We enrolled 14 babies in January! 3 sets of triplets, 4 orphans, and 1 baby whose mother had no breast milk. This month nurses visited 160 babies, 580 tins of formula were distributed and 261 women and infants remain in our care.
Baby Admission Story. Anna already had four children and she hoped that the fifth would be the last. With five pregnancies she was considered a grand multigravida and all the midwives she saw during her pregnancy reminded her that her delivery might be difficult. She was told again and again that she would need to deliver at a health facility, with a skilled birth attendant. Anna’s belly grew quickly and on August 2nd she arrived at the health center planning to stay through her delivery. [Health centers are staffed with midwives, but do not have facilities necessary to handle true obstetric emergencies.] Finally, on September 21st Anna’s contractions started. The midwife who met her that day at the health center told Anna that she was in labor with twins and encouraged her to quickly make her way to a larger hospital with an operating room. That same day, soon after arriving at Nkoma Hospital, Anna quickly delivered two babies. Thirty minutes passed and rather than the placenta, Anna delivered a third baby. The babies were premature but Anna was attentive and breastfed as frequently as possible. Unfortunately, Anna could not keep up with the needs of her three infants and their health began to deteriorate. Anna’s family could not afford supplemental formula and so a nurse at Nkoma Hospital posted a plea for support on Facebook. Joyful Motherhood nurses saw the post and enrolled Anna and her babies. The nurses will continue to support Anna with her breastfeeding an provide enough formula to ensure that Tiyamike, Tiyanjane and Tikondane all thrive.