Hebrew Women Phenomenon

This was supposed to be a post for last year but hey, my people say Taa bu gboo- Today is still a good time as any. So, here we go. Enjoy.

 

Rant alert!!!

I am vexing and I want to vent my vex but before I do let me share a fun fact;

MMR(NIGERIA, 2015)-814/100,000 (WHO REPORT)

Wondering what that gibberish means? That is the maternal mortality rate (MMR) for Nigeria for the year 2015. It basically means that in 100,000 live births, we are sure to have 814 women die from issues ranging from poorly managed complications to self-inflicted complications. And you see, numbers like this are way too much by world standards. 814 women should not die giving birth. It is heart breaking. Simple. And we must bring this number down to the barest minimum.

You see, I keep talking about the self inflicted complications but people don’t seem to understand where I am coming from. My focus in this rant is on one major contributing factor to this number I have mentioned- I MUST “BORN” LIKE HEBREW WOMEN or what I call the HEBREW WOMEN PHENOMENON.

What does this phenomenon connote? Hm. I will start with a story. You see, while I was interning in one of the teaching hospitals in South eastern Nigeria, I came across all sorts of very funny characters- patients and health professionals alike but some patients do take the cake.

Nkiru(not real name) was one of such funny individuals. You see, Nkiru has been married for about half a decade without a child. Now, in this part of the world where I lived, it was unheard of that her husband has not married a son-giving woman since the second year of that marriage but Nkiru’s husband, Stanley(not real name) stuck by her and supported her through the many ordeals she went through. This led them to a new generation church and by some stroke of fate, Nkiru fell pregnant eventually. I don’t know if she was paying attention during her ante natal classes but the Man of God in her church had impressed it on them that certain things were a no no for ‘children of God’ who were to give birth. Things like Caesarean Section, any form of assistance during childbirth. Apparently, something to look forward to was delivering like “Hebrew women” which meant, delivering without any form of medical assistance or intervention.

Well, Nkiru was having this ‘miracle’ baby boy and on her delivery date I was on call in the blood bank. Baby was presenting with his buttocks instead of his head which requires medical intervention-CS. It was suggested to her but guess what? She staunchly refused. The God of XYZ will not let the devil succeed in robbing her of the chance to deliver like Hebrew women. By the time I got involved, she had had a bad tear in her uterus and the baby was distressed. Stanley had eventually signed consent for an emergency CS. Well, I did my job which was to get blood across to the theatre and the surgery was done. Baby was born but Nkiru lost her womb in the process. Thank goodness she did not die. It would have been tragic and would have affected our MMR.

 

Lesson? I always tell whoever cares to listen that delivery a la Hebrew Women is just making sure that both mother and baby come out of the delivery room with little or no complications or death on either side. Apparently, religious houses and some unscrupulous elements think medical intervention during delivery is a taboo. Jesus, take the wheel!!!

I advise strongly that every time your pregnancy test reads positive, after congratulating yourself or got over the shock, kindly find yourself in the nearest good hospital and register for proper antenatal care. Prayers are good but in all getting, get wisdom and apply accordingly.

Never say I didn’t do something nice for you...

- Your Friendly Health Worker.