The beauty of volunteering in a prenatal center in Costa Rica, is that some aspects are, shall we say, more relaxed.
Within this relaxed atmosphere, Madi was able to learn how to do an ultrasound from a manual, and perform her first one today.
Described in her own words: I was really nervous at first, since the husband of the woman I was to ultrasound had gotten time off of work just to see his baby. Lucky for me, this was going to be the woman’s fourth baby and she had ultrasounds before, so she knew the drill. I steadied my hands, knowing that this was not the right time to have them shaking and I began. I warned her that the gel would be cold and pressed the scanner onto her abdomen. Immediately a big round head lept onto the ultrasound screen and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I was most worried about locating the head, but thankfully it was in the first place I scanned. On the screen we could see the baby’s profile, shoulders, and little arms with little fingers MOVING! The baby was opening and closing its hands and moving its arms up and down. The mother and father smiled with pride and the soon-to-be big sister was happy with them, even though she wasn’t quite sure what was going on. I took a few pictures, changed angles to get the body in, and then took some more. I cleaned off the woman’s belly and handed the little girl the pictures of her baby brother or sister. Their thanks absolutely thrilled me and I told them I was pleased to do it. They left with hope for their new son or daughter and I left with the knowledge that I had found what I was meant to do.