Its 5:45 in the morning and my child is exactly 12 hours old. As I recline on the couch in room 105 of the Sagua Managu building here in Tamuning I have time to reflect on the events of the past half a day. After what was an extremely brief birthing process- 5 hours of labor (mistaken for a bad case of indigestion) followed by a mere 5 minutes of pushing- I am now able to marvel over the beautiful bouncing baby girl lying in the bassinette next to my wife Erica. It was such a natural process in this peaceful and tranquil setting that I find it hard to believe why- given the choice- anyone would wish to deliver anywhere except Sagua.
In lieu of the antiseptic atmosphere inherent to any large hospital setting Sagua feels more like delivering at home with your best friends and neighbors in attendance. In fact Dr Bordallo, Nurse Mafnas and all the other consummate professionals go out of their way to promote that exact sensation. Post delivery I was even able to walk to the kitchen and make myself a midnight snack while my new family peacefully slumbered in our ornately decorated suite. This is something I’ve done a hundred times in my own home and it adds to the familiarity of our experience.
This is not to say that Sagua is not capable of all the same things of a baby ward found in a larger hospital, quite the contrary. The clinic sports all the same equipment however, they are all portable and are only present in the room when they are needed and are removed after they have served their purpose. This restores the, “in my own family room feel which is extremely comforting”.
On the wall is a framed picture with the saying, “TRUST BIRTH”. Everything about the Sagua experience does just that, from the La Maze classes that empowered my wife making her feel, “yes I can do this”! To the professionalism of the nurses, mid wife’s and Doctors that answered each and every question no matter how silly they sounded. Because of these things as a Chiropractor I enthusiastically endorse Sagua Managu and encourage all pregnant mothers to deliver their babies here.
As I look out our window to see the sun’s rays streak across the sky I couldn’t ask for a more poetic and tranquil scene to welcome my child to her first morning. The rain drizzles down the window pain and I note with some irony the fact that my new daughter’s middle name is Rain. Charloette Raine Borja was born 15 April 2008 at 5:45PM. I’m the happiest dad in the world.