Triple blessings for New Year mothers

By Lucianne Limo

It was triple blessing for 56 mothers who gave birth at Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi on New Year day as they not only welcomed their bundles of joy but their maternity fees were waived and they also received gifts.

Nairobi City Town clerk Philip Kisia and Nairobi Mayor George Aladwa were bearers of good news to the already lucky mothers when they took baby hampers to them and also waived their collective Sh 336,000 maternity fees.

While most families bid farewell to the old year by feasting and making merry, some proud parents welcomed the New Year with a new addition to their families.

As the New Year checked in, baby Michelle Obama and baby Rooney Ochieng were among 56 children who were born with no idea of the magnitude and prestige their names bare in the world.

A fan of Manchester United Mercy and her husband George Odhiambo did not have difficulty choosing the name of their little boy.

"My husband is a fanatic of Manchester United and he told me if it is a boy, we will name him Rooney," Mercy said.

Although she is not much of a football fan, Mercy said she loved the name Rooney, named after the famous English footballer.

"My husband was very happy we got a boy named Rooney as our first born. He said he hopes he will play soccer locally and even internationally like his namesake," she said shyly.

"This is a miracle. No one in our family has given birth in New Year. It is also a blessing that we do not need to pay maternity fees," Mercy’s brother in-law who had visited her said.

When Carolyne Kadeso went into labour on New Years Eve, she had no knowledge of the sex of her child.

"I gave birth at 6.45am to a beautiful baby girl weighing 3kg and I named her Michelle Obama because I admire her and want my little girl to grow and be successful like her namesake," a delighted Kadeso said.

Leah Mukiru gave birth to the first baby some few hours past midnight and named him Benson.

"I am happy that I had a normal birth without any difficulty," she said.

She recalled she was in labour for a couple of hours saying she did not expect her newborn to be a New Year baby.

Clutching their babies, the mothers seemed mesmerised with the attention they received from the media and even the rare visit by the town clerk and the mayor.

Pumwani Hospital registered lowest births this year as compared to the usual of between 80-100 in a day.

The Town Clerk who was also born in Pumwani said he was appalled by the state of hospital as it lacked basic facilities to cater for the needs of women.

He told the director of procurement, the city engineer and public health authorities to paint the entire facility, which he noted, was last painted 30 years ago.

Kisia said the council had set aside Sh50 million to build a perimeter wall to ensure security for patients and the hospitals equipment.

"We have also provided Sh0 million to cater for other necessary facilities such as theatre machine, incubators and resuscitators and a third theatre," Kisia said.

The Hospital’s medical superintendent Dr Omondi Kumba regretted that the hospital is facing numerous challenges and was also weighed down with a debt of Sh60 million.

"The hospital charges Sh 3,000 for normal delivery and Sh6, 000 for caesarean section but many patients are poor and cannot afford," he told the town clerk.