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It
is too early to have statistics from the Duk Lost Boys Clinic that
demonstrate improvement in survival in terms of Obstetric
work, but data will be available with time. Consider that
until a few months ago, there was no prenatal care or
obstetric care for the women in the region. Also, obstructed
deliveries, post-partum hemorrhage and post-partum
infections went completely untreated. These very treatable
problems were likely lethal to mothers who would deliver in
their grass huts on dirt floors, perhaps with assistance
from a local traditional birth helper. Many of these women
are young mothers, often under 16 years of age, as it is the
tradition that they marry (often into a polygamous setting)
and have children early. Mortality rates will be difficult
to assess because when a baby or a mother dies in this
setting there is no clinic or hospital tracking that
information.
There is a desperate need for funding to hire a
Dinka
nurse midwife. They are relatively inexpensive to hire, but are
invaluable in getting immediate acceptance into the community that
has delivered in their homes until recently. The maternal/child
health (MCH) needs are tremendous. |
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A
girl is more likely to die in childbirth than she is to
finish primary school in southern Sudan today.
- Vanessa Von Schoor
 |
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A baby is born in the Duk Lost Boys Clinic on March 19, 2008. |
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