| Business |
To Stephanie's mum
By GESA DININGUP
It was Friday 14 January 2005.
The sun has just risen above mount Ibapdiming promising another
hot day.
The kids who were up early came running to tell my wife to visit
the woman in the next house who had developed an abdominal pain.
My wife went across and found out that she was actually in labour.
I woke up late after a lengthy men's story telling session the
previous night. My wife informed me about the woman and suggested
that I examine her.
I am a nurse by profession but was on a study break at that time.
After examining the woman, I told my wife and Butopmeng, our
village birth attendant (VBA) that it would take some more hours
before she delivers.
I also found out that she developed labour pains several days ago
and had lost a large amount of blood over the days.
"How can they decide not to go Angau Hospital for delivery" I said
to myself.
The VBA continued the usual process of delivery care.
Around 2pm I was called to assist my wife and the VBA because the
woman was about to deliver. Three of us managed to deliver a
healthy baby girl who was later named Stephanie.
But I was still not satisfied because the mother had lost an
excessive amount of blood. My confidence was shaken. However, I
said a silent prayer that nothing worse would happen. She asked
for food, so a plate of her favourite taro and aibika was offered
to her. She then drank a full and a half-cup of tea. I asked
whether she felt okay and she said she felt fine and wanted to
rest.
I went back home to take a nap to relax my painful back only to be
woken shortly after by my wife.
"Come quickly, she's gasping for air," she said with a worried
look on her face.
I knew straight away that this meant trouble. I ran to the woman
to assess her condition, than ran to the aidpost, which is about a
kilometer from the village. The community health worker had taken
her sick daughter to the hospital so I got the keys from the
hausik komiti (aidpost caretaker), quickly grabbed whatever I
could from the aidpost to save the woman.
I ran all the way back to the village, arriving exhausted and set
to work to put up the intravenous infusion, By then, the woman was
already in shock and in severe respiratory distress. Before I
could put up a drip, she collapsed in my arms and died. I cried
within myself, "Father, how could you allow such to happen". My
limbs became numb, I was confused because I was not prepared to
handle such a situation.
With tears in my eyes, I laid her down and quietly left the room
only to find the husband and three children waiting outside the
house.
Anxious looks on their faces revealed that they were expecting a
miracle from me.
I felt like the worst sinner. I managed to hold back my tears and
walked past them to my house.
My wife and the VBA came out later and told them that they had
lost the dearest person in their lives.
This is not a nice story to retell, it's like reliving a terrible
nightmare.
But this is one of the many cases happening in many rural and
remote areas of our country every day.
I tend to feel that it was my fault. But I wish everyone had the
same feeling when a mother dies through childbirth difficulties,
that it is everyone's fault.
Whether you are a councilor, a village elder, a husband, a son or
a daughter, we must make it our business to encourage pregnant
women to delivery at a health facility.
Lack of family care and community support often leads to maternal
and infant deaths.
Many of our mothers and sisters pay dearly through the
childbearing process so we must make it as everyone's business to
encourage women to attend antenatal clinics and deliver at a
health facility.
Community efforts must be made to send someone in need to hospital
or a health center.
Stephanie was adopted by a caring family but she'll never
experience the biological bond that exists between a mother and
child.
I don't want to imagine the pain she will feel when the time comes
for her to be told that her mum died while giving her life. I hope
I will not be the one to tell her.
I wish to dedicate this story to Stephanie's mother, Kumeng, and
to countless other women who have endured great pain to give birth
and lost their lives because medical assistance was denied through
ignorance or unavailability of such assistance.
We remember you on Mothers Day on Sunday.
 
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