Tuesday at the Well Baby Clinic

     We were at the local hospital for a morning on Tuesday and as I was wandering around I was drawn to all the mothers and babies.  Lo and behold, it was time for immunizations and weigh-ins.  It was fun to watch all the babies being stripped down to be weighed on the outside scales.  Everything with the nurses was done outside, with endless lines snaking around the building.  Then there was a triage sign for a consult with the doctor after the shots.  One of the nurses was kind and spoke to me and showed me what they were doing when I told it was my first time to see the clinic   I thought it fun to see that well baby appointments are pretty much the same the world over, but maybe not quite so hygienic as I am used to.  But if any of you have seen that movie "Babies" you will note that even infants learn to live within their environment.  I have so much dirt and grime being ingested by kids here, I often cringe at kids swimming in totally muddy water, never washing their hands, etc.  But moms try to instruct in the ways that fit their culture best and are open to learning new ideas.

I looked through the yellow baby books and told the nurse that I had the same
type of book in the US for my six kids.  There was a growth chart and a place
to record shots and doctors notes.



I asked her about the weight on this scale and she laughed and told e you had to
add 12 k to each one to make it accurate.



This little guy is getting his first vaccination.  There are alcohol wipes and boxes for
used needles, but it is all done in the open air.  I admire the work of these nurses,
they were very sweet with the babies and mothers.



I am not trying to be insensitive, but this is Africa every day.  Public nursing is all that is
done, nobody, even during church (or missionary lessons) would think of covering up with a blanket.  The line in the back is for the consultation with the doctor.

We learned that the ambulance will not go to the areas where many of the mud huts are.
If you have an emergency you must walk or get a bike taxi.



Right behind the back wall of the clinic was a school.  I took this picture because it
is so unusual to see a child actually opening their book instead of just carrying it to and from school everyday.  We heard on the news that there is a 43% illiteracy rate in Mozambique.  I think that it is probably higher.  Very little learning goes on at the Primary school level.