Maternal and Neonatal death rates in ongoing Anglophone crisis can be prevented



I heard my daughter knock my bedroom door like I was dreaming. Of course it should be a dream because I wasn’t expecting a knock at 2:35am during such a critical moment in my community. Fear and suspicion took over when she announced that mummy “there’s a man knocking at the main door saying he is your neighbor”. I knew within me that it was time to experience what others claim to be experiencing in the hands of armed boys posing as this group of freedom fighters or the other.



How grossly mistaken I was in my thought. I only heard a voice say after a series of questions from me behind closed and locked doors “I am your neighbor Mr X and my wife your little friend is in labor since 10pm”. I immediately opened the door and started shouting at him for coming to seek help my way only many hours later. I guess it is because I was forgetting the times in which my community lives. Movements are restricted especially the curfew which begins at 9pm daily. There is the general fear of conflicting forces as well as the risk of a stray bullet in case there is a confrontation.



Before this moment I had not had time to reflect on the impact of this curfew on children and women in case of urgent need of medical care like delivery and high temperature in children. I almost came up with an excuse not to accompany this lady to the hospital though she had been in the second stage of labour for hours but that would have defeated the focus of my advocacy in upholding the sexual and reproductive health rights.



We took the risk of going to the hospital some kilometers away from my home. I don’t want to remember the pain this little woman in labor expressed during the drive to the hospital which caused us an accident. I wondered to myself all through why access to an ambulance service during these times were not available as part of the humanitarian relief services for my people in crisis. The way she cried that I save her and her unborn child made me reflect what the situation of women in the bushes could be in similar circumstance or what would have been her fate if I were not having a car to rush her to the hospital.



We got to the hospital safely without any attack from either of the forces in the ongoing crisis. She was delivered of a baby girl safely. This baby had to wear dresses I begged from whoever I saw in the postnatal ward since we forgot to bring her emergency bag which obviously contained the baby’s things. I now had time to sit down with care givers to other clients in the labor ward. Their experiences were worse than what I just recounted above.



Some trekked for 10-15 kilometres to get to this service since there were no movements of motorbikes and vehicles after 9pm. Others had their baby on the way and the people accompanying them had to be the midwives receiving the children even without gloves or knowledge to go about it. The midwives on their part are complaining that the number of still birth have increased and clients run a lot of risk managing a delicate thing like delivering a client who is HIV positive and doing control on the newborn among others.



The joy of being a shero in the eyes of my little neighbor disappeared after listening to the stories of the other clients. In addition, the agony in the cry of another young woman whose baby died a few hours after I arrived made me cry. She brought a baby running high temperature of 40 who died few minutes later. She couldn’t come because of the situation in our region



#PeaceIsPossible for any community mine not being an exception especially when contending parties put the interest of women and children at the forefront of any decisions being taken. I envisage a day soonest when because of the health and well being of women and children at every level of the crisis peaceful ways will be used to make whatever claims. Whoever is to lead will definitely be leading people so the different factions need people living to lead them.



As a social peace builder upholding the sexual and reproductive rights I envision a community in the days ahead where I have trained traditional birth attendants and procure emergency kits for them to use wherever they are.



Women and children must not pay the price.

Like this story?
Join World Pulse now to read more inspiring stories and connect with women speaking out across the globe!
Leave a supportive comment to encourage this author
Tell your own story
Explore more stories on topics you care about