Babies gone too soon: When joy turned into tears

The pain of losing a child in the very place where life is supposed to begin is a heart-wrenching experience. Many mothers carry within them the weight of emptiness and shattered dreams while navigating grief that few can comprehend.

While Kenya’s neonatal mortality rate stands at 22 deaths per 1,000 live births — 21 deaths per 1,000 live births in rural areas and 26 deaths per 1,000 live births in urban areas — it is far below the United Nations’ target of 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030, according to data from the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).

However, the country has been showing great improvement, placing Kenya among the top performers in Africa. The statistics have dropped from 1,007 per 100,000 live births in 2001 and 250 in 2020. Then, childbirth was a dangerous journey for many women in Kenya.

Unicef cited birth asphyxia and trauma (32 per cent), prematurity (25 per cent), and sepsis (16 per cent) as the leading causes of neonatal death in the country. 

The data also indicated that newborns born to mothers with higher education are less likely to die during the first month compared to those born to mothers with no education.

The risk of infant mortality also results from neglect, insufficient staffing and inadequate infrastructure.

The Healthy Nation team spoke to eight women who after the loss of their babies have found themselves grappling with emptiness and purposelessness in life as they call it. 

A majority of them have been unable to sleep, lost appetite and have had consistent headaches.

Here are their stories:

Beatrice Anyango

June 16, 2023 will always ring a bell in her mind. She walked into Sabako Health Center looking forward to welcoming her sixth child. After a couple of tests, the doctor in charge said she was not yet due and released her to go back home. She left as instructed. A few hours later, she showed back at the facility in the company of her husband after persistent abdominal pains.

“I stayed in the waiting line for an hour with no one attending to me. I was then moved to the maternity wing after a medical examination. The doctor who was attending to me changed shifts and left me under the care of another doctor who came in the ward hours later,” she says.

The doctor, she says, did not bother to check on her until she started bleeding but when she raised an alarm, the doctor indicated that she was too old to complain about labour pains and ordered her to stop making noise.

“I felt a sharp pain and screamed. The doctor came and found I was already pushing the baby. I was prepared for the worst. The baby came but instead of crying, he was breathing with difficulty as if his chest was congested,” says the 32-year-old woman.

The doctor would then place the newborn on her chest while warning her to hold him or let him fall on the ground. He later picked up the newborn and placed him on a weighing scale while trying to resuscitate him, but his breathing did not change.

A couple of minutes later, the doctor announced that the baby had died.

“I believe the health facility owes me an apology due to how I was treated. Everything was off from the word go, it felt as if I was a burden,” says Beatrice, adding that she can never wish what she went through even to the worst enemy.

Tony Okeyo

When Tony Okeyo’s wife announced that she was experiencing labour pains on November 17, 2022, the first-time father could not hide his joy.

He quickly made arrangements and moved his wife to Star Hospital, which was the closest. On arrival, he was informed that her blood pressure was high and she had to be referred to another hospital.

They quickly took a motorcycle to Kisumu County Referral Hospital. They were again referred to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital.

On arrival, which was minutes after midnight, she was wheeled into the labour ward. She was bleeding.

She gave birth the next day at 1:30pm. The baby’s temperature was very high, according to the doctor’s records. Even with the concerns, they were discharged and told that breastfeeding the baby would stabilise her temperature.  “While speaking to one of the nurses during discharge, a student doctor approached us and offered to conduct a home visit to check on our baby,” says Tony, adding that the trainee had informed them that she was working on a project on maternal child health.

Back home, his wife kept breastfeeding the baby, but she died the following day in the afternoon.

Tony says a doctor friend told them that the baby had an infection, which was not detected at the health facility.

“I blame the health facility for all that happened. They were in a capacity to diagnose and treat whatever condition my baby had, but all they did was to discharge us with the hope that everything would get back to normal,” wept Tony.

Monica Awino

Monica Odhiambo lost her nine-month-old baby in 2023 after a battle with an unknown medical condition. She diligently attended all her antenatal care visits.

She went into labour on January 3, 2023, two months after her due date of November 10, 2022, making her pregnancy last 11 months. She gave birth through a cesarean section to save the life of the baby whom the doctors said was stressed.

“When my baby was born, he didn’t make any sound and was immediately moved to the nursery. I got to see him after two days,” she said. 

The two-day-old baby could not breastfeed and I had to express milk, which would then be given to the baby using tubes,” she says.

The baby stayed in the nursery for three weeks before they were discharged in late January.

Even after discharge, the baby remained sickly and would be in and out of the hospital with weekly checkups as was the norm for every other child who had been through the nursery unit.

“My baby was always crying. I also noticed he had delayed milestones and could not sit up at the age of eight months. Whenever we went to hospital, my baby would be diagnosed with malaria while on other occasions, the health workers never explained what was ailing the child.”

They had instead advised that the baby should be taken for occupational therapy before he died later the same year at nine months old.

“What pains me to date is the fact that I buried my child without knowing what ailed him. Sometimes I want to believe overstaying in my womb could have been the reason behind her medical challenges but why was I never told?”

Victoria Amisi

Victoria Amisi’s baby succumbed two days after delivery to unknown complications after recording extremely high temperatures.

The doctors, she said, never explained what led to the death of her baby.

 “A nurse who attended to me said my baby died because she could not breastfeed while in another clinic. I was told my baby died due to an infection, which had resulted in the high temperatures,” says Victoria.

To date, the 26-year-old mother of one still remembers the happenings of March 20, 2021, as if it happened yesterday.

She checked into Emusire Sub-county Hospital ready to welcome her bundle of joy. On arrival, she was directed to the maternity ward, where a further medical examination confirmed she was only four centimetres dilated.

She was instructed to walk along the hospital hallway and was ushered into the delivery room seven hours later.

The first-time mother says on that day, there was only one nurse on duty attending to two women at once. “It happened that we were both ready to push at the same time, forcing the nurse to attend to us in turns after every second,” says Victoria.

Luckily, she gave birth to a baby girl who weighed 3.5 kilogrammes. The baby went through a couple of medical examinations before being discharged.

The following day, the doctor administered the baby’s first immunisation and they were later discharged. “When we got home, the baby’s temperatures shot up, leaving us worried. They tried to cool the baby’s body temperatures down using a warm towel but all was in vain.

“We took the baby back to the hospital. The facility told us the laboratory had been closed for the day. We were then advised to buy a painkiller to lower the baby’s temperature.”  They bought and made their way back home.

But his condition worsened. They went to two public health facilities and were informed that the laboratories were not operational at night. They waited till morning, with the baby surviving on painkillers.

The following morning, the baby died a few minutes after she was placed on oxygen.

Maureen Khasandi

Maureen lost her baby minutes after delivery.  She arrived at Kakamega County General Teaching and Referral Hospital at 6am while experiencing labour pains only to be attended to at 7am.

A nurse then approached her with admission forms, which she filled out before being allowed into the labour room. 

She was then given an injection without explaining why it was necessary.

She was then informed that the doctor would be around once she was ready to push. 

The doctor was nowhere to be found. When she was ready, she pushed the baby. 

Before they knew it, she had given birth.

The baby was then moved to the nursery. It was nose bleeding.

A couple of minutes later, the baby died. 

On further interrogation, Maureen was told by one of the nurses that the baby had died due to an injection she had been given while at the maternity ward moments before delivery.

“I believe that delivery should be treated as an emergency, a mother should be treated in a friendly manner to ensure both her and the baby make it alive. I lost my baby because I was left alone,” she wept.

Linda Oyella

When she started having labour pains on December 25, 2023, she hurriedly prepared and left her home in Emabwi for Ipali health centre within Vihiga County.

She opted to travel on a motorcycle because it had rained and it would take time for a vehicle to manoeuvre the terrain. The 26-year-old says upon arrival at the health facility, she was first asked to buy scissors and cotton wool before she could be admitted to the maternity section.

“I was in so much pain and asked if the health worker could attend to me and  then I would pay for the materials once I delivered, but the staff could hear none of it,” says Linda.

Her mother-in-law rushed and purchased the commodities while she stayed behind in the waiting area.

When she arrived, Linda was allowed into the maternity section, but there was yet another challenge.

“We only had one health worker attending to me and two other women at the maternity ward. My mother-in-law called on the health worker to help me when she heard me scream but it was too late. The baby was out,” says Linda.

 “My baby did not make any sound and as the health worker tried to resuscitate him, this did not work. The baby needed oxygen but the oxygen supply at the facility had run out. The administration made an appeal for supplies but within a few minutes, my baby was gone,” cries Linda.

They would later be informed that the baby had died due to stress as a result of delayed delivery.

“Just like that, I lost my baby,” Linda wept.

Margaret Auma

Margaret felt a sharp pain right below her abdomen on August 14, 2023. 

She was rushed to Kisumu County Referral Hospital. During her previous visit to the facility, the health worker had advised that the baby could come any time and she was advised to visit the hospital in case of any discomfort.

At the facility, she was informed that the baby was due and could come anytime. By then, she was three centimetres dilated. She moved to the maternity wing. The following day, although she was still in pain, the 42-year-old was informed that she was only two centimetres dilated.

She, however, remained in bed till the next morning when she was asked to go for an ultrasound to check on the movement of the baby.

“I dragged myself to the ultrasound department and when I came back, I handed over the results to the nurse in charge who said that I would be induced for a faster reaction. 

Five hours later, nothing had happened, there were no drugs to perform the medical procedure. The family bought the drugs from a private facility. Hours after induction, there was no contraction.

She was booked via caesarean section. A couple of medical examinations revealed the baby was not moving. She was placed on oxygen and wheeled to the theatre.

“Unfortunately, my baby was born dead. I later learned that the ultrasound results revealed that the baby had an umbilical cord around her head and neck.

“Had they performed the C-section immediately after the ultrasound, my baby could have survived,” said a teary Margaret.

Immaculate Wamboi

A month ago, a miracle occurred as a new life entered the world, its mother having endured several miscarriages.

At exactly 2pm on a Friday, the cry of a newborn echoed through the corridors of the maternity wing at Mama Lucy Hospital, Nairobi.  But the joy was short-lived.

“After a couple of minutes, the baby went silent, followed by a loud deafening silence in the room; with doctors moving with urgency and tension,” narrates Immaculate.

Immaculate says she sensed that something was wrong. Having given birth normally, she could see everything happening in the room. The doctors were gathered around her baby as they administered chest compressions.

“I could hear one of the doctors instructing his colleagues to administer the compression harder. In all this, no one was talking to me. I was asking questions with no one responding to them. Is my baby okay, I screamed. Yes, she is okay,” responded the doctor in charge.

This was followed by the cry of a distressed newborn after one of the doctors delivered a sharp slap on her back. I was relieved that my baby was okay. The baby’s cry grew stronger and then she went silent. Baby Blessing was gone.

She recalls moments before her delivery that she says led to the death of an angel that she so waited for.

“After all that waiting for a baby, I will never hold her or see her grow. After all the attachment I had with my unborn baby, my bond is just broken like that,” wept Immaculate as we visited her at her home in Kariobangi North.

She says she got to the hospital at 10am when she was already in labour. She kept calling the nurses and no one was attending to her only for them to give her attention when the baby was coming out.

“I guess my baby was tired. Had they attended to me on time, I would be carrying my baby now,” wept Immaculate, adding that every moment I get to see an expectant mother, it reminds me of my child,” she says.

How Kenya can improve maternal and child health

Poor infrastructure in arid and semi-arid counties is a major cause of maternal and neonatal deaths. Last year, for instance, in Marsabit County, Marawato Mifo lost her three-year-old child. An ambulance called from Marsabit Referral Hospital got stuck for three days in the Kambinye area, which is about 50 kilometres from her village, Kargi.

“Although we have done so well in the past with childcare indicators pointing to progress, we need to do more by strengthening our health systems and providing the needed material and human resources for better outcomes for our mothers and children,” said Dr Walter Otieno, a paediatrician based at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital.

 Dr Otieno said the national government and counties should develop efficient referral systems to ensure that newborns requiring specialised care are quickly and safely transferred to appropriate facilities.

“We need to also work on providing transportation support for families in remote areas to access healthcare services promptly. A majority of mothers lose their pregnancy or even get to the hospital when it is very late and the baby is gone,” Dr Otieno said.

Ms Angela Nguku, founder and executive director of White Ribbon Alliance, which focuses on ending maternal mortality and improving the health of mothers and newborns, said she is bothered by the fact that policymakers and those who make resourcing decisions for maternal and newborn health mostly look at health care systems as simply building a health facility. “Strong health systems are composed of so much more than buildings. We need to first take a pause and introspect. Listen to what the users; the mothers and their newborns tell us, and at least and for once hear them out. We need to listen to what the health care workers are telling us too by asking them what they need to be supported with. We need these facilities to be staffed with well-trained and supported health workers and filled with supplies and equipment to deliver high-quality, life-saving care,” said Ms Nguku.

She added: “My call to action is simple: Make maternal and newborn health a major priority and everyone’s business. Otherwise, we will have failed the very mothers, newborns and communities that we purport to care for through the many documents, forums, and processes that we are engaged in on a day-to-day basis.”