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.
