And I thought waiting room lines in the US were miserable…

Now I realize how lucky we are to be able to call for a personally scheduled appointment and sit in air-conditioned buildings as we wait to be examined by well-trained medical professionals. It only took one trip to the local hospital here for me to come to this realization; health care here has a long way to go.

Today I was shadowing my co-worker Especiosa who exclusively works with pregnant women and young mothers, most of whom are HIV+. When we strolled up to the hospital at 8 am, we met an overwhelming scene. Over 100 young mothers and their babies were crowded into the waiting room, which was really just a hot porch, in line to weigh and vaccinate their babies. (Running through my thoughts, was the following: whoa baby, most of these mothers look younger than me.) As we weaved between the mothers and crying babies, I considered the hell this would be for someone who is not a kind person. I also imagined my college roommate of 3 years, Lauren Falduti, who would be busy running around this waiting room pouring love and compassion into these children. Me, I didn't know what to do, so I just smiled weakly and busied myself helping to set the demonstration on how to make baby food we were about to give.

Since neither packaged baby food like Gerbers is available here nor is the knowledge of healthy foods common, many mothers end up feeding their children only rice to supplement breast milk. Our mission was to do a hands-on demonstration on how to cook locally available foods that provide health value for babies to decrease malnutrition and to foster healthy growth and development. We passed around handouts that included both written and illustrated directions (because many of the moms are illiterate or only speak the local dialect, not Portuguese) on how to prepare a healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner for their babies.

I enjoyed watching them cook because about 30 moms worked together communally stirring pots and singing until the baby food was ready. As the food was rationed, I chatted with some of the moms and they convinced me I had to try the baby food. Normally the thought of baby food is utterly unappetizing, but I was starving and they were expectantly waiting. The baby food was corn flour, pumpkin leaves, ground peanuts, and carrots mixed together into a grits-consistency and it was surprisingly tasty. It blew Gerbers out of the water, just so you know…

I look forward to working more with the moms and babies because it's easy to fall in love with the kids and hands-on teaching is exciting. And next time I'm in an American waiting room I will be seeing it in a whole different light, more thankful for our medical facilities and professionals.