I wanted to share some about The Well, a woman’s health center in Escuintla. Joy Woodie shares how things have grown since the days I got to assist here some years ago. The Well is located on the property of Land of Hope, an incredible ministry who has been on site for years serving the people on and near the Escuintla landfill.

I started by asking Joy:

“What is The Well, and what can a mom find here”?

We are a women’s health clinic that mostly provides prenatal care, birth control, and infant formula for mothers and/or babies who are unable to wholly or sufficiently breastfeed.

Just this year, we have opened the clinic to other women’s health needs as well.

Where are moms coming from?

Initially, our patients were from the women/families living and working in the regional dump.

However, over the 4 years we have been open, our reputation has spread, and our patients now come from a general area of approximately 20 minutes (6-10 km/3-5 miles) in the Escuintla and Guanagazapa departments of Guatemala.

Most patients are from rural community settings made of metal laminate house and dirt floors. With the heat averaging around 100 degrees Farenheit during the day (38-40 degrees Celcius), inside the houses are similar to living in an oven. Many have to walk, take a bus, or moto-taxi to be seen and can it take them up to 3 hours to get to us.

What does a typical visit look like?

1- Assessment

For our prenatal visits, we begin by assessing the patient for symptoms of infections, inflammations, high blood pressure, anemia, issues with the baby not moving, or pain in locations of concern.

2- Education

We educate the patient on “normals” and “abnormals” of pregnancy because simple health education is rarely taught, so “women’s” health is very lacking and often women don’t even understand their menstrual cycle and pregnancy.

3-More Education

We also do a lot of nutritional teaching since the majority of patients are malnourished due to poverty.

4- Spiritual Nurturing

During this time we also discuss any “home” and “spiritual” issues they may be having and how that effects their pregnancies.

5- Clinical Assessment

We then begin the clinical assessment of blood pressure, weight, using the doppler to listen to the baby’s heartbeat, and possibly an ultrasound to check if the size of the baby is measuring near the dating of the pregnancy.

We will also do an ultrasound for the sex of the baby and to check the amniotic fluid level.

6- Consultation and Referrals

The patient then returns to the desk and we discuss any issues found or referrals needing made; distribute prenatal vitamins, iron supplements, acetaminophen, antibiotics or any other medications that we have had donated to us to provide for the patients. If we do not have the medication, we will give them a prescription to take to the pharmacy to fill.

What problems do you encounter the most?

Malnutrition and education.

Often the patients just have NO understanding of their bodies. Many have either received a very basic education (up to 6th grade), if any education at all. This is often due to poverty, malnutrition, or the parents not encouraging the children to go or the children needing to work to help provide for the family.

So, with little education or the inability to learn (often due to malnutrition), being able to understand how their bodies work in general, what “a pain here” could relate to, and what is happening to get pregnant and what is happening to it during pregnancy requires a lot of educating.

Also, since it is an impoverished area, they have limited knowledge and money to buy appropriate foods with nutritional value. Educating patients that fruits and vegetables are filled with the nutrients they need during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and that buying/eating foods filled with carbohydrates (which are cheaper to buy in bulk to feed a family) are not as good as the sole substance of food intake. But with traditional meals being beans, rice, and tortillas, this is a very difficult battle.

Oh, and drinking pure water… Sodas, juices, and sugary drinks are EVERYWHERE. However, clean, pure water is not easily accessible or is not chosen when there is an option.

Educating patients that pure water is essential for life (and adding in a bit of Gospel here as well) is a constant, routine discussion I have with almost every single patient, every single visit.

What is your favorite part or most rewarding?

There is so much! Of course, seeing the healthy baby once he/she is born is my “go-to” answer, but it’s more than that.

Throughout the pregnancies we get to develop relationships with patients. We get to be a part of their life story for a blink of an eye and hopefully get to add a little “Jesus” into their lives as well.

We have a question on our intake form that asks about the religious affiliation. This opens up the path of communication about Jesus and allows us to plant seeds that will hopefully flourish throughout the time we get to spend with them during their care. We get to pray with them, answer questions, and lead them to Christ (and health).

Thankfully, our clinic sits on the land of an organization called BuildinGuate that conducts a soup kitchen that feeds over 200 families daily. They also have evangelical church services twice a week with worship and Biblical teaching. We are able to direct patients who do not have a place to be “fed” by the Spirit to join in some of these services and get in with a community of Christian men and women in their communities.

So, yes, seeing the healthy babies coming into the world is a beautiful miracle, but I would say that my favorite part is being able to develop relationships with the patients and seeing them continue to grow in their faith, relationships with a Godly community, and seeing the sadness and despair on their faces turn into hope and joyfulness. It’s having patients see Jesus in us, continuing to have them come back each time and seek more, and being able to lead them to Jesus in the relationships we develop with each one of them.

I love when a patient asks us if we can pray for/with them. That is when I know we are doing our “job” well.

What is a current way people can pray?

1) Provision
There is always a concern of how can we provide for our patients. We, of course, are always in financial need so that we can provide medications (including prenatal vitamins, iron supplements, acetaminophen, antiacids, antibiotics, birth control, etc.) and formula for the babies in need. With the shortages from being able to import these and other supplies from the United States at the moment, there is a large shortage of even having supplies in a reasonable amount of time.

So, when supplies are available, I try to have a “back-up” supply in storage just in case. Thankfully, we have only had one month where we were unable to get the birth control injection that lasts 3 months, so every one received a monthly dose that month and we returned to the 3 month injection as soon as we were able to get some supplied. So, praying for proper/sufficient funding and supplies for general needs of the clinic would be appreciated.

2) Sponsors
Sponsors needed for providing formula to babies in our formula program. There is a criteria that needs to be met in order for a baby to be in the formula program. Therefore, we often limit the number of babies that can be in the program to 10-15 babies. Currently, we are at 15 babies with 3 on our waiting list and cannot take any more babies until March of next year. Also, I only have about 5 sponsors for these 15 babies, so much of the expenses are coming out of our general clinic fund and my personal expenses.

So, I need at least 10 more supporters willing to be a sponsor of $60/month until the baby reaches 1 yr of age and is “graduated” from our program to the BuildinGuate formula program that follows them from 1 year on. Please be praying for those called to help with these babies to provide formula and proper nutrition for at least their first year of life.

3) Personally
I am having some medical issues and am not sure what will happen with those in the upcoming 2023 year. I am praying for God’s guidance for how this will effect the running of the clinic when/while I am taking care of my presonal health.

Please be in prayer with me as these steps, procedures, and processes are arranged and and the people that are needed step up to help keep our little clinic running effectively in the upcoming year. I know God has it all in His hands and has the plan already laid out for me/the clinic, so I have faith that all will work out how He has planned it. I am just praying for the wisdom to hear His plans and who will come along side of us to keep us providing for His people the way He wants us to do for His glory.

Twins on an ultrasound Twins with their family!