Today we were able to hire a jeep and visit Pinna village to meet with mother's and FCHVs from the district. We set off in the morning - 6 of us - driver made 7 in a 5 passenger jeep. Tightly packed we headed out on the windy, one lane, road. Sometimes the road is thick powdery dust - Jill said icing sugar - and that describes it perfectly! Sometimes there are stones. We wind up and up and up - past the airport and continue on around the corners. On driver is very confident in his jeep driving skills, sometimes he talks on his phone whipping the wheel this way and that with one hand to make the very tight corners. We had been told 30min drive to Pinna. 1hr 15min later we arrived. I personally prefer walking, but we would not have made it to the community and back in one day without the vehicle so we were glad for it!
When we got there we walked down the community and ran into one of the ANMs from the course who led us to the birthing centre! We were able to meet with both the ANMs who were at our course and the health post leader and do an assessment of the birthing centre facilities, equipment and numbers. We then split into teams (I am the floating 5th wheel - learning from both Cathy and Jill) to interview the ANMs, and the mothers who came. Once that was done we split the FCHVs into 2 groups and did focus groups with them. I cannot talk about what we heard, as that will need to be analyzed as a part of the study, and will be published at a later point. But I can say that is was an interesting and rewarding experience. We got to spend the day in a rural community and hear about birth practices in the community and surrounding area. I like talking to women and hearing their stories and experiences. I even got to palpate a belly - cephalic position and hear a heartbeat! It made me excited for what is still to come - our clinical experience in Baglung.
On our way home our driver was late, he was leaving Gamghadi when he was supposed to be meeting us. So we decided to walk towards him. This time we were to talk the lower road. We had a nice walk in the valley, meandering by the river. We met a family at a stop along the way. There was a young mother there with a 3 month old baby. She told us that she had her baby at home and breastfed confidently while we were sitting there. I hope that in Nepal's efforts to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality that they don't forget that other things matter too. Respect, autonomy, choice. Our driver finally met us when we had reached a village. And then we discovered that although the lower road doesn't have the up on the side of the mountain fear factor, it has its own challenges. Steep forward pitches and side pitches were very common. And yet we made it back in good condition and lightly powdered. Showers and dinner and bed time for us as all of us except Jill are going to see Rara Lake tomorrow!
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