The fourth of July- in Gambia

Friday was the 4th of July, and it was coincidentally a day that really made me appreciate our country. I spent the day in the maternity ward at one of the bigger clinics, Birkama.

The maternity ward was, to say the least, disgusting. Dirty floors, blood everywhere. Women bring their own sheets to give birth on top of. Often times, they defecate as a result of pushing (this happens everywhere, but is dealt with in a much more sanitary way in developed nations). They also bring the blanket to take their child home in. With no mention of sterility or sanitation, the baby is born, wrapped in a blanket, weighed, then placed in a little basin next to mommy. Was this little basin cleaned out before? Probably not.

I guess it's been done this way for years, and, based on the amount of children running around, it's been working out just fine. It just shocks the spoiled American medical student to see this.

Besides the uncleanliness, one of the cases we saw also turned our stomachs. it was a very sad case I would rather not write about, but it was possibly the most sobering thing I've seen here thus far.

On a brighter note, I saw the births of two baby boys. It was really exciting and cool. First two live births I've ever seen!

For some stark contrast, we saw a private hospital early this afternoon. Beautiful architecture, clean floors, real bathrooms. No air conditioning but still a palace compared to the other places we had seen.