A good day

A good day today, not least because the weather is gorgeous! Started with yoga (finally!), then met up with a lady who is a doula to Tibetan women. It was really interesting to hear about her work and her perspective on maternity provision as through her role she has a good appreciation of women's experiences of maternity care at the various hospitals within Kathmandu.

Then off to the birth centre to find the place buzzing! There had been a birth overnight (which I missed as no one wanted to disturb me at night!) and the centre was quite busy with the normal activities. I get to meet the first baby to be delivered at the centre since I came to Nepal and one of the nurses performs a good check prior to discharge with plans for a home visit in 1-2 days. Over the best and cheapest roti and dahl ever, me and Rashmi continue to discuss plans for the centre. I have organised a new battery which is to be delivered tomorrow and we discussed again the idea of local promotion. One of the nurses called Pratikshya who I had not met previously was very enthusiastic about the idea so we plan to go out tomorrow with leaflets.  We also discussed the training day and her and Amala are trying to work out staff rosters to make it happen. In a way its difficult to know what to prioritize as one of the most fundamental areas the staff need more confidence in is providing antenatal care. However, we decide to focus on obstetric emergencies at first as its something that can be practical, fun and essentially life saving. I also decide that if we are to build up the centre as somewhere that the staff can be proud of and the women want to come to then we should continue to work on the decor. I had wondered whether it was worth it given the potential for moving to another building but it seems unlikely this will happen any time soon. Rashmi agrees so we plan to go paint shopping on Monday! Sitting chatting to Rashmi, Amala and Pratikshya it felt like there was real potential for progress. I am also reminded that if even one woman a month experiences safe and caring maternity care then it is worth investing in. My mind is now buzzing with things I would like to make happen but will have to see how much I can afford and how much can be done in the remaining 3 weeks I am here.