Safer Childbirth Through Healthcare Training

On 28^th May 2017, around 9:30 in the evening, a young man in his early twenties came to the duty station for PHASE health staff in Kashigaun VDC. He looked very concerned and informed the staff that his wife has been in labour for the past couple of hours. PHASE staff immediately went to this home carrying their safe delivery kit.

The woman was a 19-year-old called Maya. This was her first pregnancy. They checked her vital signs and abdominal palpation and everything was normal. Two hours later they checked again and found her cervix was fully dilated. Maya’s contractions were good, but there was still no sign of the baby. The staff assumed the baby was going to be big and encouraged Maya to push with the contractions.

At around 2:00am, the baby’s head was visible, but the baby was stuck at the pelvic brim. The staff knew how to handle a complicated case such as this, because they had attended a skilled birth attendant training session organised by PHASE and supported by GP volunteers. They followed the shoulder dystocia procedure and were able to deliver a baby girl, weighing in at 8.1lbs. The baby did not cry for three minutes, however after applying suction, the baby cried and was given to her grandmother.  Maya had a 3^rddegree perineal tear which was stitched by the health workers.

Before leaving Maya the staff informed her about danger signs to look out for, gave information about breastfeeding and gave her antibiotics, iron and vitamins.

It was a complicated case, but because of the skilled birth attendance training, the staff were confident and successful in ensuring a safe delivery. Both Maya and her daughter are now doing well.