Bumi Sehat

Two and half weeks after our first meeting with Ebu Jane (Fund raising director at Bumi Sehat) we were finally able to see Bumi Sehat in action. Bumi Sehat is a non-profit NGO that provides "Gentle Births for a Peaceful Future." It provides completely free care to all mothers and their children because cheap and good pre and post natal care is hard to come by on the island of Bali.

Two of the focuses on our trip to Indonesia are ecology and health care. Due to the recent change from Balinese red and brown rice to GMO (genetically modified) white rice has caused malnutrition in both mothers and babies. This ultimately led to increaseing maternal mortality and less healthy birth outcomes. This staple food of the people stopped providing pregnant women with all the nutrients necessary to sustain healthy pregnancies.

Unlike the US, Bumi Sehat's patients have a 100% breast feeding rate. Breast feeding provides the baby with all of the essential nutrients at next to no cost. Many doctors in Indonesian (and US) hospitals present formula as an ideal option for mothers, for many formula companies offer incentives. Not only does this place an unneeded cost on the family, but the lack of clean and sterile water in Bali causes even more sickness and mortality for children.

Bumi Sehat practices gentle birthing. They believe that violence at birth leads to a violent life and therefore should be avoided. They allow the women to choose the way in which they birth (50% water births) to decrease pain and drug use. They do not perform any vacuum births, circumcisions, or epidurals. Another thing attached to violent births is the clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord and placenta. Many of the baby's blood is still in the placenta upon birth and an immediate clamp and cut depletes the baby of these needed nutrients. Bumi Sehat practices delayed clamp and cuts as well as lotus births (where the placenta naturally falls off in 3-4 days). This clinic also does not separate the mom from the child like many American and Indonesian hospitals do.

Our group was impressed with the cleanliness and proactive attitudes of the clinic staff. They truly wanted what was best for the mother and child regardless of common practices and western ideals. This kind of clinic is the ideal but hard to come by in the states. Many women are not aware of gentle birthing and the clamp and cut procedures. They see the norm and assume that it is whats best, while Bumi Sehat functions to provide the best care as shown through OB/GYN research. Bali's low socio economic status citizens have a tendency to want to deliver their children at home because they cannot afford a hospital or puskesmas (public health clinic). Bumi Sehat offers completely free care which we could see made a huge impact. Unfortunately because of Bali's health care system, the directors of Bumi Sehat feel that it would not be appropriate to advertise. They see that they cannot change the system so they work around it in order to provide the best care.

-Jenny and Hannah