TURKANA (Xinhua) – With babies clutching to their backs and cans of water firmly placed on their heads, they put on brave faces walking through bushy and narrow pathways in search of water for their children and animals. Looking at Turkana women going about their daily chores, no one would understand their predicament until they open up and share the stories behind their tumultuous journey to motherhood.
Some are as young as 15, but they are mothers, wives and people depended on by the society to search for food and water. But the most captivating issue is their energy and optimism. Turkana is one of the counties in Kenya where mothers and infants are exposed to a lot of risks during and after birth due to medical challenges. Most of them deliver at home with the help of traditional midwives.
However, mothers in Lokwii village in Turkana East have learnt their lesson having witnessed women and their babies’ lose lives back in the villages due to complications and unsafe home deliveries. Miriam Ekai, a mother of seven, delivered all her children at home.”I have always delivered at home because that is what I am used to and nothing has ever happened to my children,” she innocently says. For Ipese Atabo, the dispensary is too far and with no means to get there, giving birth at home has always been the most convenient option. Josephine Epokony, has a different idea altogether.
he says she prefers giving birth at home since she feels more secure and that is where her privacy is respected. Kenya records an estimated 488 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, with some regions reporting maternal mortality ratios of 1,000 per 100,000 live births, according to the 2008/2009 Kenya Demographic Health Survey. With the knowledge of such dangers, the mothers are now on the frontline promoting safe motherhood and child health in the simplest yet very innovative way.
Through a group known as Safe Motherhood, the women are seeking to change lives of many mothers in Turkana. The group has now constructed a traditional structure near a dispensary in the village where expectant mothers get help and advice. Though they are not well equipped, they have been using traditional means to ensure mothers and their children are safe before and after delivery.
“We realized it was important to put up this structure so that mothers can come here when they are due for delivery,” Grace Lokitoi, the group’s chair lady, explains. Karl Peters Lopese, a healthcare practitioner at the Lokwii dispensary, says the structure gives nurses an opportunity to closely monitor expectant mothers. “When the mothers are brought here, we are able to examine them and should we detect any complication, then it is easier to offer help early enough,” he says.
World Vision has also been training the group on nutrition among other issues. According to Thatcher Ng’ong’a, a nutritionist with World Vision, many mothers are less informed on nutrition issues. Karl Peters says the structure has so far played a critical role in reducing maternal and child mortality in the village. “The structure still maintains the traditional set up and the mothers are still attended to by the traditional birth attendants, only that they are now near a health expert and should there be complications, a trained health worker is available to offer diagnosis or referrals because the mother is accessible,” Karl Peters explains. The structure signifies hope to many girls and women in Lokwii village. (Xinhua)
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