Birthing Center
At the SMI birthing center, our medical team provides care leading up to birth, during labor, and even after the child is born! We recently offered checkups and standard immunizations for the babies in our community. The turn out was amazing! Women from the surrounding villages excitedly walked on foot to the center with their babies.
Eve is one of the incredible women that brought her children for checkups. She hoped to deliver her twins at Show Mercy’s birthing center, but complications required her to deliver at a hospital. Like most women in Uganda, Eve had to travel very far to the nearest hospital. She expressed her gratefulness to now have such a close and safe place for her babies to receive medical care.
Fiona is another sweet caretaker that visited the birthing center! Baby Fiora was abandoned by her mother when she was just a newborn. Her father, Fiona’s brother, is unable to care for her and Fiona graciously became her caretaker. She shared that no one in the family holds a job and the father of the child struggles to find consistent income. Medical care at Show Mercy’s birthing center is truly life saving for baby Fiona. The team spent time encouraging her while the baby received care!
Winfred’s Story
MIRACLES are happening at the birthing center! Recently, a woman named Winfred delivered her baby with the support of our medical team. Baby Junior sustained birth asphyxia – a condition where a baby fails to initiate and sustain breathing at birth. This is truly a mother’s worst nightmare.
The team immediately stepped in and initiated a resuscitation protocol, making it possible for the baby to BREATHE! The baby sustained breathing and was given oxygen therapy for two hours after birth. Our team used a pediatric pulse oximeter and oxygen concentrator during this process – all of which was given through generous donors!
Winfred decided to name her baby Junior because he is considered a MIRACLE baby! Had Winfred delivered at another facility, the likelihood of them having the proper tools to save her baby is slim. Covid-19 has caused a huge shortage of oxygen in Uganda, but SMI is blessed to have exactly what is needed in these kinds of situations. During and after labor, our team prayed over Winfred and baby Junior. Winfred expressed how truly grateful she is to not only have a safe medical center like SMI, but to also have a place to receive love and prayer!