Ethiopia Gebeyanesh and Mihret – the unlikely survivors
Nobody in the community had hoped that these premature and underweight newborn baby girls Gebeyanesh and Mihret, would survive. Not even their mother, who usually doesn’t give up hope on her children.
Nevertheless the twins defy the anticipation of the local community in Dokatu Kebele, Konso district, some 600km south of Addis Ababa. They survived all the odds, and now, they are strong and healthy three months old twins.
“I haven’t hoped that they will be normal children,” says their father Muhammed Lema, 25, staring at the roof of his home that he shares with his grandmother. “It is a miracle; I thank the doctors and nurses at Karat District Hospital.”
Neither did their mother, Nardos Wolde, 18, hope they will survive after looking at them. “They were very tinny; they were not able to breathe properly; I haven’t thought they will survive and grow healthy,” she says, with a blushing on her face. “Thanks to the medical team at the hospital they survived and now I have these very healthy twin daughters.”
Amina Ababulka, more than 80 years old woman, the great grandmother of the twin survivors, has never witnessed such kind of infant surviving stories in her very long years of life. “I have seen many infants, premature and underweight newborns but I have never seen so tiny and weak like them. I didn’t hope they will survive and grow, but thanks to Allah and the hospital staff they have now became very strong, healthy and beautiful children.”
When Nardos get pregnant everything was normal. She used to go to the nearby Karate health center as she has attended awareness creation lessons on mothers and children. She used to go to the health center every other month and they used to examine and give her some medication. On her last checkup they told her to come to the health center when she finishes her 8th month.
“But before I finished the 8th month my labour suddenly came and we called an ambulance,” Nardos recalls. “I gave birth to one of the baby girls in the ambulance on my way to the health center.” Nardos never thought she will give birth for twins. She gave birth to the other child immediately after she reached at the health center.
In addition to being born premature both the newborn infants were underweight. Gebeyanesh the first born was 1.2kg while Mihret, the later was 1.3kg. They had developed sepsis, a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection. Gebeyanesh was struggling to breathe and they both looked very weak.
The health worker at the health center referred them to Karat District Hospital. “Immediately after we reached at the hospital premises, nurses took the babies to a special room [Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU)] where special care and treatment is given to premature, underweight and newborns born with complications. They gave me a bed to rest and told me to relax,” Nardos says.
Gebeyanesh and Mihret stayed in the NICU eight and four days respectively. In the NICU, close follow up and treatment has been given for both of them by Karat District Hospital project staff and by NICU ward nurses. They showed improvements after the treatments in the NICU and started breastfeeding.
Save the Children in Ethiopia through funds from Save the Children Italy and Fiorentina Football Club has contributed in the construction of Karat Primary Hospital amounting 29% of the total construction cost of the hospital. Save the Children also provided the necessary medical equipment and medical supplies, including X-ray and Ultrasound machines, laboratory equipment, different warmers, heaters and equipment for the NICU, beds for mothers and children, ambulances and generator among others. Save the Children also provide the hospital with medical supplies and life-saving high-nutrient peanut pastes for children treated with malnutrition.
After the hospital became operational, Save the Children under a project “Strengthening Capacity and Improving Quality of Care in Karat Primary Hospital of Segen Area Peoples Zone in Southern Ethiopia” is supporting the hospital by providing different trainings to staff so as to able them deliver better services to the public, particularly to mothers, newborns and children.
