| Page 2 of 5 < > |
In Sierra Leone, Every Pregnancy Is a 'Chance of Dying'
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Now she was three centimeters dilated, her water had broken and she had finally come to the only hospital in Koinadugu, a sprawling and rural expanse in the far northeastern corner of this West African nation.
"This is our problem -- all the delays," said Samuel Kargbo, the British-trained director of the hospital and the only other physician in the country's largest and poorest district.
The region's largely illiterate population lives in villages scattered over a mountainous area about the size of Connecticut. The few rutted roads are often washed-out and impassable.
Even Kabala, the largest town, has no electricity or running water. Outlying villages are little more than a few thatched-roof huts. Families grow rice and vegetables, but this month, in the height of the rainy season there is less to harvest, less to eat.
Kargbo said many women delay seeking medical care for their pregnancies. He said many don't fully understand the risks, and are daunted by the costs and distances they need to travel for care.
So they tend to rely on poorly trained local midwives. When problems develop, they end up walking, or being carried in makeshift hammocks, for hours or even days to reach the hospital.
Sierra Leone also has one of the highest fertility rates in the world, with each woman having an average of more than six children. Karbo said some women have even more, and every pregnancy is a "chance of dying."
Kargbo said a government program, assisted by UNICEF, CARE, Catholic Relief Services and other organizations, has established 54 small public health clinics around the district. Each is staffed with at least one well-trained nurse.
That has reduced the number of women dying, he said, but a woman in Sierra Leone still has a one in eight chance of dying in childbirth -- and rural Koinadugu has historically had the worst death rates in the country.
"There is no going back," Kargbo said. "We are at the back already. We need to move forward."
By 7:30 p.m., Marah had been waiting for an hour on her gurney, the remains of a large dead spider hanging from a web on the ceiling over her head.
"Ohhhh, help me out, help me out," she groaned to no one in particular. "My firstborn, help me."
