Midwives Save Lives: Train 40 New African Midwives

Meet Mary Grace (39), an Amref Tekeleza Health Facility nurse in Kisii, Western Kenya. It’s a small facility focused on maternal and child health with limited services but enough to provide the area with primary care. She works with mothers at every phase, during pregnancy, delivery, and the critical early years of child development.

“Amref trained me to become a qualified sonographer and learn how to use the ultrasound machine. The training included weeks of practice with pregnant women [to learn how] to detect the fetus’ movements, heartbeat, gender, diameter, etc. Being able to do ultrasounds has made a huge difference in this area.”

‘’I love my job because I have been able to impact the happiness of so many mothers. Pregnancy is no sickness. It’s a journey that we should take mothers through. A mother should not lose her life or her (unborn) baby. We’ve been able to help so many mothers in their beautiful journey of creating new life by scanning them with an ultrasound to help them deliver safely. Doing that makes me incredibly happy.’’

Mary Grace sees a big difference in maternal care with the introduction of the ultrasound machine compared to years ago.

“Before, if we suspected that a mom needed more help than we could provide, we referred her to a bigger hospital for an ultrasound. But due to their economic status, many mothers just went back home because they couldn’t afford a bigger hospital or transportation. When the moms return to us after going into labor, we find out the baby is breech. We’ve seen quite a few cases of uterine rupture due to delayed care and even cases when a woman or her baby dies before we get a vehicle to get her to [the area hospital]. So, the introduction of this ultrasound machine has really helped us diagnose any possible complications in an early stage, which is key to preventing challenging deliveries. Now, when we notice babies developing with their legs down or with the umbilical cord around the neck, we can refer the mother to the hospital much earlier in their pregnancy.’’

“I’ve also been able to help so many mothers detect false pregnancies. For women who thought they were pregnant or appeared not to be but had other abdominal complications, I could refer them to a bigger hospital for a gynecological review. [I remember] once doing an ultrasound, and it was clouded on the screen. There was lots of water! She had excessive polyhydramnios, which is way too much amniotic fluid in the uterus, and her baby was growing outside the uterus. I immediately referred the mother to the hospital to prevent the water from going into the tissues of the abdomen, and she underwent a C-section. The gynecologist told her that if she came any later, she or the baby could have died.’’

Mary Grace is the only nurse trained to use the ultrasound machine in the facility.

“We have one portable ultrasound machine and one tablet to see the results, and I am the only one able to use it. Mothers have to wait longer or come back to the facility if I am not there. It would be amazing if there were more trained nurses and machines so that we can help more mothers!’’

An ultrasound machine is essential for pregnant mothers to learn and see the health and development of their babies. It’s also a critical piece to ending preventable maternal mortality. With your help, we can train more midwives to operate ultrasound machines in small clinics across the continent and keep more moms in touch with their babies’ progress.

Help us give mothers and babies the strongest start in life!