”We are sorry, your wife is dead. It’s due to anesthetics overdose”. Those were the words of the doctor in charge of the Gudele surgical center in Juba to a man who lost his wife in November during child delivery.
Thomas Tombe Kenyi took his wife Julia Samson to the hospital to give birth. But what should have been a joyful experience ended in tragedy.
The child was delivered safely after several hours of labor. So Kenyi was shocked to hear from the doctor and his team that his wife was gone.
Kenyi says the loss of his wife has shattered his life and family. He thinks negligence of the medical staff is the key factor that caused her death.
Thomas Kenyi’s wife is not the only woman to die during child birth. Research from the United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA, says two thousand and fifty four (2,054) women will die in labor out of one hundred thousand live births.
UNFPA is working with the Ministry of Health in the training and deployment of midwives, doctors, and clinicians to help address the severe shortage of health workers across the country.
Regina Peter is a mother of five working for EVE Organization. It is a women-led agency that aims to empower women and address the challenges that hinder women’s progress in South Sudan.
Regina shared her experience on child birth stressing pregnant women face lots of challenges in this country.
‘I’m six months pregnant and I go for antenatal care at Munuki Primary Health care. But they don’t have things like obstetric scan. From my last experience I gave birth through C‚Äìsection because the baby was bridged. This was detected during the scan but currently the Munuki PHCC does not have this scan facility and I don’t know what will happen.’
She added that when complications are detected early enough it could save the life of both the mother and child.
Regina however regrets not going to the health center to give birth to her fifth child. That decision cost the life of her child.
‘Once I had still birth in Khartoum because I gave birth at home and yet the baby was bridged and died in the womb. The doctors had advised me earlier to go to the hospital but I decided to give birth at home which later turned out to be very dangerous to my health and that of my baby. Giving birth at home is not a good practice because it’s very risky and can cost your life and that of the baby.’
Regina has a special message for all the pregnant mothers and the men in the country.
‘My message to women and all the men is to support pregnant women and take them to the hospital to give birth. Husbands should encourage their wives to take their medication when they are pregnant to avoid anomalies in children.’
Modong Margaret Jackson is the acting head of the maternity ward at the Juba Teaching Hospital. She says midwives and other key staff are not enough to handle emergency obstetric cases.
‘The first challenge we received in this ward is few midwives. Secondly the midwives are Traditional Birth Attendants or community midwives and during a shift there is only two midwives available if there are five or more deliveries at the same time, it becomes very difficult for work to run smoothly. In case complications arise it will be very difficult for the two midwives to handle.’
She says some of the complications they receive in the hospital include late arrival of pregnant mothers who may have already injured themselves during labor without the presence of medical professionals.
‘Too much bleeding is also key. For instance, a mother delivered at home and she bled a lot until she had to be rescued by blood transfusion. Mostly people who give birth at home are at risk of over bleeding. By the time the mother is brought to the hospital her blood can no longer sustain her and the mother ends up dying.’
Modong thinks that insecurity in some parts of South Sudan, and long distances to hospitals prevents pregnant women from accessing proper care.
The director of the Juba Teaching Hospital Dr. Isaac Cleto Rial admits that in the past the health sector has faced many challenges. But recently there are lots of improvements compared to before. He says there are now more qualified health professionals in the country.
‘For a couple of years, we have been having bad indicators regarding maternal and child mortalities. Simply because of lack of enough human resources. But now there are qualified midwives and nurses to attend to every pregnant mother. There are lots of improvement in saving lives of mothers and children’s health these days and they know all the danger signs that may arise during delivery.’
The director says the main challenge still facing South Sudan’s health sector are associated with the high illiteracy rate in the country and lack of public health education programs.
‘Always health problems are associated with the level of education. But illiteracy rate is still high in the country and also our people have wrong beliefs that pregnant women can give birth anytime and anywhere if labor strikes. This is very wrong. Yes challenges are there but the MOH has Boma initiative where Key personnel should be around to give the necessary care is the right way to improve these bad indicators.’
Recent data released by the World Health Organization, UNFPA, World Bank and the United Nations shows that even though the maternal mortality rate in South Sudan has decreased from 1000 to 730 per 100,000 live births between 2005 and 2015, it is still one of the highest in the world.
The figure they provide is that just over 14 per cent of child bearing women die during labor.
Reducing the maternal mortality rate in South Sudan is a goal of many NGO’s and UN agencies.
And while things may be improving in city centers, this goal is still far-fetched in many parts of the country.
This story was produced with support from Journalists for Human Rights developing media in South Sudan.