvation and the afterlife, but still practice other things in their day to day living. There is so much prayer needed for the Christians to stand against these engrained practices. It is also very NOT Philippino to cause a stir or go against the general flow. So to stand against traditional practices is almost unheard of. Pray that the baby Christians here will continue to grow and that God will give them the strength to stand up against all odds!