Mrs. Maseko, the mother care program manager, accompanied one of the locum mother care nurses for follow up to the home of a recently discharged patient. The woman had had a ruptured uterus requiring an emergency hysterectomy, and she lost the baby as well. The visit required first long minibus ride to the correct area, and a subsequent 21km bicycle taxi ride in order to reach the home. Upon arrival, the nurses found the woman… read more
Mother Joyce, aged 40, was seven months into her seventh pregnancy (she had two previous sets of twins) when she noticed she had some light bleeding in the afternoon of January 24th. She received prenatal care at Mitundu Hospital but even though this was the closest hospital it was still a journey away she could not be taken on bicycle taxi. An oxcart was finally located after some time and she started the journey. The… read more
A one month old baby girl was orphaned yesterday, her mother having died in hospital due to illness, and anaemia. The mom delivered at home one month ago, but she became so ill that she was referred to KCH and received 4 pints of blood, which in the end was not enough. Her first born, 19 year old daughter who had accompanied her mother to the hospital was with her when she died. The girl spent… read more
Alice Waluma lives with her husband in Lilongwe, Malawi. Although she is only 16 years old, Alice had already been pregnant two times before. In 2010, Alice gave birth to her third child. This child was severely underweight at only 2.5 pounds, and the baby was admitted to the nursery at the hospital. Alice also experienced complications during delivery- she experienced eclampsia, seizures during pregnancy. Because Alice and her husband are young and were not… read more
Tiyanjane is 16 years old and lives in Lilongwe, Malawi. Tiyanjane had her first child in 2010 out of wedlock. At the time of delivery of this child she had a fever, and experienced complications after the childbirth, including severe post partum hemorrhaging, an infection, and vaginal laceration. Although Tiyanjane went to the local health center to treat these problems, she has to sometimes wait several hours before she can speak with health representatives, and… read more
Chrissy is 36 years old and lives with her husband in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. Chrissy has been pregnant 8 times, but three children have died shortly after childbirth. Part of the difficulty that Chrissy has had with childbirth is due to her HIV status- she is HIV positive and is on anti-retroviral therapy. In 2010 Chrissy gave birth to her 9th child and experienced severe hemorrhaging after this most recent birth. After giving… read more
Maureen is 22 years old and lives in the outskirts of the capital city of Malawi, Lilongwe. Maureen became pregnant for the first time in 2010. Upon giving birth, Maureen was bleeding severely and was forced to give birth by cesarian section as a result. Maureen successfully gave birth to twins, both of whom were very small- less than five pounds. Due to childbirth complications, Maureen was sick after being discharged: she was vomiting and… read more
Hawa is 30 years old and has been married for 10 years. When she and her husband were married, they agreed to have many children. Hawa was very happy when she had her first child in 2001- a healthy baby girl. Since that time, unfortunately, Hawa has experienced severe problems with childbirth. She delivered stillborn children in 2004, 2006, and 2008. Due to the complications experienced during childbirth and the trauma of giving birth to… read more
In February 2006 a distressed woman in labor traveled forty kilometers alone to the hospital – walking, then on the back of a bicycle and then in a minibus. Soon after reaching the hospital her daughter – a healthy girl, her fourth child – was born, and moments later she died. Chikumbutso was left to the care of her father and maternal relatives. Before Chiku was discharged from the hospital I met her grandmother and… read more
David lives with his grandmother. He is 11 months old. His mother was diagnosed with post-partum psychosis and shortly after his birth she was institutionalized. Within a few weeks the mental hospital contacted the family to report her sudden death. At this point David and his grandmother still require a significant amount of assistance. His grandmother lives many miles from town in a mud brick home with a dilapidated thatch roof. Inside her home there… read more
