Bultu first visited our Maternity Worldwide maternal health clinic in Homa, Ethiopia two years ago when she was 34 weeks pregnant.
She lives a 2 hour walk away but made the difficult journey to the clinic to ensure everything was ok with her pregnancy as she had been told about the clinic by other women in her village. Staff at the clinic had been trained by Maternity Worldwide to identify which mothers face the highest risks when they deliver their babies. As this was Bultu’s 5th pregnancy she was advised to give birth at the clinic as she was at higher risk of heavy bleeding following the birth (a major cause of death in mothers in developing countries).
Bultu returned to the clinic when she was 41 weeks pregnant but it was discovered her waters had broken the week before. A trained nurse carried out an ultrasound and found there was no fluid around the baby. Bultu was taken to the nearest hospital where an emergency caesarian was carried out as both Bultu’s and the baby’s life were at risk. Thankfully Bultu gave birth to a healthy boy, Elsay, weighing 3.7kg. After a stay in hospital to recover they were both allowed to go home.
Fast forward 2 years and on a recent visit to Ethiopia to carry out a needs assessment for an expansion of our programme work our Trustee, Mary Russell, and volunteer Katherine Lattey, visited Bultu and met her gorgeous 2 year old boy, Elsay. Bultu is now part of a women’s group in her community and actively encourages all pregnant women in her village to attend the clinic in Homa for antenatal care and also when it is time for them to have their baby. Bultu was excited about a waiting home being built in Homa and said this was a great idea to help women to give birth safely.
You can read the full story about Bultu’s delivery here.
