
Today the Long and Short Stories of Life welcomes author Julie Watson on her Spotlight Author Tour sponsored by the Rave Reviews Book Club.
Julie is the author of Born for Life: A Midwife’s Story and
Born for Life: Midwife in Africa

Notes from Julie’s Diary—Born for Life: Midwife in Africa.
Yesterday was my first day working at Kalene Hospital as a midwife.
We had our first rains two nights ago and the power went off but there is a back up system using 12 volt power so we used that until power was restored. Apart from the rain that night, the weather has been very hot and well over 30 degrees and getting more humid.
As I said, yesterday was my first day at work and when I arrived it was report time which they always have. They also have a hymn or praise song and a prayer. Latia then gave me a tour of the ward. There were 2 women in labour. We continued with the tour. Three of the women in the ward had lost their babies while the others had a range of problems.
There was a baby in the incubator in the office which had dropped it’s weight from 3100kg to 1500kg at 6 weeks of age.They were caring for it with 3 hourly tube feeds, antibiotics and continual oxygen. I was helping with this baby and it was around 9.30am by this time. I went into the labour room and Frezia, a woman who was in labour looked to be pushing. I took her into the delivery area and examined her. She was fully dilated and involuntary pushing.
Frezia progressed to have a normal birth at 10.30 hours. The baby came out very sick. No respiratory effort, limb and floppy. I quickly cut and clamped the cord and took the baby over to the resusitaire and started giving inflation breathes via a mask. There was no one around. I called out for help and fortunately Dr John Woodfield was close by. The suction had been unplugged and it was a job to plug the machine in. He started bagging and I did the suctioning. The baby started making some respiratory effort and the colour started improving. The baby never cryed though and the tone and reflexes did improve.
I spent the rest of the day specialling the baby. We had the baby on continual oxygen as the baby was weak and still making very little response. The baby remained unstable and was started on antibiotics and three hourly tube feeds. The baby remained on continuous oxygen.
Throughout that day and the next the baby was very weak, indrawing and very lethargic. We got the baby reviewed again by one of the Drs and they said there was nothing else they could do. It is in Gods hands now. When I went off today the baby was still in the same condition. Freiza was coming and seeing baby and expressing milk for the baby. She was so lovely and accepting of how her baby was. We are doing everything we can. In New Zealand the baby would have been flown to a major center but in Africa you have to work with what you have.

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Born for Life: A Midwife’s Story
From a young age Julie pondered what she would do with her life. A job as a nurse aide in the local Maternity Annexe at the age of sixteen gave her a love for being with women during labour and birth and caring for mothers and their babies.
Life could not have been happier, married to the man she loved and the birth of a son. The tragic and unexpected death of her second baby in her first hour of life led to depression, loneliness and despair.
Born for Life: A Midwife’s Story tells of Julie’s struggle to overcome tragedy and who triumphs to become the midwife that she was born to be.
The many birth stories are told from an era in the 1970s through the eyes of a young nurse aide to modern day midwifery in New Zealand as an independent midwife with her own caseload.
Author Bio
Julie grew up in a small, rural town in New Zealand. After leaving school, she worked at the local maternity annexe as a nurse aide, which gave her a love for caring for mothers and babies. Life could not have been happier, until the death of her second baby at birth led to depression, loneliness and despair.
Julie’s first book Born for Life: A Midwife’s Story follows her journey to overcome the challenges she faced to become the midwife that she was born to be.
She always had a dream to travel and work in a developing country. She had the opportunity to work as a midwife in many countries – including Zambia, Africa where she worked at Kalene Mission Hospital.
Julie’s second book Born for Life: Midwife in Africa describes her experiences living and working in Africa. She shares her incredible journey to make a difference in the lives of African women and their babies.
Julie lives in Palmerston North, New Zealand with her husband, Barry. She has recently retired and enjoys writing, travelling, volunteer work and spending time with her friends and family.
Follow Julie online!
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Extraordinary! You have an amazing gift, Julie. I’m deeply moved by your stories. Thank you, Linda, for hosting.
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Thank you so much for your encouragement, Gwen.
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Thank you for commenting, Gwen!
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Julie, your stories are so amazing. Keep on sharing.
Hi Linda, thanks for being a supportive host.
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Hi Shirley, Thank you and I hope my book highlights the plight of women giving birth in developing countries.
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Thanks for commenting, Shirley!
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Julie, I am liking a new story that you share everyday and this one touched a special cord in my heart. Babies are so precious and each mother hopes to hold her’s after birth. Thanks for sharing those lovely pictures and I am happy to read that this baby made tremendous progress! Thank you Linda, nice to connect with you.
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Thank you for visiting and commenting.😀
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I wanted to share the pictures of those mothers whose babies had survived and went home Balroop. They were so happy.
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Thank you, Linda, for hosting and for being part of my blog tour.
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Oh, I hope and pray that little one survived and is thriving today… Thanks for sharing, Julie and Linda.
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Thank you for your comment, Bette
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Yes, she did survive Bette and went home breastfeeding. A little miracle.
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Like Denise and Jan, I’m praying that little baby survived. I can’t imagine the work you did, Julie.The photos you added to this post are great, especially that last one with all the smiles and glowing faces.
Wishing you the best on your tour!
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Thanks for leaving a comment, Mae!
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The women in the photos were success stories Mae and they all did well in the end.
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That’s wonderful to hear, Julie!
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Love the photos – radiant Mums and Bubs x
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They were all so happy, Wendy.
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I was on the edge of my seat hoping the baby survived. Beautiful pictures. I’m really enjoying your tour and look forward to reading “Born for Life”.
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Thanks for stopping by, Denise!
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There were a lot of success stories as well as sad ones Denise.
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What a heart-wrenching story, Julie! Of course, I want to know if the baby survived and pray that it did. I love the glow on the women’s faces. Thank you so much for sharing and I hope you continue to enjoy your Spotlight Tour! Thanks for hosting, Linda!
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Thank you for stopping by, Jan!
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Thank you, Jan. My first day was so stressful but after about three weeks the baby went home fully breastfeeding. A real answer to many prayers.
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