African Mothers Health Initiative

Providing care for critically ill mothers and vulnerable infants in Malawi.

Donate

Stories

Meet Merelina

Ida was only 22 when she delivered her fourth child, Merelina.  At that time, she was living in Mozambique and Merelina was assisted into the world by a traditional midwife in their village.  Immediately following the birth, Ida bled heavily, but the bleeding slowed and she appeared stable.  So, rather than seek medical help, Ida stayed in the village breastfeeding and caring for her newborn.  Two weeks later Ida developed shortness of breath and it suddenly became clear that her health demanded urgent attention.  Initially the family took her to a traditional healer who nursed her with herbs, but she did not improve.  From there, her husband’s family took her across the border to Mchinji District Hospital in Malawi.  Ida died at the hospital before receiving any treatment.  Desperation and grief mixed.  The family lived in deep poverty and could not afford formula for Merelina.  After losing Ida they feared losing Merelina.  The midwives at the hospital referred Merelina and her family to Joyful Motherhood for assistance.  Joyful Motherhood only serves babies within Malawi, so Ida’s mother-in-law who lived in Malawi agreed support her father in caring for the newborn.  And Merelina’s father moved to his mother’s village with his three other children.

Nurses immediately began visiting Merelina in her maternal grandmother’s home.  They taught the family how best to care for Mereina, how to prevent infectious diseases, the importance of sleeping under bed nets, when they should seek care at a hospital, and how to prepare and nourish her with formula.  During those early months Merelina grew well.  At six months, nurses began providing porridge to supplement the food she started eating.  At eight months nurses noticed that her growth deviate from the normal expected trajectory.  This is common in households suffering food insecurity. Once a child’s diet transitions from milk to solids, they begin to suffer the hunger experienced by the rest of the family.  Nurses educated Merelina’s family on the types of local foods they could add to her diet to improve her nutrition and the frequency of meals.  Once again Merelina began to grow and develop normally.  Over the monthly visits nurses watched Merelina learn to sit, then crawl, stand and walk.  Merelina was finally discharged from the program just before her second birthday. 

Most people in Merelina’s village where she lives with her grandmother and her father never expected her to survive.  The experience of people in the rural areas is that babies inevitably die without a mother’s milk, regardless of the care and love provided.  Merelina’s survival was a victory not just for her family, but for the entire community.  Today Merelina’s grandmother continues to support her son in caring for Merelina and siblings (ages 10, 8 and 4) while he takes whatever job he can find to support them all financially. 

If you would like to make more success stories possible, please DONATE.

June 2022

In June nurses enrolled six babies (including 5 orphans and 1 baby without access to breast milk) and two women. Nurses conducted 169 visits to infants and critically ill postpartum women.

Baby Admission Story. Edess was living in a rural part of Mozambique close to the border of Malawi. She was pregnant with her fifth child and the labor started hard and strong. There was no time to make the trip to a hospital, so a traditional midwife in the village was with her during the birth. The delivery happened smoothly and quickly but the placenta did not follow and so Edess was forced to travel to the hospital.

At the end of a pregnancy the placenta receives approximately 500ml of blood every minute. Normally within minutes after a baby is born, the body will release the placenta and blood vessels feeding the placenta will shut down by a combination of the contracting uterus and clotting factors. When the placenta does not deliver within 30mins of a birth, the risk of hemorrhage increases exponentially.

Traveling from a rural community to a hospital in an emergent situation never happens quickly in Malawi or Mozambique. There is no functioning EMS system. In the majority of communities like Edess’ the only transportation vehicles are bicycles or ox carts. Roads are unpaved and rough. And, once a woman reaches the main road, she will need to wait for a passing bus or car to pick her up and take her to the hospital. Edess finally reached a rural hospital in Malawi, but tragically, she died on the same day. After her death, clinicians at the hospital referred her mother and baby to our local partner, Joyful Motherhood. If you would like to ensure that nurses visit Edess’ baby on a monthly basis in her village and provide formula and later porridge, please DONATE. Thank you.

May 2022

In May, nurses enrolled 14 infants, including 7 orphaned singletons, 1 orphaned set of twins, 2 babies of mothers without breast milk, and 3 babies of critically ill mothers. Two sick moms were enrolled in our program. Nurses conducted 190 visits to women and infants in their communities this month. Both young women this month delivered by c-section and their life-threatening illnesses were caused by accidents during surgery which were not promptly identified.

This month our local partner, Joyful Motherhood, received a donation of K1,500,000 (US$1,500) from a local bank towards formula.

Baby Admission Story. Baby Florence arrived at the office of our local partner, Joyful Motherhood, with her grandmother. They had been sent all the way from a neighboring district because we are the only organization in the region doing the work of supporting babies without access to breast milk in their homes. Florence’s young mother had delivered normally and returned home, but soon after delivery she became critically sick and her family returned with her to the hospital. She ended up staying in the hospital for six weeks, and as her body focused on its own survival, her milk dried up. The fact that a district hospital would tell a grandmother to travel several hours to find an organization which would provide formula for her hungry granddaughter speaks to the need for our services. The fact that the grandmother would use her limited resources to find transportation and travel several hours with her hungry granddaughter to find us, speaks to the love and sacrifice families have for their most vulnerable members. Our program successfully saves infant lives because we are meeting a basic need and partnering with the best caregivers… grandmothers, aunts, mothers and fathers. Please support our work by donating HERE.

April 2022

This month we enrolled 18 babies and one critically ill postpartum mom. The babies included 4 orphaned singletons, 4 orphaned sets of twins, 2 babies of very sick mothers, and 4 babies without access to breast milk. Nurses conducted 210 visits to mothers and babies this month.

Baby Admission Story. Jaqueline delivered her twin boys normally, but she hemorrhaged afterwards and because of that, her return home from the health center was delayed for several days. During that time, she did not receive a transfusion or additional treatment, she was simply kept under observation. Within a week, Jaqueline was discharged and returned home to introduce the babies to their three older siblings. Unfortunately, Just a couple days after arriving home, she began complaining of dizziness, shortness of breath, and chest pain. This time Jaqueline ended up at Kamuzu Central Hospital (the regional referral hospital) where she was diagnosed with severe anemia and a necrotic uterus. They removed her uterus and transfused her with 5 pints of blood, but 25-year-old Jaqueline died. Unfortunately, the nurses at KCH had not realized that Jaqueline was a mother of newborn twins and so the family did not receive a referral to Joyful Motherhood. It was only when the nurses were visiting another orphan enrolled in our program in a rural area that they learned of the nearby hungry twins and enrolled them. Jaqueline’s babies boys are living with her mother now. We will provide monthly home visits from nurses and formula now, then porridge after six months. Our nurses will continue to visit them in their community for up to two years. Without that fortuitous visit, it is likely that Jaqueline’s babies would have quickly followed her in death. The family had the desire to care for the babies, but they are too impoverished to purchase formula and they had no idea where to seek help.

If you would like to support Jaqueline’s twins, please donate HERE.

February 2022

This month 11 infants were enrolled in our program, including 6 orphans, 1 set of twin orphans, 2 babies of women admitted to the ICU, and 1 baby whose mother is not producing any breast milk.

Baby Admission Story. Thirty-five-year-old Rachel had two children and was pregnant for the third time.  She attended her prenatal visits and when contractions started, she went to Bwaila District Hospital.  Only after Joshua was born, did Rachel learn that she had been carrying twins.  As the second twin settled into her pelvis he had his arm over his head, unfortunately no one noticed until it was too late. The birth became complicated.  Due to a prolonged period of hypoxia during the birth, Joshua’s twin was distressed at birth and he died several hours later.  Rachel took Joshua home on November 14th. She breastfed Joshua for two weeks but then she developed a significant cardiac arrhythmia and returned to Bwaila.  There she was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and cardiomyopathy.  Her milk supply diminished as her condition worsened. Rachel needed heart surgery, but there is no place where this is done in Malawi. With nothing more to offer her, clinicians discharged Rachel. She died on January 27th. 

Rachel’s mother works at Bwaila District Hospital where Rachel delivered and where she learned her daughter had a terminal condition.  The office of our local partner, Joyful Motherhood, is located at the same hospital.  Rachel’s mother had escorted other grandmothers carrying their orphan grandchildren to our door.  Her knowledge of the Hospital did not spare her the trauma of losing her own child, but she knew where to seek help for her grandson.

Mother Care. The mother who was enrolled this month, is only 19. Her labor with her first child was hard and long. It ended with a cesarean section and a stillborn. Days later she developed an infection in the wound, which led to a total hysterectomy. Our nurses will visit her at home as she recovers physically and emotionally over the next couple months.

Please consider a monthly donation HERE to support our work.

January 2022

In January we enrolled 13 babies, including 10 orphans, one set of twins with a critically ill mother, and one baby c CP. Nurses made 174 visits to infants this month.

Baby Admission Story. Christina sits on her grandmother’s lap in the picture above. Her mother was 30 years old with two other children when she delivered Christina. According to her medical book, the labor and delivery were uncomplicated. Christina left the hospital in her mother’s arms on August 24th. However, one week after arriving home, her mother began to swell noticeably and complained of chest pain. The family took her to Dowa District Hospital where she was admitted and told that the symptoms were related to her liver. She remained hospitalized for an extended period and continued to deteriorate. She died on December 19th. After she died, the family tried to sustain Christina on juice drinks because they could not afford formula, but a neighbor who also had an infant enrolled with Joyful Motherhood told them about our program and escorted the grandmother to our office.

Mother Care. All three women enrolled in our program in the month of January developed severe infections following cesarean sections which ultimately led to complete hysterectomies and prolonged illness. One of the three lost her baby during her birth. These women will receive visits from our nurses as they continue healing in their homes. They will receive supplemental food and eventually a small stipend for an income generating project.

If you are interested in supporting our work, please consider a monthly donation. HERE

What does your heroine look like?

Every month we hear tragic stories of young women who die shortly after childbirth and of women who lose their babies and/or their uteruses in the course of their labor and delivery experiences.  But, we also hear stories of incredible sacrifice, strength and resilience.  The women who are enrolled in programs sponsored by AMHI are heroines.  They take on the care of fragile newborn orphans and believe in the possibility of their survival even when those around them do not. Before they find us, many of them keep fragile babies alive by selling their own meagre food stores to buy a few tins of formula. Others overcome incredible personal losses – their health, their child, their relationship – and bravely move forward rediscovering hope and purpose. They are our heroines and here are some of their faces…

Who is your heroine? Have you told her? Consider making a donation in her honor to support these women HERE.

One Story.

This story was recorded as part of a focus group, transcribed, and translated in 2021

I had a difficult delivery with my fourth born and needed a c-section. After I returned home my stomach began to swell. One day I returned to the doctor and told him that I was experiencing chest pain. He said not to worry, he would prescribe some medication and that I would feel better. But, I knew I was very sick, so I refused. I said, “Doctor, I live very far away. Please help me while I am here. It will be difficult for me to find money to come again.” He said ok and ordered an x-ray.  He told me they saw something in my uterus and that I should pay K15,000 ($20) to get my uterus cleaned. I said I did not have that kind of money. If it meant dying, I should just die. He said, “You will not die, we will call for an ambulance to take you to the Regional Hospital.”  I arrived at the Hospital and was there three days before they took me for surgery. My stomach was so swollen. They did not suture the wound and I did not eat for a whole month. I stayed in the hospital for two months. They would just clean the wound. My baby was also in the hospital on a different ward, he was receiving formula but was malnourished. At one point while I was there, a nurse from Joyful Motherhood [AMHI’s sister org] gave me a card and told me to call once I was discharged. Finally, after the two months, I returned to the smaller hospital near my home where they partially sutured the wound and then discharged me. 

When I returned home to my elderly grandma, I told her, “I am not producing milk, I am eating but there is no milk.” We did not know what to do. I said, “If you have K100 ($0.12) please, let’s call the one on this card and maybe they can help.” My grandma did not have K100. I had no money and my husband had sold all the maize [the staple food in Malawi] we had in the home to cover the costs of our hospitalization. In those days, my baby cried a lot, I had no breast milk and so I was just giving him porridge. He was three months old and very malnourished.  One day my neighbor heard the baby crying and came by and asked me what we should do, I told her about the card and she told me to call the number using her phone.  I talked to them and they said, “We have heard you.  Please do not give water or porridge to the child, your child will live.”  I wondered if the child would really live, the way he was crying, but they assured me that they would come. They came the next morning. At that time, both my baby and I were sickly and malnourished. People in my area thought we had been discharged home to die. The Joyful Motherhood nurses gave us a thermos, 7 tins of formula, they also gave me a pack of soy flour to use to make porridge. I started eating that porridge the same day. After that, people started saying that I was looking like myself again. Life was returning to me. The next month when they came and weighed the baby, they noted that the weight had improved. I kept giving the baby the milk and the health improved, I also received soy flour and I was better.   

Joyful Motherhood has helped me a lot in my household. When they discharged me from their program, they gave me K10,000 ($12) and said I should start a business. My neighbor kept the money for me initially and I found odd jobs – like washing laundry – to earn a little more. Then I rented a small a garden and cultivated it. I harvested ten 50kg bags of maize. There is no hunger in my home now. Joyful Motherhood nurses helped to improve my home, they taught me how to care for my children, they encouraged me, they taught me many things. I thought we would die; there was no food in my home, Joyful Motherhood restored hope in my home. My home is no longer the same. I am thankful to Joyful Motherhood. Please continue this work.

Even a small donation can help us save lives.

Donate Now