Reflections on Mary Help of the Sick Mission Hospital Visit
“Birth is not only about making babies. Birth is about making mothers--strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength.”
― Barbara Katz Rothman
This summer I was given the opportunity to travel to Nairobi, Kenya to visit a friend interning with IBM Research Africa. As I prepared for the trip I outlined the places to see and things to do while in Kenya. At the top of my priority list was visiting Mary Help of the Sick Mission Hospital (MHSMH). The hospital located about 45 minutes outside of Nairobi serves pregnant women in and around Thika. The hospital was built in the 1960’s with a large donation from Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. As a Soror, visiting the hospital was my must do activity of the entire visit.
On a sunny yet mild day two weeks ago my host and I arrived at the hospital for a tour. Sister Daisy, who assists in operating the facility, was summoned to give us the tour or the grounds and facilities. There are four buildings which include a separate wing for the care of sick infants and a large courtyard. The facilities include a lab, pharmacy, radiology department, kitchen and laundry. The staff includes three Nuns who are also nurses, two senior doctors, several junior doctors and birth room assistants.
The hospital is designed to service around 90 mothers at a time according to Sister Daisy. We were able to meet and greet the mothers on both the general and surgical wards as well as two mothers in the sick care nursery who were taking their babies homes that day*. The atmosphere in those wards was quite lively. However as you can imagine the mood in the labor and delivery ward was much more subdued. At MHSMH all the laboring moms share one large delivery room monitored by one or more birth assistants. The women labor together unless an emergency occurs which requires that the mother be taken to the surgical theater where they would be cared for by one of the hospital’s senior physicians.
At the end of our visit as we conversed over tea and toast with Sister Daisy, she noted that the hospital needs an Ambulance. Currently, laboring mothers have to find their own transportation to the hospital even in case of emergency.
As we drove away from the gates of (MHSMH) I thought to myself that the hospital’s inception and operation are a great and mighty work. Helping mothers to deliver healthy and safe babies is a mission that we all should support. Delta can continue to assist in raising the quality of fetal and maternal health by supporting the hospitals efforts to provide quality, affordable and accessible maternity care.
Supporting birth experiences that enable mothers to focus on recognizing their own capabilities, competencies and tapping into their inner strength instead of worrying about the availability or adequacy of their medical care is the best gift we can give. It is a gift of love!
* Mothers and babies were gifted clothing items collected for the patients while visited with them.
