Precious babies born during Mexico's flooding

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5276079.html

Villahermosa Women's Hospital, which opened two months ago in a working-class neighborhood, stands like a white island of sterility and polished cleanliness amid a chaotic mess of refugee camps, submerged houses and polluted, brackish water.

Nurses and doctors work round the clock in a maternity ward to assist pregnant women, many of whom gave birth prematurely because of the stress of fleeing their homes and living in shelters. Incredibly, none of the women miscarried, no babies have died, and only one of the 62 infants is in the intensive care ward, Dr. Bocanegra said.

But there have been some close calls. On Monday, a half-hour after giving birth, Julia Perez, 26, lay in a hospital and recalled her ordeal.

She had been staying in a church that was converted into a refugee center when her contractions grew stronger by the minute. Her husband rested his head next to her belly and pleaded with his unborn child.

"You have to wait!" he whispered. "It's not time yet."

But it was. An ambulance brought the couple to the Women's Hospital, and Perez delivered a baby boy. As her newborn sucked his thumb, his eyes closed, Perez was thankful for the safe delivery but worried about her family's future.

When he's a little older, she said, "I'll tell him about everything that happened. I'll tell him he's very lucky to be alive."

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Bless the families, the babies, and the wonderful health care staff who work in such poor and challenging conditions!

I'd love to rebuild the houses and decorate the nurseries!