Help 100 Women Learn Financial & Health Skills

Bumi Sehat's first mental health talk went smoothly and was well attended. Over 30 Bumi Sehat patients and staff came to hear Dr. Mulyati, a psychiatrist associated with Ubud Care Clinic, speak about Post-Partum Depression (PPD). Ubud Care Clinic is a local medical and emergency clinic which also offers psychiatric care and has a mental health awareness outreach program.

PPD is an important issue that can affect women after the birth of a child. While it's normal for many mothers to experience the "Baby Blues" — especially with a first pregnancy—PPD is a serious mental health disorder and can affect the mother and her whole family. Dr. Mulyati described the difference between PPD and Baby Blues and how our midwives can recognise PPD. She also gave her audience information about resources available for women suffering from PPD and how to get help for them. 

The Bumi midwives felt the talk was very valuable for them as they sometimes see mothers with PPD symptoms but feel unable to effectively help these women or know where to send them. A number of patients asked many questions about the difference between "Baby Blues" and PPD and how to get covered for treatment under the national health insurance scheme. The discussion session was lively and ran well over time but Dr. Mulyati made sure she answered everyone's questions.

After the talk was finished, Bumi Sehat and Ubud Care Clinic agreed to a memorandum of understanding between our two agencies to set up a series of future talks on various mental health topics.

The women's banjar (or traditional council) in the nearby village of Singkerta heard about Bumi Sehat's cryo program, which checks women for any pre-cancerous cervical cells and removes them by freezing and burning them out. The group approached Bumi Sehat about having an outreach health talk on cervical and breast cancer and prevention programs in their village. Cervical cancer is a leading cause of death for older women in Indonesia.

Bumi Sehat had not previously done any outreach to nearby villages as our monthly cryo clinics are usually full with women from the Nyuh Kuning banjar—Bumi Sehat's home village. However, this is a valuable and life-saving technology and we want to expand our services.

Our midwives and outreach officer spoke to around 15 women in Singakerta. A few days later, 30 women signed up for the next cryo clinic—the 15 who attended plus female family members. As each clinic is limited to 30 women, due to space and time, Bumi Sehat set up an extra clinic last month just for the Singakerta women. This means the OBGYN specialist and nurses examined 60 women last month—doubling the number we normally treat. 

As with previous clinics, about 20% of the women were found to have possible pre-cancerous cells, which were treated by freezing and removal. Those women are waiting on the results of a PAP smear for the all-clear. One women was found to have early stage cervical cancer and was referred to a cancer specialist for treatment. As her cancer was detected early, we are optimistic about her outcome.

As we write this report, we have another outreach talk scheduled for later today for nearby Pengosekan.