Cesarean section deliveries save lives The busy Mercy staff continues to deliver babies, through normal deliveries and cesarean deliveries when necessary. Since the operating suite opened in 2018, the hospital has been able to provide life-saving emergency c-section procedures, saving the lives of mothers who are not able to deliver vaginally. The need for cesarean sections can be aggravated by a range of issues such as delays in accessing the appropriate level of care, and transportation delays. Sierra Leone has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world, with 11 mothers dying of pregnancy-related complications for every 1000 live born babies. The ability to perform c-section procedures at Mercy Hospital is a critical element of the global movement to reduce maternal mortality. Simple hernia procedures save the lives of babies and toddlers Two-year-old Saidu's family brought him to the hospital suffering from an inguinal hernia, a condition that Mercy sees very often, possibly due to premature birth. Untreated, inguinal hernia can lead to permanent intestinal damage. Successful surgery was performed on Saidu to correct the hernia. His family couldn't afford to pay for the life-saving procedure for their son, and were grateful for Mercy's excellent care, which was provided for free. Inguinal hernias look like a bulge or swelling in the groin or scrotum, and may be seen more easily when the baby cries. A hernia can develop in the first few months after a baby is born. It happens because of a weakness in the abdominal muscles. To correct the hernia, the surgeon puts the loop of intestine back into the abdominal area and stitches the muscles together.
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The Mercy outreach team identified a toddler with inguinal hernia. Little Saidu was transported to Mercy Hospital where surgery was successfully performed by Lawrence Kargbo, surgical health officer, to correct the condition. Saidu made a full recovery under the care of Mercy staff and was released to his grateful mother. About 3-5% of healthy, full-term babies may be born with an inguinal hernia and one third of infancy and childhood hernias appear in the first 6 months of life. In premature infants, the incidence of inguinal hernia is substantially increased, up to 30%. Children in Sierra Leone and other parts of the developing world may be more prone to conditions like inguinal hernia due to conditions that may be caused by inadequate maternal and infant care. When Fatmata, age 22, came to her appointment at Mercy Hospital's prenatal clinic, she had a very high fever and was vomiting. Diagnosed with severe malaria, she was admitted and treated with anti-malarial injections. By the end of the day, Fatmata was much improved and was released from care. Pregnant women are at high risk of dying from the complications of severe malaria. Malaria may also cause spontaneous abortion, premature delivery, or stillbirth, and is responsible for about one third of preventable low birth weight babies. Shortly after being discharged, Fatmata returned to the hospital in labor and delivered a healthy baby girl. "I especially appreciate the maternity staff for their hard work," Fatmata said. The patient says she chose Mercy because she had attended the hospital's prenatal clinic for her previous pregnancies. Mariatu, age 37, collapsed into unconsciousness and was brought to the hospital by her family, where she was diagnosed with severe anemia caused by malaria. She received a blood transfusion of two whole units and antimalarial drugs. Mariatu made a full recovery and was released. "Words cannot express how happy I am," Mariatu says. "I really appreciate the team work."
Sierra Leone has one of the highest rates of malaria infection in the world. The country's entire population is at risk of the disease and it is one of the leading causes of death and illness. Young children are particularly susceptible to infection, illness and death from malaria, which contributes to close to twenty percent of child mortality. The Ministry of Health and Sanitation has committed to reducing new cases of the disease up to 40 percent by 2020, which will require dedicated action from government, partners, health workers, and communities. |
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April 2024
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