Our common beginnings

I can't believe that I"ve been here four weeks already!  It feels like both a blink of an eye, but also a lifetime of experiences in such a short time.
For the past week and a half, I've been working in the reproductive health department, seeing new moms and babies, and getting to do some deliveries myself!  Apparently, there are ten deliveries in the average day!  I quickly attached myself to one of the senior midwives named "Tender" who has delivered over 2000 babies in her time at the clinic.  She is quite a force to be reckoned with, and has such a wonderful way with pregnant women.  For instance, during the most intense moments of labour, she sings the clearest note that  focusses the woman's energies perfectly in a way I can't express.  I've also seen her perform a "nipple massage" in order to strengthen uterine contractions!  The birthing conditions are very basic - no pain medications, no sheets on the bed, but a decently sterile environment, and midwives whose good judgement comes from much experience.  This has really served to normalize the birth process for me, and I now have an even deeper appreciation for the wisdom and power of the female body!  At the same time, I am also realizing the huge importance of good basic reproductive care - family planning services and safe birthing environments.  Aside from the many women who make it to the clinic, there are also many who don't.  Maternal mortality is significant in Burma, and it is still all too common to see babies with tetanus from umbilical cords cut with unclean knives, or women suffering the complications of failed self-abortions (abortion is illegal in bothThailand and Burma).
How many different realities exist in this world!!!
My Dad asked me, the other day, whether all of these intense experiences are impacting my mental health, and said that he hoped I wasn't becomming too emotionally burdened by it all.  There certainly are many intense moments in these days, but to be honest, the effect is actually the opposite.  The stark reality of death amidst life and birth... even senseless, preventable, unjust deaths, are a normal part of life here.  I"m not saying that this is the way it should be, or that the injustice should be accepted, but that death and illness are part of life - no less so in the West, though its faces look different, and we may prolong or hide this inevitability more successfully.
I"m looking forward to my last two weeks here, whatever they may bring!  I'm learning not to underestimate the life that can be lived in two weeks!  Thanks to all of you who have been sending me love via phone or email - I really appreciate it.  I'll try to write again this weekend, and post some pictures of Mae Sot and the clinic.
Much love,
Laura