It is now officially Spring, though Liberia does not
really have seasons like I have grown up thinking of seasons. Everywhere around us, babies are being
born. The ducks that belong to our
neighbors have been having babies – the latest group is 13 ducklings! – the
chicks are plenty, and so many of the women we encounter seem to be
pregnant. Families are large here, and
women tend to have babies until they can no longer become pregnant.
Our neighbor’s sister came to live with them about three
months ago, and she gave birth on Decoration Day, March 12. We knew that she was pregnant and that she
was due to give birth soon, but we never realized it would happen like it did. That day, Sarah and I were sitting on our
porch and enjoying the national holiday when our neighbor went running by to
get the midwife. Perry’s mom is the
midwife in our community, and soon she came running over.
A few hours later, we saw Gertrude, a small girl who
lives in the same house. We asked her if
Beatrice had her baby, and Gertrude’s response was perfect – “Yes! She’s fine!”
In this context, “fine” does not mean well or healthy, but instead, it
means beautiful. In the course of an hour,
Beatrice had her first child, a daughter she has named Blessing. I got to meet her a few days later, and she
is beautiful. It’s amazing to me how
nonchalant the experience was; nothing stopped for this birth, and she gave
birth right at the house with only a midwife and her sister attending to
her.
Today, two weeks later, Beatrice is busy as ever, washing
diapers and clothes every day, hauling water, and taking care of her
newborn. Looking at her, though, you’d
never know she just had a baby. When
something is this routine in a society, there is no bounce back time, I
guess.
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