While the NRM take their families by presidential jets to Germany for
labor\deliveries, the poor tax payers are killed by the ill-trained and
poorly paid Medics at Mulago. They are waiting for another global fund for
Oxygen!!!!
SSenyange
--------------------------------
Death in Mulago
Babies die because mothers wait too long for caesarean
By Harriet Onyalla
DAVID died. He was just a day old. This chubby baby, who weighed 5.5kg at
birth, bled to death because his umbilical cord had been cut badly.
In fact, David was named after the shepherd boy in the Bible long after his
little heart stopped beating. The Alur culture demanded that either way, he
be named.
Every two hours, a baby dies at Mulago Hospitals maternity ward as a result
of birth-related complications. Hospital records indicate that on average,
nine babies die from birth-related complications every day, nine little
souls like David. This means, about 270 babies die every month.
Some days, over 15 babies die, a hospital source, who spoke on condition
of anonymity, says.
Davids only day in this world went terribly wrong. We spent the whole day
at the hospital but nobody cared, his father, Clinton Oketcha, narrates.
The baby was bleeding. The baby really cried. Then a nurse helped us and
put him on oxygen but she said we should pray because the machine was not
working properly.
Oketcha will forever be haunted by the blank face of the doctor to whom he
turned in desperation. He just looked at me and walked away, he says as a
slight tremor creeps into his deep voice.
Mulago Hospital, Ward 5C, Sunday 9:00am: The air in the corridor of the
labour ward seems to stand still. Over 20 women in labour are sitting or
lying on the floor. Musawo nyamba, nfaa! (Doctor, help I am dying), one
woman wails.
She is kneeling on all fours. She jerks forward, then crawls rapidly back.
Groaning in pain, she puts her elbows on the cold, stained marble floor,
rising swiftly. The white blouse she is wearing slides over her shoulder,
leaving her naked.
The baby is coming, another woman, swaying in pain next to her, shouts. A
third expecting mother sits calmly next to them, a stream of waterish blood
running from under her skirts towards the middle of the corridor. The woman
opposite her tries to move away from the blood running towards her. She
stands up, looks around, then slowly shakes her head and sits down again as
her wrapper gets soaked. There is no other place to sit. The corridor is
packed to capacity.
According to Dr. Samuel Kalisoke, the in-charge of Mulagos gynaecology and
obstetrics department, about 70 mothers are admitted and 60 deliver every
day, yet the place was meant to cater for only 20. Some give birth in the
corridors. We are delivering three times the number we are supposed to
handle, he says.
Most of these mothers are referred from other hospitals when their
condition is already critical. In fact, many babies are born with the skin
already peeling off, meaning that they died 24 hours earlier.
On average, one third of the mothers received at Mulago need to deliver by
caesarean section. The operation theatre, which has only one bed, handles an
average of 18 mothers a day.
The doctors work day and night but hardly manage to cater for the influx. A
proper operation, including preparations, takes two hours. Some have to wait
for a day to find a slot.
Many times we have 21 emergency operations, says nurse Rose Violet
Nakayiza. Babies end up being born stressed or dead because the mothers
waited too long for the caesarean operation. Imagine you have 15 patients
waiting for an emergency operation, all of them in a critical condition.
Whom do you operate and whom do you leave out?
Apart from lack of space and equipment, the maternity wing suffers from
acute lack of staff. There are between eight and 12 staff members for the
five wards at any one time, according to Dr. Kalisoke. These include nurses,
midwives and doctors.
In the labour suite, there are only three staff to cater for over 60
mothers a day, yet there should be 24, he says.
Mulago is Ugandas national referral hospital. It has become the only place
where mothers around Kampala go to give birth. Most health centres around
the city shun women who are about to give birth because they lack the
operation facilities in case the delivery goes wrong.
Many private clinics only give antenatal care and refer the mother to Mulago
when the labour pain starts.
Some refer the women when it is too late, explains nurse Nakayiza. They
dont tell the women what the problem is or even notify us of the condition
of the patient and the reason for referral. Many times, the baby is already
dead in the womb. And when they come when we have a lot of work, it is
difficult to give them the attention they need. So the lives of the mothers
are also at risk.
Another problem, she says, is ignorance and poverty.
Some mothers arrive here after labouring at home for days. Others dont
have transport and are brought in by neighbours when it is very late. Many
times we are just helpless."
You can also read the article online at:
http://www.newvision.co.ug/detail.php?mainNewsCategoryId=8&newsCategoryId=12&newsId=578255
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