"Being pregnant in Africa is like having an unknown disease," says Zambian mother Alice Tembo.
Internationally, sub-Saharan Africa has by far the highest ratio of maternal deaths. It is more than double the rate for the world as a whole, which is 400 deaths per 100,000 live births. In Zambia, Being pregnant is potentially tragic if you come from a poor family in the rural areas. Although it is generally difficult for rural people to access timely health care, it is doubly difficult for women, who are more often poor and voiceless.
Their position as women also means that they often defer to customs that encourage women to put their families' needs, rather than their own, first. Therefore some seek medical help when it is too late.
Poor women's choices are usually limited to delivering their babies under the supervision of local medicine women or traditional midwives. If things turn wrong, it can be fatal for the mother or the baby - or both.
It is estimated that 70 percent of deaths during childbirth in Zambia occur in rural areas where women have to walk long distances before they can reach a clinic. Sometimes, even if they get there, the staff and the facilities are too ill-equipped and ill-prepared to handle the delivery.
In case of complications, there are no ambulances to transport the mother to the nearest town or points of care. It is therefore not uncommon for mothers to die while making their way to find heath care - especially in far-flung areas of Zambia. (see earlier blog about the rural hospital built by World Vision that we visited in Zambia)
A thousand babies are infected with HIV every day - in pregnancy, during birth and through breastfeeding. Close to 400,000 African children are infected with HIV every year. Seventy thousand Zambian women between the ages of 15 and 40 have HIV; the health ministry says 85 thousand children are living with the virus. - LUSAKA, Nov 30, 2010 Inter Press Service News Agency
According to an organization called Path, over 1,600 women die per day from childbirth complications and over 950,000 newborns die per year from infections.
*********************************************************
And then i was reminded of the blog post, written by my friend Breanna, who stayed in Zambia after we left to work at a hospital/orphanage and her experience one day with what health care for babies entails in Zambia and other African countries. She used this quote at the beginning of this installment of her blog -A reporter asked Mother Teresa, “When a baby dies alone in a Calcutta alley, where is God?”
Her response? “God is there, suffering with that baby. The question really is where are you?”
~John G. Stackhouse Jr
Meet Alfred.... This tiny guy is five weeks old and struggles with every breath. I was working at the clinic today and was able to observe and take care of him. His mother just passed away yesterday and there is no father in the picture. He is HIV exposed and has a history of diarrhea illness. Last night he took a turn for the worse and had a sudden onset of respiratory distress. The clinical officer diagnosed him with Aspiration pneumonia. I was given the opportunity to practice some hands on nursing skills- my first time doing all these things. I stood for an hour this morning and for the whole afternoon administering oxygen to Alfred. I also gave Albuterol nebulize- a respiratory aid in a vapor form.I was in charge of monitoring Alfred’s medication and so when it was noon we headed back to the critical care room. Just as we walked through the door, the power went out- a very very common occurence in Zambia. I’ve never connected outages with the healthcare field until I stepped through that door. All the oxygen masks and machines keeping Alfred and the other critically ill babies alive were out- Alfred was wheezing and gasping. The clinical officer and I ran around the clinic trying to find special fuel to get the generator up and running. But there was none to be found and there was an extreme shortage in Kalomo. There was nothing we could do but wait until the power came back on. A terrible situation. It was such a harsh thought- to think that this baby could die any moment due to lack of power. The clinical officer walked back to the room with me and said “This is Africa Breanna, this is the reality that we face. The hospital in Kalomo is much worse.” Alfred’s life was on the line. Finally two hours later the power came back on and the nurses and I were able to get Alfred a bit more stable. I administered oxygen for much of the afternoon. -
Breanna Wiebe
Who reading this does not now believe how lucky we are?
No comments:
Post a Comment