When birth can mean death

An old rusty black pot sat in the corner of a dark room, its contents slowly seeping from three small holes forming a meandering “stream”, which flowed onto a reed mat. On the mat Agnes Rukawo of Muzarabani, who had just given birth to a baby girl, lay motionless, tired from the five hours of labour.

Events that follow show that Zimbabwe still has a long way in ensuring that women in rural and peri-urban areas have access to sexual and reproductive health facilities. While the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development’s provisions on Health are the least comprehensive and refer to the States SADC Protocol on Health and other regional and international commitments by Member States there are targets set for 2015.

The Gender Protocol calls to on State Parties by 2015 to adopt and implement legislative frameworks, policies, programmes and services to enhance gender sensitive, appropriate and affordable quality health care, in particular, to:
(a) reduce the maternal mortality ratio by 75% by 2015;
(b) develop and implement policies and programmes to address the mental, sexual and reproductive health needs of women and men.

In spite of Zimbabwe signing and ratifying the SADC Gender Protocol, giving birth may mean death in many rural areas.

Her baby had come out legs first something that made her worry as this was considered taboo. A traditional midwife, Mbuya Marvelous Chaita, Rukawo’s mother Matilda and her aunt Rosina clean the baby using the water from the pot.

The women are not wearing latex gloves and are seemingly not worried about it.

`It is their daughter’s blood and above all the unregistered traditional midwife has been given a goat as payment of her work’.

But as they clean the baby, they notice that she is not breathing properly and her short life is slipping away. The nearest clinic is 20 kilometres away and getting transport there is difficult given the bad conditions of the roads.

The Hoya River Bridge nearby collapsed in 2010 and has not been repaired since. Motorists are shunning the route. The only means to the clinic is by using an ox-drawn cart but the journey might take longer if the situation they are in is anything to go by.

The family members scatter in the village looking for a cart to hire. In the moments to follow, the baby dies and screams of anguish are heard.

“This is bad news. I have never witnessed such an incident in my 32 years of traditional midwifery. My hands helped half of the women in this village give birth and nothing went wrong,” says the 78-year-old Mbuya Chaita as she stretched out her wrinkled hands.
Source: AllAfrica.com