By MANGA BENGI and PETER KORUGL
Thirty-eight long years and mothers continue to die from childbirth complications in rural areas of Papua New Guinea. Their ordeal was highlighted recently by a young mother who could have died if help had not gone to her in the nick of time. The young mother from the remote Jimi District of Jiwaka Province has miraculously survived a life-threatening situation following the delivery of her newborn baby. Here is rescue operations as a result of different partners working together to improve and sustain health service delivery into rural areas of the country. Susan Moses, aged 28, from Togban village in the Lower Jimi area had retained placenta after giving birth to her fifth child at 3.30am on Sunday, May 20, 2012.
The nurse-in-charge of Togban Health Centre Allan Karu attended to her immediately and tried to remove the placenta by following all protocols of O&G (obstetrics and gynaecology) management procedure but without success. He then called Mt Hagen General Hospital for immediate help, using the closed user group (CUG) digicel mobile phone, powered by solar energy. With quick response from third level airline, MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) which diverted a flight from Goroka to Mt Hagen, the young mother was airlifted to Mt Hagen on Wednesday afternoon and admitted to Mt Hagen Hospital where she is now recovering. “She was losing a lot of blood and was fast becoming weak. I was worried that if she remained in the same condition for an extended period of time, she may lose her life,” Mr Karu said.
Mt Hagen Hospital’s acting director Medical Services Dr Guapo Kiagi was in constant contact with Mr Karu, advising him on what to do in such a situation, through the health services CUG mobile communication while he and acting director Public Health Philip Talpa organised for possible medivac as the road to the area was impassable by vehicles. On Monday morning, with the approval of the WHPHA Chief Executive Officer Dr James Kintwa, Mr Talpa and Dr Kiagi sought assistance from helicopter companies to medivac the woman to Mt Hagen but without success as all helicopters had been hired out. With not much hope of getting her out quickly, Mr Karu was advised to organise for the woman to be carried on a stretcher to as far as they could go where a vehicle might meet them on the way. A WHPHA vehicle sent to Togban had to return half way due to the bad conditions in the Jimi District.
The vehicle arrived at Kwima Aidpost, a six-hour walk from Togban and stayed overnight. The patient was weak and still losing blood but an IV fluid that she was put on helped her and the next day they had to walk for another six- seven hours before catching a vehicle to the nearest airstrip at Koinambe where they slept again before catching the flight to Mt Hagen. Mr Karu said an additional IV fluid he found at Kwima Aidpost added more hope for the patient’s survival and he was pleased that at Koinambe, with the help of this fluid, she managed to eat some noodles and opened her eyes and talked and smiled. Mr Karu’s wife Jacklyn who is also a nurse at Togban Health Centre helped administer the fluids.
Thirty-eight long years and mothers continue to die from childbirth complications in rural areas of Papua New Guinea. Their ordeal was highlighted recently by a young mother who could have died if help had not gone to her in the nick of time. The young mother from the remote Jimi District of Jiwaka Province has miraculously survived a life-threatening situation following the delivery of her newborn baby. Here is rescue operations as a result of different partners working together to improve and sustain health service delivery into rural areas of the country. Susan Moses, aged 28, from Togban village in the Lower Jimi area had retained placenta after giving birth to her fifth child at 3.30am on Sunday, May 20, 2012.
The nurse-in-charge of Togban Health Centre Allan Karu attended to her immediately and tried to remove the placenta by following all protocols of O&G (obstetrics and gynaecology) management procedure but without success. He then called Mt Hagen General Hospital for immediate help, using the closed user group (CUG) digicel mobile phone, powered by solar energy. With quick response from third level airline, MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) which diverted a flight from Goroka to Mt Hagen, the young mother was airlifted to Mt Hagen on Wednesday afternoon and admitted to Mt Hagen Hospital where she is now recovering. “She was losing a lot of blood and was fast becoming weak. I was worried that if she remained in the same condition for an extended period of time, she may lose her life,” Mr Karu said.
Mt Hagen Hospital’s acting director Medical Services Dr Guapo Kiagi was in constant contact with Mr Karu, advising him on what to do in such a situation, through the health services CUG mobile communication while he and acting director Public Health Philip Talpa organised for possible medivac as the road to the area was impassable by vehicles. On Monday morning, with the approval of the WHPHA Chief Executive Officer Dr James Kintwa, Mr Talpa and Dr Kiagi sought assistance from helicopter companies to medivac the woman to Mt Hagen but without success as all helicopters had been hired out. With not much hope of getting her out quickly, Mr Karu was advised to organise for the woman to be carried on a stretcher to as far as they could go where a vehicle might meet them on the way. A WHPHA vehicle sent to Togban had to return half way due to the bad conditions in the Jimi District.
The vehicle arrived at Kwima Aidpost, a six-hour walk from Togban and stayed overnight. The patient was weak and still losing blood but an IV fluid that she was put on helped her and the next day they had to walk for another six- seven hours before catching a vehicle to the nearest airstrip at Koinambe where they slept again before catching the flight to Mt Hagen. Mr Karu said an additional IV fluid he found at Kwima Aidpost added more hope for the patient’s survival and he was pleased that at Koinambe, with the help of this fluid, she managed to eat some noodles and opened her eyes and talked and smiled. Mr Karu’s wife Jacklyn who is also a nurse at Togban Health Centre helped administer the fluids.
This is the ordeal that is faced by women who give birth to newborn babies. The plight of women is very crucial.
ReplyDeleteDuring this time of election campaign and awareness candidates should also focus their attention to this sort of situation where our mothers, sisters and daughters go through to deliver and also after delivery.
Many unlucky ones do not make it, they succumb to death.
Thank God for those who assisted in one way or another to give life to this 28 years old woman.