We Welcomed Four Peace Corps Volunteers Aboard A Few Weeks Ago To Learn All About Helping Babies Breathe – A Simple, Low-Resource Algorithm For Newborn Resuscitation That Was Created For The Rural Health Centers Where These Volunteers Work For Two Years. We Then Sent Them Out With All The Materials Needed To Teach The Class To Their Local Health Center Workers! I Recently Received The Following From One Of The Volunteers:
Yesterday The General Physician And I Led The Entire Staff In The Introductory And Pre-Testing Portion Of The Help Babies Breathe Training. The Results Were Already Astounding. The Trainees' Enthusiasm For Their Work Grew Overnight. We Spoke Not Only Of How The Procedure Is Important, But Also Reflected On Their Individual Impacts On The Community.
The Next Morning, The Physician And Several Assistants Rushed To Greet Me. They Were All Smiling Ear
To Ear. The Physician, With Whom I Had Worked Independently To Share
The HBB Curriculum After My Own Training, Had Amazing News. In The Early
Morning The Day After Training, A Woman From A Small Settlement Went
Into Labor. The Team In The Maternity Ward Was Struggling To Make This A
Safe And Comfortable Delivery. The Middle-Aged Woman Had Already
Suffered The Loss Of One Child - Her Previous Pregnancy Ended In A
Complicated Birth In Which She Lost Her Strength And The Baby Died
Before She Was Able To Deliver. The Baby Was Born Limp, But The Team
Moved Quickly And Cautiously, And The Physician Performed The Skills
Acquired During Our Training. Today We Have A Beautiful And Happy Baby
Boy! Helping Babies Breathe Is Going To Have A Big Impact In My Village And Surrounding Area!
