Before she could walk away, she was asked to pick up the bloody cloth.

It was very emotional when Jane shared with everyone in the hall about her first menstruation period, she did not get support from anyone, her mother assumed she would find her way out. Jane decided to make a home made pad, which was not made well as it was just a handkerchief, that could not be used effectively as it was light, meaning it was not sustainable as it affected her days’s activities. My worries of using a handkerchief as a pad were confirmed towards the end of her story when she mentioned that, one day, as she was walking, the pad(handkerchief) fell down on the road as she was walking.

Today, very many girls are not proud or happy to be females, because of the shame that they think comes with it and this is related to the myths and taboos that lead to stigma. Menstruation is a matter of dignity and human rights, this means its everyone’s right to demystify the myths and taboos so as to break stigma and let girls menstruate happily. The challenge is not only on the myths, but for stake holders to understand the menstrual health management is not just a one girl’s issue but a multi-sectoral one that needs also stakeholders involved, from water, education, health, trade among others.

I was very happy at the recently concluded stale holders’ meeting on promotion of menstruation hygiene and management organised by Uganda Youth and Adolescents Health Forum (UYAHF) in partnership with Path Uganda because it engaged adolescents, youth,religious leaders, officials from ministries of Health, Gender and Education, and the water sector was well represented. This is what multi sectoral is about, but this has to go beyond lip service and be implemented, we want to see schools with good quality washing facilities and changing rooms to create a supportive environment for a menstruating girl.

Want to be partners for life, then fill the gaps!

“You are paid using our taxes from the garden and you also want me to buy a book” said a mother to a midwife who had asked her to buy a book were her medical information will be written since the health center had run out of stationery. This is one incident of disrespect to midwives that I have seen at a health facility in Lira among others, and this happens because of the gaps in the health system which affects the partnership between mothers and midwives. This mother’s response to the midwife left me dumbfounded but am certain it left the midwife very angry and I could have affected her attitude to all the other mothers seeking care.

The World Health Organisation states that every woman has the right to the highest attainable standard of health, including the right to dignified, respectful care during pregnancy and child birth but how do we attain this if the there is no relationship. Women who go to facilities for care may encounter disrespect in different ways but these problems are systemic and persist may be because; some providers lack awareness about patients rights, some are stressed and overworked because they are under staffed. This doesn’t necessarily mean it is okay for the disrespect to continue because of the above reasons, but how about we start with getting solutions like solutions like; increasing health worker force, updated and improved training , and with a good work environment. Mid wives will surely then provide respective, sensitive and effective maternity services to mothers.

As the world commemorates the International Day of the Midwife today, with the theme, ‘Midwives, Mothers and Families: Partners for Life!’, am thinking beyond partnership. I believe in partnership and this is by far one of the best partnerships, but with the continuous shortage of midwives in Uganda and other countries, who will mothers have this partnership with? How much time and attention is a midwife able to give to mothers if she is able to work? Midwives in most developing countries are overwhelmed but continue to serve because they want to see every mother happy as they bring new life to the world.

Midwives everywhere understand that working in partnership with women and their families, they can support them to make better decisions about what they need to have a safe and fulfilling birth. Shortage of midwives is not just the only problem and it is important to note that there is need to not only recruit and retain midwives but also fulfilling the needs of the health system. If needs like water, electricity, delivery kits, well equipped labor suites are not there, this greatly affects their attitude and might later affect the relationship or partnership we thought a midwife should be having with a mother.

I was excited when I got to know this year’s theme was on partnership because for last year’s International day of the midwife, I wrote about Pregnant woman – qualified midwife: The best partnership to reduce maternal deaths.

To all midwives thank you, ‘apwoyo atek’, ‘mwebale nyo’, yalama noi …….!!!!

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Forever a third world country with young people still slipping through the cracks in health care

Even though it has always been said that young people are the future of society, it is important for everyone to note they are also very much its present albeit they face many risks that if not managed it will affect development of the country. Youth around the world remain at a high risk of unplanned pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infection among others. Socio-economic, cultural,educational and other factors affect young people’s health and the fact that they are not involved enough in identifying problems they face and developing solutions to ensure that programmes, policies and health services address their needs.

I was quite impressed when I got to know the 28th African Union summit, which is closing today had the theme “Harnessing the demographic dividend through investments in youth”. It is awesome to know that national leaders are starting to appreciate the big role youth can play in developing countries and Africa as a whole. Even though countries have recognized the need to invest in youth, we need them to prioritize their health because healthy youth are of a great demographic significance to national development.

With scaled up evidence-based programs, reaching more youth with timely information, services and life skills will help young people reach their fullest potential. We want leaders to effectively serve youth which means recognizing and understanding their changing needs based on; age, sex and other factors. Young people who are healthy and happy are better equipped to contribute to their communities as young citizens.

We still have lots of room for optimism about the the health sector’s ability to foster development of a country as long as leaders invest and prioritize it. Youth will then be empowered and be able to make choices that support the pursuit for their education goals and development of life skills that lead to national development.

How playing can help your child’s brain develop

Play, even though always ignored or taken for granted, is very important for optimal child development. Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles, sometimes in conjunction with other children or adult caregivers. Every child deserves the opportunity to develop to their unique potential.

Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them and helps them build confidence. Children learn self advocacy and decision making skills when playing.

Parents, guardians and care givers need to engage and be part of their children’s social life especially as they play and support them too. The Ministry of Gender, labor and Social development should sensitize parents and caregivers on the role of play for the children’s development. The Ministry of Education and Sports should also set up policies and guidelines for schools to provide time for children to play and learn the environment on their own.

With all the above, children need to reap from the benefits of play.

Trillions of shillings could be lost annually to Malnutrition

So Uganda loses 1.8 trillion annually to stunting yet we need more investments in health, education among others. Even though less attention has been given to it, malnutrition has adverse effects on both children and adults but worse with children as it greatly affects their growth and development. Malnutrition not only impacts growth in the short term, but can also limit total bone growth and compromises a child’s immune system. Additionally, children classified as low height-for-age (stunted) may never be able to regain lost growth potential if they continue to live in a nutritionally deprived situation.

Malnutrition negatively affects brain development causing delays in motor and cognitive development, such as: attention deficit disorder, impaired school performance, memory deficiency, reduced social skills, reduced language development and reduced problem-solving abilities.
We want children to survive and thrive but this may not happen if we cannon invest in Early Child Development, specifically nutrition in the first five years. Do we want to see more children classified as low height-for-age (stunted) yet they may never be able to regain lost growth potential if they continue to live in a nutritionally deprived situation.

With the recently launched National Intergrated Early Childhood Development Policy of Uganda am hopeful that the Government of Uganda shall ensure that all households are food secure and have proper nutrition for proper child growth and development. This should involve supporting nutritious food production, nutrition care within the household, and Community mobilization to promote the adoption of healthy nutrition behaviors and increased public awareness of the centrality of improved nutrition to community and national development.
This reduce prevalence of malnutrition among infants and young children, expectant and lactating mothers. We shall then have more children survive, thrive and develop and thus save trillions of shillings.

Breastfeeding, the foundation of a country’s development

Even though yesterday was the last day of the World breast feeding week, it doesn’t mean we should stop sharing the big role breastfeeding can play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Oh yes, I said it,if we promote, protect and support breastfeeding we shall reach the development we desire by 2030. I couldn’t help quoting this from n UNICEF’s letter for the World Breastfeeding Week “And increasingly, it is clear that breastfeeding is not only the cornerstone of a child’s healthy development; it is also the foundation of a country’s development.”

We need to inform people about the new SDGs and how they relate to breastfeeding and Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF). Read through the infographic to learn more about breasfeeding and the SDGS.
Follow this link too http://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/

Pregnant woman-qualified midwife: The best partnership to reduce preventable deaths

Winfred Ongom

“I remember that young mother who was experiencing obstructed labor and had full bladder at a Health centre II, there was no catheter so we called for an ambulance. Was past 3 hours but no ambulance yet and it was getting late for this young mother. We had to use a breathing set to empty the bladder and later managed to help this girl deliver but the baby had severe asyphxia which was managed and both mother and baby were safe”, narrated sister about one of her best moments as a midwife
Sister Grace is currently a midwife at Kiswa health centre III and loves her job despite the challenges they face as they work. She keeps saying how much a midwifery is a blessed career and they are chosen by God and that explains their motto “Chosen by God”. That got me wondering which kind of challenges they face…

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Pregnant woman-qualified midwife: The best partnership to reduce preventable deaths

“I remember that young mother who was experiencing obstructed labor and had full bladder at a Health centre II, there was no catheter so we called for an ambulance. Was past 3 hours but no ambulance yet and it was getting late for this young mother. We had to use a breathing set to empty the bladder and later managed to help this girl deliver but the baby had severe asyphxia which was managed and both mother and baby were safe”, narrated sister about one of her best moments as a midwife
Sister Grace is currently a midwife at Kiswa health centre III and loves her job despite the challenges they face as they work. She keeps saying how much a midwifery is a blessed career and they are chosen by God and that explains their motto “Chosen by God”. That got me wondering which kind of challenges they face as they work.
She states that generally, midwives are not appreciated, recognized and supported for the work they do. They are instead judged negatively very fast when something goes wrong without assessing what led to a specific problem. She adds that they are trained to manage all situations but it gets really hard if the health facility is not stocked to manage comprehensive emergency newborn care. There are times when a facility doesn’t have mere gloves, or it’s one midwife helping more than 3 mothers in labour at a given time. She stresses that is really tough sometimes but because they have love for their career. “There gets to a point in your career as a midwife where every pregnant woman appears as your sister or mother and you are ready to help her give new life and this baby must survive.
This got me thinking really hard, despite the low pay, under staffing and other problems midwives face as they work, they continue to serve and save mothers like that young girl who almost lost her life or could have got fistula due to obstructed labor. Are the midwives going to go on living life that way? Don’t they deserve better? How about good working conditions, some motivation and support them more?
I think midwives deserve better, they work hard everyday to ensure women and newborns receive the quality care they need before, during and after pregnancy and child birth. We should not forget that the best partnership for a pregnant woman is a qualified midwife, so we should continue supporting and recognizing midwives for a healthier world.

More maternal deaths due to lack of water

“At times we have to spend hours in the long queue together with our clients to access water, so in the end there is no one to serve in the ward or we have to start work a bit late. If we are to start work early, then we have to make it a requirement that for one to be in the ward, they must come with at least a 20 litre Jerrycan of water. I have seen my fellow colleagues here and in other health centers do that, it works but most of these mothers will complain and some opt to go back to their homes because they have no Jerrycan or have no one to help them collect the water, ” said sister Jane (pseudo name).

Everyone is entitled to quality health care especially pregnant women, Sr. Jane too, in her capacity as a midwife is entitled to her rights. Just the lack of access to safe water for use in the health facility may make Sr.Jane give up being a midwife as she can not manage to continuously fetch water from far away for use in the ward or the continuous lack of water in the ward may in one way or another lead to the death of a mother or even her baby.
Searching for water from far, together with the long queues and then come back to the ward to serve pregnant women could be very tedious and worse especially if they are under staffed, if life is to go on that way then retention of midwives may be very hard. And for the case where the pregnant woman is to bring a Jerrycan of water so as to get admitted, the midwife is not sure of how safe the water is and this puts the mother and her newborn baby at a risk of infections which could lead to death. Without clean water and basic sanitation, a woman’s ability to fight infection is compromised.

Uganda has improved access to water but some places have not been reached, today being International World water day and with the theme water and jobs, let us try better access to quality water for better jobs especially in the need to improve maternal and child health.
If we reduce the hindrances in the life of a midwife at work like lack of safe water and having to go search for water to use in the health facility, more midwives will be retained. This would also encourage other people to become midwives other than having midwives give up their professions because they can’t work without water.

Disrespectful maternity care, a detterent to use of skilled health care

Source: Disrespectful maternity care, a detterent to use of skilled health care