Activity Updates

In March 11 babies were enrolled for support in our program (including 3 orphans, 3 sets of triplets, 1 baby with hydrocephalus, and 1 baby whose mother was not producing breast milk). Two sick women were enrolled. Nurses visited 194 babies and 23 sick women after delivery. Nurses distributed 595 tins of formula. (Formula is provided to sustain life. It is for babies without access to breast milk and for mothers of triplets, to supplement their milk.)

Baby Admission Story. The triplets above are Success, Shepherd, and Stella. Even though Maggie attended her prenatal care clinic as recommended, she was unaware that three babies grew and tumbled within her. (Few mothers receive ultrasounds during pregnancy, so multiple births are generally surprises.) On March 14th Maggie delivered a small baby girl. Her tiny daughter was followed by a boy and then by another daughter. The babies are all less than 4.5lbs and will grow best if kept skin-to-skin against the chest of someone who loves them for as many hours per day as possible. Their parents and grandparents will supply the 24*7 care. Nurses from Joyful Motherhood will visit regularly to support, assess, and provide supplemental formula and porridge down the road, if necessary.

Mother Admission Story. Nineteen year old Seba attended prenatal care at a rural clinic near her home during her pregnancy. On March 14th her labor started and she was taken to the hospital. After 24hours without progress she delivered her baby boy by c-section. Three days later, both returned home in stable condition. She expected to feel pain and so she tried not to complain. She kept stoically silent for one week until she could no longer bear the fire in her swelling abdomen. She was taken back to the hospital and then transferred to the regional maternity hospital where a severe infection was diagnosed. Surgeons opened her abdomen and washed her insides with saline, but three days later she had not improved. She was diagnosed with a systemic infection. She was given antibiotics and a blood transfusion and then discharged home still weak and pale. Seba is one of many patients discharged early in an attempt to decongest the wards as Covid starts to take hold in Malawi. Though all healthcare workers are at risk, the care provided by Joyful Motherhood to women like Seba is more critical now than ever.

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In February, seven babies were enrolled in our program (6 of whom were orphaned as newborns). Nurses are currently following 215 babies. One hundred and eighty five of those babies received home visits during the month of February.

Sifra, pictured above with her paternal grandmother, is one of our new babies this month. Sifra’s mother was pregnant for the third time and carefully observed the recommendations made to ensure she and her baby remained healthy. She attended her prenatal visits. And, because her home was far from the hospital, she moved onto the hospital grounds two weeks before her due date to await her labor. On November 10th she delivered a healthy baby girl and returned home the following day. Rather than regaining her strength quickly as she had following previous births, her health deteriorated. She went to a nearby health clinic and from there she was referred to the district maternity hospital. There was no clear diagnosis but she received a blood transfusion at one point. On January 8th, she died. Sifra’s paternal grandmother had been with them when her mother died and she started searching for assistance for her new granddaughter. Eventually she was referred to Joyful Motherhood.

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In the month of January 21 babies were enrolled in our program. Nine mothers died leaving healthy newborns without breast milk (two of these women had had twins). One set of triplets was enrolled, 4 mothers unable to produce breast milk brought their babies for enrollment, one set of twins were abandoned at the hospital and enrolled, and one baby whose mother developed postpartum psychosis and was unable to care for him. A total of 219 babies are currently enrolled. One hundred and twenty of our babies need formula and nurses distributed a total of 676 tins this month. Nurses enrolled four additional postpartum women in our program (one with a history of a ruptured uterus and three with severe postpartum infections. Nurses visited 182 babies and 22 women.

Donations. Joyful Motherhood receives occasional donations from international and local donors. In the above picture nurses receive 300 tins of formula from Anne Mieke as well as clothes and toys. Additionally, this month, the community of Mid Deeside Church from Scotland sent several parcels of knitted woolen baby sweater and blankets, which are a big help during Malawi’s colder months.

Mother and Baby Admission. Eighteen-year-old Charity is one of the mothers whose baby was brought to Joyful Motherhood because she was not producing breast milk. Charity delivered a healthy boy in the hospital on December 27th. She and her baby boy were discharged home in stable condition but within three days Charity started to show signs of illness. She developed a fever and she complained that her entire body ached so her family accompanied her back to the hospital. Over the next three days her condition worsened and she was transferred three times until she reached the District Hospital. At that point she was very weak and was no longer able to feed her baby. She received a blood transfusion but her condition continued to deteriorate. Finally on January 22nd she underwent surgery there was no longer any hope in saving her uterus, the only hope and plan was to save her life and she had a total hysterectomy. Charity is recovering slowly though still weak. Both she and her baby are depending on the loving care of her family and the supplemental support from Joyful Motherhood.

In the month of December 9 babies were enrolled (including 4 orphans, 1 baby of a mother with tuberculosis, a set of triplets, and one small baby of a mom not producing breast milk). Two postpartum women were admitted, both with severe infections and anemia. Nurses made a total of 190 visits and are currently care for 227 women and babies.

Baby Admission Story. Twenty year old Loveness delivered a small but healthy baby girl on August 22nd. Everything went well. Both mom and baby were stable and they were quickly discharged home. Loveness had a mild cough which worsened over the following weeks. Loveness returned to the hospital several weeks later and she was treated for pneumonia and sent home. The antibiotics did nothing to improve her health. Her body convulsed with each cough, she lost weight and fevers tormented her at night. At the end of November Loveness was admitted for tuberculosis. At this point she was emaciated and no longer producing breast milk. Nurses on the TB ward referred the family and baby to Chimwemwe mu’bereki.

Mother Admission Story. Despite two normal previous births, Marriam’s third labor was difficult and after many hours her baby boy was delivered by C-section. Mom and baby went home within a few days but once home she started to experience worsening pain, swelling in her abdomen and was unable to urinate. An infection raged inside her and reached the point that Marriam became disoriented, unable to recognize even the familiar faces around her. Her family returned with her to the hospital where her abdomen was reopened and treatment was started for peritonitis. While in hospital her improvement was slow and at the time of discharge Marriam remained weak. Joyful Motherhood nurses will continue to follow Marriam as she convalesces.

This month 11 babies were admitted to our program (4 orphans (including the above set of twins), 2 babies of mothers with no breast milk, 4 babies of critically ill mothers, 1 baby of mother with postpartum psychosis). Three women were enrolled (1 with severe anemia, 1 with severe abdominal infection, and the mother with postpartum psychosis).

Baby Admission Story. Grace was living abroad in South Africa when she found out she was pregnant for the second time. She attended prenatal care there and delivered first her boy and then her little girl moments later at a hospital in South Africa on the 9th of October. Her family says that at home on the 10th she complained of abdominal pain and chest pain, she went outside to get some fresh air and after 30minutes her husband went to look for her. He found her collapsed on the ground, already deceased. On the 8th of November her body and babies were sent to Malawi. A former client of Joyful Motherhood instructed them to go to our office for support.

Mother Admission Story. At 16 years old Feliya delivered her healthy but small baby boy. The delivery was uncomplicated and the young mom and baby were discharged home soon after delivery. Initially everything seemed to be going well. Feliya was adjusting to motherhood and her baby was breastfeeding well. But then something changed Feliya was frequently agitated, she refused to feed her baby, and family realized that she was experiencing both auditory and visual hallucinations. She was taken back to the hospital Feliya, diagnosed with postpartum psychosis and started on Haldol. The clinicians referred the family to Joyful Motherhood.

This month nurses enrolled 9 babies (7 orphans (including 2 sets of twins) and 2 babies of critically ill mothers). Several new mothers were identified for the mother care program but are still in hospital. 126 visits were conducted.

Baby Admission Story. 20-year-old Catherine starting contracting on the 1st of September and presented to the nearest health center. On the 5th her water broke, on the 8th she was referred to the District Hospital where her baby girl was finally delivered by c-section. Two days later she returned home with her daughter in her arms. On the 19th she returned to the health center with a swollen abdomen, again she was referred, this time to the regional hospital. She underwent surgery but her condition deteriorated and she died 9 days later. Nurses at the hospital referred her family and baby to Chimwemwe mu’bereki.

Other Developments. This month we said goodbye to Beatrice Namaleu, who was the program manager since the inception of Chimwemwe mu’bereki and welcomed Annette Namangale to our team.

In the month of September 8 babies were admitted into our program (5 orphans, 2 babies of critically ill mothers, and 1 baby whose mother was not producing breast milk). One woman was added this month to our mother care program. 148 visits were made to see sick moms and vulnerable babies in their homes.

Baby Admission Story

Baby Doreen pictured above with her grandmother was six pounds at birth. Her 17-year-old mother took home a healthy baby girl after just one day in hospital. Doreen’s mother’s nipples are flat and Doreen struggled to latch and nurse, which is not uncommon. With the support of her grandmother and her mother’s perseverance, Doreen was able to get enough milk to support her growth. However, her mother was unable to empty her breasts completely and after a couple weeks, she developed mastitis in both breasts. The mastitis progressed to abscesses and then eventually the abscesses ruptured. At that point Doreen’s mother had to be hospitalized to treat the severe infection and she had to stop nursing. Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive postpartum support for women in Malawi and there is no lactation support apart from that offered by family and community members. Once Joyful Motherhood nurses learned of the struggles experience by Doreen and her young mother, both were admitted into our programs.

Mother Admission Story

Tiyamike was pregnant with her second baby. All went well in her pregnancy, she was healthy and looking forward to holding her baby. Her labor was difficult, a clinician attempted to assist her delivery by vacuum extraction but when this failed she was delivered by c-section. Her baby boy cried loudly as he was lifted from her womb. Two days later she started to show signs of a severe infection eventually she was transferred to the referral hospital and her wound was reopened. When surgeons peered into her open abdomen, they saw a necrotic uterus and immediately initiated a total hysterectomy – uterus and ovaries gone. Tiyamike was discharged home to her village, still in weak condition. Joyful Motherhood nurses enrolled her and will continue to follow her throughout her convalescence.

In the month of August 9 babies were enrolled, including (3 orphans, 1 set of triplets, 2 infants with mothers in critical conditions, and 1 abandoned baby). Two postpartum women were enrolled (1 with a ruptured uterus, and one with eclampsia). Nurses made a total of 136 visits.

Baby Admission Story

Ellen’s pregnancy was going well. At 22, this would be her second baby and her prenatal visits were uneventful. Then in the last month of her pregnancy, her right eye became very painful and started to swell. The swelling became so severe that her eye ruptured and she was admitted. Ellen struggled with pain and her overall health deteriorated. Ellen was diagnosed with cancer. As her family struggled to accept her diagnosis, she gave birth to Miracle, a healthy baby girl. Due to her poor health, Ellen was unable to breastfeed and nurses referred the family to Joyful Motherhood for ongoing support.

Mother Admission Story

At 28-years-old, nurses in Malawi considered Stella “old” for a first time mother. On 25^th July, 2019 she complained of a severe headache then suddenly began convulsing and vomiting blood.  Then she was taken to Bwaila Hospital where she was immediately delivered by caesarian section.  A vigorous term baby boy was born. The cure for eclampsia is delivery and after several days Stella’s condition seemed to improve. She was discharged after 4 days but then two days later she again complained of headache and started convulsing.  Her convalescence has been slow but on 8th the clinician determined she was well enough to return home. Nurses from Joyful Motherhood will continue to follow Stella and her baby to ensure she receives continued and necessary support.