As I sit here pondering Mother’s Day, and what it has meant for me to hold the title of “mom” for the last nearly 16 years, my mind wanders back to the two most important days of my life — the days that I gave birth to my daughters.
My first-born’s birth came with a challenge. Around an hour or so before her delivery, we were frightened to learn that her heart would intermittently stop beating due to the position of the umbilical cord. It was the ingenuity of a wise nurse who made quick moves to ensure that both my daughter and I made it through without a hitch.
When my second daughter came along two years later, it was the expert care of physicians and nurses that saw us through an emergency caesarean section.
After each iffy birth, I would look down at my little bundles and thank God that He saw us through. I realized then, and even more today, just how blessed I am to be a mother.
However, for some women who reside in poorer rural areas of the world, good pre-natal and obstetric care is more of a dream than a reality. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in 13 women in Sub-Saharan Africa die of complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.
“Some of the midwives have that deep knowledge for a miracle to work out, but if [a] women is giving birth in a village on a dirt floor, [she] can easily succumb to diseases, which may cause death,” said Irene Keller of Aid Africa, a nonprofit organization that provides birthing kits and other necessities to people in rural northern Uganda. “If the mother dies and there is a lactating mother who is strong and well fed, she may be able to nurse the baby. However, that isn’t what usually happens. Most often, when a mother dies after giving birth, the infant dies soon after.”
Keller and her husband, Peter, run Aid Africa, and have been assembling and delivering home birthing kits to rural Ugandans since 2011.
Keller explained that WHO has a chart that outlines the “six cleans,” which are: clean hands of the birthing attendant; a clean surface; a clean blade; a clean cord tie; clean towels to dry the baby and clean cloths to wrap both baby and mother.
“Volunteers from our community assemble kits. Salem Lutheran Church in Glendale, California, has been generous, and is letting us use their school gymnasium for assembly,” Keller said. “We set up ahead of time, put up signage and give a talk to our volunteers about how to assemble kits, their importance to Aid Africa, and what we use the funds for.”
Aid Africa staff in Uganda speak the local language and meet with women during the organization’s assemblies. During the meetings, workers explain the WHO’s “six cleans,” and birthing kits are distributed to expectant mothers.
“We always encourage them to get to the nearest clinic if there is one within their reach,” Keller said.
However, if an expectant mother is unable to make it to a clinic, birthing kits can help minimize the risks of mother and infant mortality.
According to WHO, birthing kits have the potential to avert six to nine percent of the 1.6 million newborn deaths in places like rural Uganda.
Last week, Peter who is currently in northern Uganda, delivered 130 birthing kits.
“The government also asks us to take them to clinics because sometimes they don’t have the supplies need, and if kits are there, that helps,” Keller said. “We are happy to do that. However in areas where he was last week, the people said they needed the kits there — this is like a gift to be able to do this.”
Aid Africa is currently raising funds to enable the delivery of more birthing kits, and the organization has partnered with Shades of Goodness to accomplish its mission.
“In honor of Mother’s Day, we are raising funds for Aid Africa.” said Shades of Goodness co-publisher Angela Jones. “Donating is as easy as clicking on our website. Saving the lives of a mother and her child can be can cost as little as a weekday lunch! Every mother deserves quality care.”
Thank you for your support! Together, we raised $380.00! #MakingADifference #ShadesOfGoodness
Nicole Major, Co-Creator of Shades Of Goodness, has written professionally for more than 15 years for a variety of publications including the Jacksonville Business Journal, Women in Aviation Magazine and The Herald. She’s written internationally for PC World Egypt, the Middle East Times, and Am Cham Egypt’s Business Monthly Magazine. She is currently a fulltime staff writer for the Fairfield Ledger in Fairfield, Iowa where she has written under the name Nicole Hester-Williams. In 1997, the Arthritis Foundation nominated her for a profile story she wrote highlighting a young woman’s struggle with Rheumatoid Arthritis; she was subsequently awarded a Celebrate Independence Medal. Nicole has authored three books including “Amina, Princess of Zaria,” which was a brief Amazon bestseller for books in African literature in 2007. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in interdisciplinary studies with concentrations in both journalism and social science. She currently lives in Fairfield, Iowa with her husband Jason and their two daughters, Danielle and Gabrielle.
