BABIES/COLD/POVERTY/MISCELLANEOUS

BABIES: The one great thing about being a Registered Midwife, is that I get to care for newborns up to six weeks old. I used to do that as a CPM, but when I became a CNM~~ that was deeded out to the nurses and pediatricians or family practice doctors.

I do the newborn exam, sometimes show a new mom how to change or bathe her baby and that is quite a delight. I had forgotten what a privilege it is to be in the presence of a new baby. To look at them, and to talk to them. They are the Dalai Lama and Albert Einstein in one little bundle.

While a CNM, many kind women would offer their baby for me to hold, especially when doing hospital rounds postpartum, but I mostly deferred, unless I was needed to. In the uniquely special newborn time I felt I needed to support the Mother/Child relationship and not get my own baby fix! I must confess, when I see midwives or nurses greedily holding a freshly newborn baby for their OWN interest and not as a provider or helper to the mother in some way, I think unkind thoughts about them. Now I have a purpose again to touch the baby, besides helping gently usher them into the world.

JAUNDICE: We have had a run on jaundice and one of my theories is that houses are SO COLD, that babies are really bundled up to keep warm. This bundling makes them sleepier and so they don't wake up to feed, and then they get dehydrated or are new to breastfeeding, and the baby is so "good"... Because literally every house I have been in is heated primarily by wood stove, only one room is warm. No one would think of placing their baby by a window for a little sunshine because the windows are single pane. Maybe not coincidentally, all the babies were of Maori heritage. I could not find any good data on links, but since Asians (especially Chinese) have the highest rates of jaundice--is it possible that Maori--related to South Pacific Islanders has an increased rate as well?

POVERTY: Up close and personal. Don't like it. I was at a house, always well-kept, the family lives in one room, although they do have an an unheated kitchen to cook in. When I do the visits, I mostly stand or squish myself between the bed and toddler bed, as that is the only furniture. Have you ever done a postpartum visit where the Father was in bed, dressed, trying to stay warm, and watching a golf game as you were doing the visit? Okay, well, I have--and I just laughed to myself. Anyway, at this same house, with a great, loving family--I asked if I could heat up a cloth to warm up baby's foot before I did the PKU test. That was when the mom very apologetically told me they have no running hot water. Just one example.

GUARD DOGS: A couple of houses I have to call ahead and tell them I am coming so that they can tie up the dog. Being permanently scarred on my face from a dog bite--I take this seriously. There are some houses where they SHOULD tie up their dog before I come. These are not those smart sheep dogs from the classic movie "Babe" the talking pig story. The dogs are pitbulls, just like I see in the poorer areas of my own fair city. What would a sociologist make of this phenomena? Do economically-challenged people the world over have higher rates of pitbull ownership? Curious observers want to know.

UNHEATED BATHROOMS: Every single "toilet" I have used in the country of New Zealand (and I am not kidding) has been unheated. Even in our own lovely home, the toilet or bathroom is unheated. This is NOT the room to linger in. Seriously, freezing your ass off is a real fact in NZ. Also, the hand washing room, with the shower or bath is in a separate room. I am wondering if people use good bathroom hygiene if they have to go to ANOTHER room to wash their hands???? hhhhmmmmmm?????
Okay, even in the patient houses which I would consider living in, because they are so beautiful--they have no heat in the toilet (room). This crosses all economic classes.

MASCARA: I went into town (the bigger city an hour away) to pick up supplies for the maternity home. I needed mascara, so I went to a recommended shop, and found my usual brand. Went to pay for it, and nearly dropped my jaw. It cost $25 NZD. Miss Plastic Face, obviously not concerned about the price of make-up, asked if there was a problem? I stammered that this was a bit of sticker shock, because in the USA I would pay about $8 USD for the same exact Maybelline mascara. I am certain she wanted to drop her jaw, but knew she could not, otherwise her make-up would come off in little, bitty pieces. She told me that was the going rate. I looked around and there were several US brands, but I surmised it was because I had come into the store that was like the local Daytons but not quite that good. Anyway, about 40 minute later when I stopped at Woolworth's grocery store, I found my same mascara for, yep---$25 NZD. OHMYGOSH.

LEVI JEANS: In one small-town store I saw a paid of women's levis for $175 NZD. Obviously, I am not buying any in this country. Clothing is very expensive, which my Lonely Planet explains because there are less people, so less consumers to bring the cost down.

LIVING MODESTLY: It is much easier to live modestly in the USA than in NZ. Fact. The only thing that is cheaper here, so far, is car insurance and malpractice insurance. Which they really don't even have the later, it is called indemnity and for a Registered Midwife, costs <$1000NZD. Okay, so I admit it that I miss Target. I really, really do. THINGS I HATE: I hate cigarettes and cigarette smoke. THE BUMMER about doing homevisits is that 1) You see how people live and sometimes it is heartbreaking 2) You smell how people live. BLEEEECCCCHHHHHHHH. This is almost, but not quite as bad as cigarette use in Pakistan or China. At least in NZ there are laws about smoking in public places.