MILCOT Brings joy to a mother who lost her first baby during birth.
- Nayiga Harriet
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Patricia's ordeal
As a first time mother, 23 years old, Patricia (not real name) carried her first pregnancy with joy and hope to deliver her baby, however her story turned into grief. She came to MILCOT General Clinic in 2024 only to seek postnatal checkup, looking sad and without a baby as any postnatal mother would appear at clinic. I asked her about the baby and she said “my baby died at birth”. My consultation room was filled with silence as she cried. I felt her pain breaking through my heart and got short of comforting words for her. I hugged her for about a minute and that was the beginning of my care for Patricia with aim to support her to regain strength and rebuild hope.
On examination, her blood pressure was high most probably as a result of her psychological state following the loss of her baby. When asked what could have caused the death of her baby, she replied “I did not understand it well but I think something could have been done to save my baby because it took so long to be delivered and he was a big baby (over 4kg). Health workers attended to me however I noticed there were many women in labour hence I could not get enough attention since they had to attend to many of us. I didn’t hear my baby cry then later I was informed he had died”.
Care at MILCOT General Clinic.
Patricia’s blood pressure remained high hence she was initiated on blood pressure treatment and mental health support. This took couple of months for blood pressure to normalize and Patricia to cope and started working again. MILCOT General Clinic did not only become her source of healthcare but also her source of hope and courage from a midwife whenever in need. Every time she came for blood pressure monitoring, psychological support was a necessity since she kept recalling the past experience. Through our midwifery virtual clinics, I provided her with enough SRHR information and mental health support that led to her complete physical and emotional healing. This could not have been possible if I was not closer to her.
It was one beautiful sunny morning, Patricia entered my clinic, this time with a smile on her face and informed me that she was pregnant again and came to start antenatal care. What a joy that we shared at this moment and for me to have the opportunity to provide antenatal care to her. This time she was happy to choose the midwife-led care throughout her pregnancy and delivery. She attended over 8 antenatal visits until she delivered a bouncing baby girl, both mother and bay are doing well. She describes our care as affordable, reliable and high quality, “having you close to me as my midwife gave me so much confidence” she said. She loved the fact that her care at MILCOT was individualized to suit her needs. At MILCOT General Clinic, we bridge the gap between public facilities and private facilities to ensure that every woman receives the care that she needs. We appreciate our partners Vaka Health Foundation https://vakahealthfoundation.org/ for prioritizing maternal and child health through investing in MILCOT model. We welcome other stakeholders to partner with us as we scale our impact to more vulnerable areas and I encourage other global funders to increase investment into midwifery.
What investing in midwifery would achieve by 2035:
Source- UNFPA 2021
Investing in midwifery is a critical, cost-effective strategy that would avert roughly two-thirds of maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths. Over 4.3 million lives could be saved annually including a 67% reduction in maternal deaths, 64% in newborn deaths, and 65% in stillbirths. Midwives help prevent injuries and disabilities such as obstetric fistula, severe uterine prolapse, and complications from unsafe abortions. Scaling up midwifery, including family planning services, could avert a significant number of unintended pregnancies and reduce the need for abortions. Economic Returns: Investing in midwives yields a "triple dividend" of reducing mortality, improving health, and boosting economic growth. Evidence shows a return of 16USD for every 1USD invested. https://reliefweb.int/report/world/midwifery-accelerator-expanding-health-
One more million midwives needed.
Sign the petition https://millionmore.org/petition/ to support the International confederation of Midwives (ICM) global call for one million more midwives.
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