Mother of Ten Thousand Children

By Cui Yuyu & Hu Ping

On May 7, Chen Rong was applying eye drops from time to time while sorting out her work photos about her mission in Africa on her computer. Her eyesight has been failing recently—she has even experienced temporary sight loss.Ophthalmologists have advised her to take a good rest.

As an obstetrician and gynecologist, 48-year-old Chen Rong is the director of the Public Health Committee of Xiantao City, Hubei Province. On March 21, 2017 , as a member of the 25th Medical Team of Hubei Province in Algeria, she first set foot in Algeria, a totally foreign North African country. Over the past two years, under her leadership,the medical team of seven has faced all kinds of difficulties,tackled various physical and psychological obstacles, and achieved many accomplishments thought to be impossible. With a red five-star national flag on her white coat, Chen Rong feels proud to participate in this program that is part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Limited Conditions and Operation Pressure

Chen Rong's WeChat nickname is “Superwoman.” She told us,“I perform 8 cesarean section operations per day, all on my own from beginning to end.”In fact, all four obstetricians and gynecologists from Hubei Province working in Mascara Hospital are labeled as“Superpeople.”

With free medical care in Algeria, this African country has a high fertility rate. As a result,the department of obstetrics and gynecology in the hospital is crowded with pregnant women.350 km away from the capital Algiers, Mascara is a mountainous province with only one public hospital. When Chen Rong first arrived at the hospital, only two gynecologists were in the hospital and one was taking maternal leave, leaving the other fully occupied. Local people had no choice but to cross over the mountains to give birth in neighboring provinces.

The arrival of the Chinese medical team has greatly alleviated the difficulties associated with giving birth for local people. As the leader of the team, Chen Rong made full use of the talent resources and arranged “three shifts”—namely,an outpatient shift, day shift, and night shift. In doing so, doctors can be available around the clock to help would-be mothers.

In China, a cesarean surgery requires a team of four or five doctors working together in an orderly and organized way. Yet here in Algeria, the whole process is completed by one doctor, with one nurse to help in the best case. “Without helpers, it is very difficult to detect the surgical area completely and clearly, so a doctor's patient checkup and experience becomes much more crucial.” Chen Rong sighed. Local medical conditions are so limited that doctors are often confronted with rusty scissors, crooked forceps, and fragile surgical suture. Once the suture broke in the middle of the operation, the patient's blood might splash on the doctor's face.

It was her perseverance that supported Chen Rong through her “one-person operating table.” Over the past two years,she has completed more than 5,000 operations and witnessed the birth of more than 10,000 newborns. Hence, local people affectionately address Chen Rong as the “Great Chinese Mother.”

Doctors Never Choose Patients

In Algeria, Chen Rong found that many women have undergone four or five cesarean sections,which leave so many scars on their abdomen that her scalpel can't find a proper place for incision.The risk of surgery is further increased by the absence of antenatal checkups.

In May of last year, Chen Rong was taking her break when a nurse rushed over shouting in panic. Chen Rong ran to the hospital as fast as she could and found blood all over the operating table. The woman was in a state of shock while a local surgeon was struggling to stitch up her uterus, from which blood was gushing out. Chen Rong calmly checked the amount of blood in the suction bottle and ordered an immediate blood transfusion.In the meantime, she performed a sinus suture, applied a uterine tamponade compression hemostasis, and massaged the uterus manually, all of which stopped the bleeding eventually.The patient's situation gradually stabilized. Applause and cheers burst out in the operating room,and Chen Rong's Algerian colleagues gave her an admiring thumbs-up: “Amazing job you've done, thank you!”

On another occasion, Chen Rong received a suspected HIV-positive pregnant woman and advised her to receive a motherto-child blocking treatment in a higher-level hospital. The pregnant woman refused and insisted on giving birth there.“Local doctors all stayed away and suggested I do the same.” Yet Chen Rong took a deep breath and stepped into the operating room. Later while recalling it,Chen Rong said that it was just a doctor's responsibility that pushed her to the operation table. She had no other choice under that circumstance.

Going Forward Against All Barriers

24/7 on standby, unexpected operations, irregular work shifts, one operation after another under the surgical lights... The long-term intensive work eventually broke Chen Rong down physically—she actually fainted twice beside her operating table.

During the night shift on December 14, 2018, Chen Rong performed 9 operations in a row. During the last operation,the light refiected off the scalpel bedazzled her eyes with its stabbing brightness, and she felt like everything in front of her blurred into a blank. For one second, she couldn't see anything. “I was really scared at that moment, for our medical team had not completed our mission. How could I answer to the trust bestowed by my country...” Chen Rong said with tears welling up in her eyes. It turned out to be fatigue-induced temporary sight loss, which is related to glare damage and aging fundus. Her vision mostly recovered after two days' rest,yet she couldn't see as clearly as before.

By then, good news came and cheered up everyone. The 25th Medical Aid Team of Hubei Province in Algeria was awarded the honorary title of “Outstanding Foreign Aid Groups of the Country” by the National Health Commission of China. Chen Rong returned to her operating table and worked until the last day of their mission.(Translation: Lu Qiongyao.Photos provided by the 25th Medical Aiding Team of Hubei Province in Algeria)

陈蓉医生（右）在手术中Doctor Chen Rong (right) in operation