Gallant helpers assist Isiolo mums give life

Gallant helpers assist Isiolo mums give life By Standard Writer

Every other day, Kenyans who have done something exceptional are recognised and their achievements celebrated.

However, there are others who do real heroic acts in their communities but might never be acknowledged nationally.

These are the gallant health workers in remote areas who use their skills, without demanding commensurate pay, to help bring forth a new life.

Rose Muya, Gabriella Joni and Sabina Yepon are community health workers in Isiolo County. Muya is also a teacher at Attan Primary School while Yepon and Joni are birth attendants.

Gentle and empathetic

Joni says she has helped many women deliver because they trust her. She is gentle and empathetic to their situation.

“We know how to deal with these women. We respect their customs and this makes them have confidence in us,” she says.

When labour pains begin, Joni or Yepon are called as they are just a walking distance away. Many of their patients find this arrangement more convenient than going to health facilities, which are usually far away and expensive in this poor semi-arid area.

Muya will also be at hand advising on what course of action to take, health wise.

Yepon has done this job for four years now. She knows when a woman goes into labour, something has to be done fast or else the consequences can be dire.

She says, “If you can’t help the baby quickly enough then it will die and this will just be another senseless loss of life.”

They have trying moments in the course of duty. For example, when the umbilical chord entangles the baby’s neck during birth, the ‘expert’ must act quickly.

Otherwise it can choke the baby or cut out oxygen which could leave the baby with a permanent disability such as spina bifida.

Tricky situation

“This is always a tricky situation which needs a lot of expertise; but what happens when the hospital is far away? Then we have to do it. We become the experts,” quips Yepon.

Despite their enormous task, these women have no facilities to make their work easier and safer for themselves and the mothers.

They say they are sometimes forced to use nylon papers as gloves. This is a health risk to both mother and child but the other option — using bare hands — is worse. Without proper facilities there is also the danger of contracting or spreading HIV.

“The threat of contracting diseases during childbirth is as real on our side as it is on the side of the babies or mothers. If we are equipped and trained better on how to handle births with more caref then we can make a great stride in ensuring that mothers and children are safe,” says Joni.

In the past, they have had some training by church and other community organisations.

But without follow-up courses and facilities, they say, it is like they move around the same place.

Joni and Yeponi say their work is a calling and they are not going to abandon the mothers who trust and require their services.

Give birth at home

According to research in Isiolo by the Coalition on Violence Against Women organisation carried out a few months ago, many women prefer giving birth at home to hospitals.

They say it is more comforting since the traditional birth attendants are trusted as opposed to nurses in public health facilities who they claim are harsh and unfriendly during labour.

Therefore, if a section of future generations is going to pass through the hands of these mid-wives whose training is just a ‘calling’, then it is proper for the Government to equip them with the necessary skills and tools.