Yesterday, I toured my second hospital in Liberia. While there were lots of people waiting for assistance or simply hoping to be seen that day, it was a very quiet, orderly scene. I'm told I was lucky it wasn't raining, since some parts of the facility are open-air and it gets wet pretty quickly now that rainy season is here. Very few rooms have air conditioning, and I don't believe the delivery room is one of them. All beds have mosquito nets on them -- a fairly new addition, I am told.
When we entered the room full of moms and their newborns, I was struck by how many babies were wrapped up in layers of blankets. It's not the hottest time of year here, but it safely reaches the 80s when the sun is out. I saw a couple babies in snowsuits! It's typical to see Liberians wearing ski jackets or winter hats during rainy season, so this wasn't entirely surprising.
During a meeting today, I told a Liberian colleague about the visit and the snowsuits. She explained that Liberians believe that keeping a baby warm helps it to grow. Then she recalled how shocked she was when she saw a white woman here carrying her baby outside with bare legs, and no shoes or socks. She told me that she had thought to herself, "Isn't that baby cold??"
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