By Diana Chepkosgei | Program Manager and Lead Counselor
Since its inception in the year 2015, Still A Mum has offered psychosocial support to over 2500 bereaved families. Last year we were able to support 800 bereaved families across different regions in the world. From January 2020 to March 2020, you enabled us to offer psychosocial support to 103 bereaved families. Below is a breakdown of total clients supported per month:
We received families from all walks of life dealing with the pain of miscarriages, stillbirths and infant deaths. Psychological cases related to parental grief such as depression, psychological trauma, anxiety and complicated grief disorders were managed. Our counselling center has provided a conducive environment for one on one counselling sessions and physical support group sessions. Our virtual platforms such as WhatsApp support groups, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter were also vital in allowing us to facilitate sessions with clients from various regions. 69 clients were supported virtually in the past three months while 34 clients attended physical sessions.
Mental health awareness creation is part of our core business. We all go through various crises in life, think about it, how do you always respond to them? For instance, losing a pregnancy or a baby throws one in a confused state and it’s hard to pick any healthy coping mechanism. We have been engaging in psycho-educative programs through our social media platforms, use of mainstream media and partnerships with community organizations to encourage the society to seek professional help when in need. As such we also facilitated support group sessions for 9 young teenage mothers at Mathare, Nairobi in partnership with (SHOFCO) Shining Hope for Communities organization.
Below are the stories of two of our amazing constituents whom we’ve journeyed with.
*Pseudo names used to protect our clients’ privacy.
Philomena*
A pretty comfortable pregnancy until week 26 when pressure levels began to rise. At week 28 during a routine check pressure had escalated to 168/107. This was controlled medically, unfortunately during week 30 clinic on 21st September 2019, it was an Intrauterine Fetal Death. Pre-eclampsia had robbed me off a beautiful soul. Much regards to my gynecologist who took me through the labor and birth process so seamlessly. This was the darkest phase in my life trying to come to terms with the loss. After 2 months of acute denial, I reached out to Still A Mum for individualized counselling sessions and therapy in November 2019. The sessions were well structured and after 4 individual sessions I joined in the group therapy sessions. At the end of the sessions in March 2020, my heart was at a point of acceptance and gladness. Grief is such a personal journey. It requires adequate support systems and intentional efforts to move forward. Thanks Still A Mum for the dedication to see mums through this tragic phase of life.
Monica*
I had waited for so many years to get a child, trying to conceive but with no success. I was so worried about the future of my marriage; I was hitting 40 but with no baby. Two years later, I conceived! I was so excited. My husband and I were looking forward to finally enjoy the pregnancy and also to bring up our child. Unfortunately, that joy didn’t last for long, I lost the pregnancy at 16 weeks. I was so lost, broken and shattered.
A few months later, my husband and I decided to try again. I wasn’t sure if we could pregnant that easily but to our surprise, we conceived right away. This time, I had mixed emotions. The anxiety of losing the pregnancy and the hope to keep pushing. The pregnancy went on well until 24 weeks when it developed complications and I lost the baby. I couldn’t describe the pain I felt at that time. I asked myself, why would God allow me carry the two pregnancies after a long time of trying to conceive only to snatch them away from me? It was at this point that I decided to reach out to Still A Mum in February 2020. I went through individual therapy and later on I joined a physical group.
The first session was very difficult, the pain was too much, I remember physically shaking as I cried all through the session. Thank God for the Counselor who was patient with me and handled me with a lot of empathy. Moving forward, I gained emotional healing through sharing my experiences and above all meeting other women who shared similar experiences. I’m at a better place with my kids in heaven, I’m still hopeful that I will live to carry my babies in my own hands. Thank you Still A Mum.
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