Providing Maternal Health Care to 60 mothers

 Baby naming and Hope.

One of the things I have come to know about baby naming is that; expect to tell your story.

 For many of the children that come to the clinic I am always curious to know how they were named.  The common names we see at the clinic include “Lagum, Rwotomiyo, Anyadwee, etc”

And when I ask ,“How did you choose her name?” as one of my go-to conversation starters with parents with unique names.

Sometimes the response is a vague, “Oh, she came after many years of waiting so we named her “Rwotomiyo,” affirming that patience is usually rewarded.” This name also represents a call to the child to remain patient in time of adversity. Sometimes I get the names like “Achiro or Akanyo" to represent the circumstances around the child’s birth. For those with twins they also have names for the twins and their followers.

But for some the fuss abut giving names to children does not make sense to them. They do not put much time and thought into what names they give their children. However, in most African families the practice of naming is brought about by the profound appreciation of the value of a human being. A child is given a name, because the parents and their families go beyond seeing the child, but a person who will have an identity and a vocation. That the child has a personal dignity right from the moment of conception that needs to be respected and protected. The child is given a name that the parents like. Often times naming their children after a close friend, a relative or a person that they look up to.  In many cases it is a religious name given at the Baptism.  

In fact, naming is accorded almost the same significance as marriage. Often times, parents take every available opportunity to reinforce the messages behind the names that are given to their children. Using popular African proverbs to drive home their messages. When children do not act according to expectations, they are told proverbs such as: "If you do not stand for something, you will fall for something"; "It is a bad child that does not take advice"; "For tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today."

This week when Adong checked in to deliver, she was very anxious. The thing is, her last pregnancy did not go well, she lost her child during delivery and this was the reason for her anxiety. “My world fell apart when I lost my child, and I was not sure whether I should have any more children,” she shared with pain. “This is my third child and my husband and I have planned to have four children. When I lost my child I became very fearful, because all my pregnancies have been very difficult,” she continued. But I am here to thank God that He has restored my hope. So the baby was named Hope Lakaraber. Lakaraber meaning "from a good place”, and “Hope” after me.  So when baby Hope Lakaraber was born we were proud to associate her from a good maternity centre, and that she is a child that will be loved.

Adong is thankful to the Karin Maternity Centre, and thereby naming her child after me. I know that the Lord is being praised here! For His will is being done when we bring hope to this community.  At the end of it all, usually there’s often a great story about going through names until one is chosen. 

But more importantly, we continue to thank you for the support you continue to provide, enabling the nurses meet their goals of delivering babies in the a safe environment, or recommended an emergency referral to a higher-level health facility.

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A mother learns about protecting women and newborns from tetanus

Juliet Apio 48, knows all too well the choices for women delivering a baby; she’s made them all. At her home in Laliya village, surrounded by her husband and three children, she recounts personal decisions that reflect a progressive improvement in practices to keep women and newborns safe in childbirth and the critical first few weeks after birth.

Apio’s eldest son, 18-year-old Lajul, was born at home with no professional assistance.  She used traditional methods for tying off and cutting the baby’s umbilical cord with string and unsterilized household scissors.  It was during the insurgence, and during these times there was hardly any medical services available; the end of the cord was also sometimes packed with ash or coal, significantly increasing the risk of developing tetanus, an infection which can kill newborns within the first few weeks of life with symptoms including the infant’s refusal to feed, muscle rigidity and spasms. 

The second son, Daudi, was also delivered from home, however, this time she was assisted by a midwife who used a mama birth kit (a small pouch containing sterile, disposable equipment), which Apio was received from the team who visited her village during an outreach program. 

Six years later, Apio delivered her third child. She was happy that the Karin Medical Centre had opened near her village in Agonga. The government trained village health volunteer provided her with information about the health centre and the services the health centre provides.  She later came to learn that her best option is to deliver from the health centre, where clean umbilical cord care was practiced under the supervision of trained skilled health workers.  At the health centre, Apio received the first in a series of five doses of tetanus toxoid vaccination to protect her and her baby from the devastating effects of tetanus. 

Karin Medical Centres with the support from the local District Health Office has been working to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus in the community by vaccinating women of child bearing age with tetanus toxoid (TT); providing improved antenatal care; and encouraging mothers to deliver their babies at health facilities with skilled birth attendants where sterilized equipment are used and clean cord delivery practices are followed.  We continuously train our staff and provide outreach services in high risk communities 

Friends, these vulnerable women need your support.

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