10 babies were enrolled (7 orphans and 3 whose mother critically ill in hospital). 147 babies were visited and 6 discharged. 243 babies are being followed
2 mothers were enrolled and one discharged. 23 women are being followed
Mother Care Story. 19-year-oldRhoda was healthy and had a normal pregnancy. When her labor started she went to the nearest health center. Labor was long and painful and did not progress. After 24hours she was referred to the District hospital for a c-section. At the time of the c-section her baby was already deceased. She stayed in the hospital, with her cramping empty wound and empty arms listening to the crys of newborns around her for two days and then was discharged. After spending just two days at home she noticed her abdomen beginning to swell and returned to the District hospital. From there she was sent to the Regional hospital. She began vomiting blood and seizing. She was taken back to the operating room and a total hysterectomy was done – uterus, ovaries, baby gone. On the medical ward her condition failed to improve and she was diagnosed with covid and then placed on isolation. Rhoda is young and after several weeks her health was stable enough to discharge her but the emotional scars are deep. Nurses will follow her not only to check on the visible wounds but also to counsel and encourage her as she begins to address the other invisible wounds that remain.
Baby Care Story. 19-year-old Dorothy went to her regular prenatal appointment toward the end of her pregnancy and diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. Her legs were swollen and her blood pressure was quite high. Within a few days her labor started on it’s own and she delivered a healthy baby boy. Dorothy began to hemorrhage and was referred to Salima District Hospital. There she received a transfusion of two units, but her blood loss had been significant and she died soon after. Dorothy’s husband heard about our work through someone in his community and his mother arrived with the baby in arms.
