Medeshi Sept 27, 2008The Terror of Motherhood in Somalilandand Women’s Rights to Safe Careby Edna Adan Ismail
(Photo : The Safe Motherhood Project at Work )A very distraught old woman came to Edna Adan Maternity Hospital in Hargeisa, Somaliland, appealing to us to help her transport to the hospital a woman who had given birth five days earlier and who still had the placenta inside her. Those of us at the hospital are not sure how this could be possible and we ask her again whether she means five hours. She is sure about the number of days, and quotes the day the woman had delivered which, indeed, was five days earlier. She also tells us that the woman may not be alive by the time we get to her.
We prepared the ambulance, put in our emergency obstetric kit and set out towards the home at the opposite end of town from our hospital. We come to a hut with quite a few neighbors and onlookers standing around.
Before we get to the patient, we could have been guided to the woman by the smell coming from inside the hut. We find a woman who has bled for several days, is very infected, febrile, dehydrated, has no recordable blood pressure and a weak, rapid pulse. We cannot understand how she could have survived this long in this condition. Answers to our questions would come later, but right now, we needed to get an IV line going, and once in, we put her in the ambulance and headed for the hospital where blood transfusions and medical care would be ready for her. We also brought along the baby.
Once she picked up, we got the placenta out, started her on high doses of antibiotics and the woman miraculously recovered and went home a week later.Our burning question was why did they wait for five days before they looked for help when the placenta refused to come out after the baby was born?
We prepared the ambulance, put in our emergency obstetric kit and set out towards the home at the opposite end of town from our hospital. We come to a hut with quite a few neighbors and onlookers standing around.
Before we get to the patient, we could have been guided to the woman by the smell coming from inside the hut. We find a woman who has bled for several days, is very infected, febrile, dehydrated, has no recordable blood pressure and a weak, rapid pulse. We cannot understand how she could have survived this long in this condition. Answers to our questions would come later, but right now, we needed to get an IV line going, and once in, we put her in the ambulance and headed for the hospital where blood transfusions and medical care would be ready for her. We also brought along the baby.
Once she picked up, we got the placenta out, started her on high doses of antibiotics and the woman miraculously recovered and went home a week later.Our burning question was why did they wait for five days before they looked for help when the placenta refused to come out after the baby was born?
Read full article at : http://www.ontheissuesmagazine.com/2008fall/2008fall_8.php
