At the MamaYe Freetown launch, Sowo Lebbie - E4A Sierra Leone’s Advocacy Advisor - tells her story on how she survived childbirth thanks to delivering in a safe clinic.
I survived childbirth because I accessed a safe clinic. When I was pregnant with my third child, I made sure I followed every piece of medical advice and never missed my clinical appointments. I took the tetanus toxoid required; I took my anti-malaria and de-worming drugs and made sure I was on a balanced diet and was well supported by my family.I, along with my husband, carefully put together my birth preparedness plan that included how I was to reach my chosen health facility (which was the Médecins Sans Frontières, Gondama hospital) and what I needed to have packed for my stay in the hospital after I gave birth. In short, we made sure we planned as much as we could, although I was quite conscious of the fact that anything may happen and I would be able to rest at ease only after I had given birth safely.Upon regular antenatal checkups, I received positive feedback. My baby’s heartbeat was great, my blood pressure and blood levels were great and everything else checked out as good. When I got into labour, I was optimistic and quite unafraid, I trusted that everything would work out fine and it was just a matter of going through the process of birthing. I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy who weighed at 4.8kg. Amidst the shouts of elation and celebration as my mother held her grandson, I decided to step down from the delivery bed to join my family when suddenly, everything went dark. Retrospectively I was told I had fainted due to heavy internal bleeding. My mother later on told me that the nurses had quickly rushed to my aid, called an ambulance and referred me to the emergency centre. I faintly remember people rushing around me, prodding and pumping, hanging drips and physically extracting blood clots as they fought to save my life and stabilize my breathing. After a couple of hours, I slowly became conscious, although I still struggled to breathe. The next day, I could not feel my legs and realized I could not walk. Overcome with fear of paralysis, the health staff assured me that I would be fine and that it was temporary, I would walk again. Two days later I was discharged and fairly healthy again.The author - Sowo Lebbie - campaigning for safe clinics for all Sierra Leonean women.In a country where 1 in 21 women in their life time are at risk of not surviving during child birth and 1 out of 3 maternal deaths are caused by major bleeding, I know that I was lucky not only to have survived but also because I had access to a safe clinic that had an effective referral system, good staff, quality drugs, equipments and laboratory services, safe water supply and electricity that increased my chances of survival.I recount my story to make a point that maternal death does not only occur to women in villages, or poorer women, or illiterate women or women with limited access to a clinic. It also happens to women who are more privileged, educated and who take all the necessary drugs with a balanced diet like I did. It comes down to one very important factor, the accessibility to deliver in a safe clinic. One may never know the type of complications that may be encountered during or after delivery. In a safe clinic, however, that complication can be managed with medical care and support thus increasing one’s chances of survival immensely.I remain grateful to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for their wonderful services to save more lives of women and their babies in Sierra Leone. I would not have survived childbirth, if I had not been in a safe clinic like this. This story drives the work I do with MamaYe, I want more women to have access to safe clinics and better yet, make USE of these safe clinics to give birth in dignity and care.