First Post from Indonesia

What can I say? as soon as we landed in bali the smells reminded me of why i had returned. it is such a rich life here. the people have very little, in fact a woman recently gave birth at the clinic who lives in a tarp tent and when she arrived she didn't even have enough money for a large bottle of water...something i drink down every day here, the cost is 35 cents. you are probably here to read my blog to find out about what i am doing and how things are going in indonesia. you probably already know that i will be in ubud, bali at the yayasan bumi sehat clinic for 6 weeks. yayasan bumi sehat means healthy mother earth foundation. if you have never been to bali you are missing out. i hope to post pictures soon, however i am just too tired to deal with it right now! i just wanted to check with some of you who are curious and said you would stay in touch with the blog. this is new for me, so be patient. but i hope to record an accurate and insightful look at my time here. honestly, i arrive here at the clinic during a great time of change. it is so interesting to see how the pendulum swings...the situation in many countries with regard to maternity care is frightening. here, a small clinic is trying to make a difference but is struggling against the current of modern medical "improvement". i will comment more on this later and i can already see that this blog just may become my treatise on the state of birth as i see it in the world. i hope that some of you will share your 2 cents. i know many of you are in the birth world and could contribute a great deal. don't forget...to post just send me an e-mail with whatever you have on your mind...just put blog somewhere in the subject line and i will post your comments and respond to your questions if you choose. here, we see the severe effect that malnutrition has on the birth outcomes. women experience a very high rate of hemorrhage and very high rates of extreme perineal tears...when the tissue is not nourished the tissue does not respond well to trauma. anemia is a major factor in the malnutrition. therefore, a main purpose of the clinic is to dispense prenatal vitamins on a regular basis. such a simple task and yet so tough! that is all i have the energy for tonight. sleep well...