It is amazing what can happen in just 10 day! 

Day 1:  A young, pregnant 14 year old came to CLI Hospital because she was in labor.  She had received any prenatal care during her pregnancy and was diagnosed with multiple diseases after she was admitted to the hospital.  She had only one female family member who acted as her guardian and advocate.  Her guardian was concerned for the health and safety of the baby since the teen mother had threatened to harm the baby after it was born.

It was obvious that she was unhappy to be at the hospital and refused to speak during almost the entire labor and delivery.  Somehow, after hours of difficult and physically exhausting labor she delivered a small but healthy baby girl.  Through God’s grace, this sweet child was born healthy despite the drugs, alcohol and infections it was exposed to prior to its birth.

The mother did not want or try to hold her baby, but we all sighed in relief when she began to breastfeed her with help from the staff and her guardian near the end of the day.

Day 2:  One of the infections this young mother was diagnosed with meant the infant needed treatment multiple times a day for 10 days.  None of us expected the mom to stay past the second day, but somehow she did.  Whether it was the consistent food her guardian brought her, or the clean bed we provided, she stayed.  Not only did she stay, but she also continued to breastfeed the baby every couple of hours.

Day 3:  The little baby girl was doing well and showing no signs of infections so far, but the staff was still hesitant to leave her alone with her mother.  Whenever the guardian had to leave the Maternity Unit, the little one would be bundled up and placed in a bassinet at the nurses station until the guardian returned.  The mom continued to feed the baby but interacted very little with the staff.

Day 4:  At this point, our Hospital Chaplain and anesthetist began to visit the mother twice a day, in the mornings and afternoons.  He would mostly ask about her life before getting pregnant and just listen. The nurses would also spend a lot of time with the mom and her guardian, making an extra effort to spend time during their shift with both of them outside of routine patient care. Jared would spend additional time talking with the young mother about her baby and began praying with her daily.

Day 5:  We learned a lot about this young mother over the coming days, mostly the hardship she experienced and the events leading to her pregnancy.  She herself is an orphan and was living with extended family when she was sent away to live with another part of the family almost a year ago.  When she was sent away, a friend introduced her to a man who offered to marry her since she needed a home.

She married that man and stayed with him for a month until he also sent her away.  She found a friend that let her move in. By this point she was pregnant with her husband’s child. She decided at this point to give up trying to live right.  She began to abuse her own body with drugs, alcohol and sex.  It was not until a few weeks before she delivered the baby that her guardian took her into her home and off the street.

Day 6:  This tragic story gave everyone new insight into her pain and emotional instability.  Most of all, it gave our chaplain the opportunity to share the story of Christ and His unfailing love.  The love that will not abandon or send you away, ever!  Later that day, one of the nurses found her on the hospital bed reading the Bible.

Day 7:  Healing is a miraculous thing and it is easy to overlook the power of emotional healing.  That morning, the overnight nurse told me she saw the young mother holding the baby and smiling at her.  That day we learned that she finally named her baby girl.

Day 8-10: These 3 days all looked similar as the hospital chaplain spent time in the morning and afternoons offering emotional and spiritual counseling.  Each day we watched in awe as she held her baby, spoke to the staff and her guardian respectfully and continued to read the Bible.  Each day the baby stayed healthy and gained weight.

Day 11:  We had been prepared for this vulnerable and unstable teenager to bolt from the hospital soon after the baby was born, but instead we saw a lonely and scared girl slowly learn to trust those around her again. We watched the transforming power of Christ give healing to her spirit and protection for her precious daughter.  Most of all, we felt assured of the brighter future for these two new creations, mother and daughter.

We scheduled her to return 3 days later for a follow up evaluation and she came with a smile on her face.  Truly we praise God for the gift of this pair and the blessing it was watching His power transform a broken child into a loving mother.

Pictures of the infant that we wrote about in our post. She and mom came for their post-natal checks and both are doing great!

Clinic team transporting a critically sick patient to a referral hospital about 30 min away.

Examining a sick girl with Malaria one day in clinic. She was pretty scared and not as cooperative. In the U.S, I almost never wore a white coat because it would sometimes scare the children. It is a little more difficult here when many children have never seen an “azungu” or white person.

Jenny performing an ultrasound on a pregnant women in Antenatal clinic.

Yohanne, our nurse anethetist at CLI, leading a devotional for the patients and their families before clinic begins.