The amazing story of Thomas Tiyatara from Mahatshula North
suburb in Bulawayo is, however, a stark demonstration that men should also be
involved in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health practices.
Though his story is little known, it is a story of how
ambulance delays in responding to emergencies can cause one who is not a
medical professional to gather courage and assist in delivery to make
childbirth not life-threatening both for mother and child.
And a delayed referral to a health facility due to unavailability
of transport can cause many women that have maternal complications to die
during childbirth or in transit to referral hospitals.
Tiyatara (38) earned praise from his suburb after helping
his pregnant wife Samukeliso Moyo (21) deliver her baby boy at their home on
Friday (February 4) last week. The baby boy was born healthy and his father
said he was “very calm, and very peaceful”.
Tiyatara said he decided to convert their rented room into
a temporary maternity unit to help his wife who had gone into labour after an
ambulance failed to make it to their home in time.
Investigations by B-Metro established that many women in
labour arrive at health facilities late after attempting home deliveries
because of a severe shortage of ambulances which resulted in the crippling of
health services delivery by urban local authorities with the decline
accelerating during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lack of adequate qualified health professionals is another
factor.
A case in point is that of Bulawayo City Council (BCC)
where ambulance shortages have also made it difficult to transfer especially
difficult cases to referral hospitals such as Mpilo Central Hospital.
According to a recent report, so severe is the problem of
emergency vehicles inclusive of ambulances which have resulted in the closure
of Nkulumane Fire Station.
Recounting his joy Tiyatara said his wife developed labour
pains at around 11PM and he assisted her to deliver the baby at about 1AM.
“When she woke me up at around 11pm saying she was feeling
‘a little bit uncomfortable’, I just thought they were normal pains. I became
scared when the labour pains worsened and that is when I called an ambulance.
It was pretty surreal,” said Tiyatara.
Faced with a determined baby, the couple had to improvise.
“While waiting for an ambulance to arrive I got her into
position using blankets to create a steady surface, like the back seat of a car
while making sure she is as comfortable as possible. While she was writhing in
agony the baby started coming out and I panicked when I saw the baby’s head. I,
however, gathered courage and quickly reached over with my hands and caught the
baby,” said Tiyatara.
He said despite the fact that his wife was in pain she
instructed him not to pull on the baby’s head or body.
“After the baby came, I didn’t cut or pull on the umbilical
cord. I just placed it next to the baby until an ambulance arrived. The
ambulance arrived two hours later to provide assistance and the paramedics took
my wife and the baby to North End Clinic where they received further medical
care,” said Tiyatara.
He adds: “Her delivery was quick, like 30 to 45 minutes and
was followed by “screaming and the familiar cry of the baby”. Samukeliso, who
could not hide her joy, said when she went into labour with her second child at
home, her husband was so scared.
“He just handled the whole thing alone. It was, like, the
most impressive thing I’ve ever seen. I feel loved and honoured and it was a
perfect way to welcome our new baby boy into the world. It was a remarkable
moment indeed,” said Samukeliso. In honour of her husband’s efforts, they
decided to name the baby Thomas Tiyatara Junior.
“The best part of the story is that he decided to name the
baby after him,” she said. The couple is grateful that there were no post-natal
complications that required medical intervention. B Metro
0 comments:
Post a Comment