How teen mum survived 40km hunt for hospital

Amid the cooing of doves and chirping of weaver birds, five-day-old baby Bobe* (not real name) stares blankly at the ceiling, unaware of the pain and anguish his underage mother underwent to bring him to this world.

The teen mum is happy that it all ended with the cry of a newborn baby boy echoing through the halls of the Good Samaritan Catholic Mission Hospital in Tangulbei, Pokot East.

Baby Bobe's tiny fingers twitch, perhaps in contentment and the comfort of the hospital bed. 

He is among the lucky few to survive the unforgiving terrain of Tiaty subcounty in Baringo county.

Bobe's mother Jane* bore him at the Good Samaritan Catholic Mission Hospital in Tangulbei, Pokot East, and believes his arrival in the world was nothing short of a miracle.

Jane looks every inch a teenager, perhaps 16 years of age (no birth records are available to determine her actual age).

She developed labour pains deep in Lilonyek village, Laikipia county, in the dead of the night on April 11.

Young, inexperienced and in excruciating pain, Jane sought help from her mother, who was also heavily laden with her seventh child.

Jane had to bear the blinding pain throughout the night as her mother ran round the village in inky darkness, trying to get the local midwife.

Unfortunately, she was unavailable.

The village's traditional midwives could also not assist Jane in delivering the baby. 

Time was ticking, and the whole family was expecting the worst.

Winfred Muendo, a doctor who later helped Jane deliver at the hospital, explains that the baby was too big to exit the mother's cervix.

This is a condition known as fetal macrosomia, which can cause a baby to become wedged in the birth canal.

In most cases, a C-section is required to deliver the baby safely.

JOURNEY TO HOSPITAL

Poverty-stricken and without a health facility in the vicinity, Jane was staring at death.

"I was sure my baby and I were going to die. I was at the end of my wits. To exacerbate the situation, the pain was so intense that I was sweating, crying and screaming at the same time," she recalls tearfully.

The nearest health facility was more than 40km away, and the trip would cost Sh5,000, an amount the poverty-stricken family could not dream of raising.

A second night of agony ensued, finding Jane screaming herself hoarse in the grip of labour pains.

As the hours passed and the pain intensified, her mother started wailing in a desperate attempt at attracting help from her neighbours.

"It felt like the darkness itself was closing in on us," she recalls, her voice tinged with the memory of that fateful night.

"The pain was unbearable, and with each passing moment, it seemed as though hope was slipping away."

But just when all seemed lost, a glimmer of hope emerged on the horizon.

Through sheer determination and unwavering faith, Jane's family managed to secure a means of transportation — a Toyota Probox saloon car — to undertake the treacherous journey to the Good Samaritan Catholic Mission Hospital, more than 40km away in Tangulbei.

Trouble was, would the family raise the required amount? Yes, they did. The mother had to sell her only ram to pay for the transportation costs.

Their journey was fraught with danger at every turn.

Impassable roads, lurking armed bandits and the ever-present threat of cattle rustlers loomed large as they navigated through the unforgiving terrain to make it Tiaty subcounty, Baringo county.

Fuelled by a mother's love and the indomitable spirit of survival, they pressed on.

"It was as though the very forces of nature conspired against us," Jane recounts, her eyes glistening with tears. "But we had come too far to turn back now. We had to keep going, for the sake of my baby."

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of hardship and uncertainty, they arrived at the doors of the hospital on April 14.

Under the skilled hands of doctor Winfred Muendo, Jane underwent a successful Caesarean section operation, bringing forth her bouncing baby boy into the embrace of the waiting world.

For Jane and her family, the journey may have been long and arduous, but the destination was nothing short of miraculous.

And as they look upon their newborn son, cradled in the warmth of the hospital bed, they know they have been blessed with a gift beyond measure — the gift of life, against all odds.

STOLEN DREAMS

While her family declined to disclose the circumstances leading to her pregnancy, the story of Jane is not unique among the people of Tangulbei and surrounding areas in Baringo county. 

Often, girls fall pregnant and are married off under the age of 15 years.

The scarcity of medical facilities means any complications during delivery, which is often done at home, could be fatal.

“Early marriages in this area is a story that begins with whispers in the shadows, hushed conversations behind closed doors and the tender dreams of young girls who find themselves thrust into adulthood before their time,” says Fr Timothy Mutie of Holy Ghost Fathers.

Besides offering spiritual nourishment to the parishioners, the church manages the mission hospital, a vocational training centre and several schools in Tangulbei.

“In this area, where poverty and tradition intertwine, the cycle of teenage pregnancies and early marriages is all too familiar,” Mutie says.

“For girls as young as 13, their innocence is shattered as they become wives and mothers long before they are ready.”

Dr Muendo said the effects of early marriages and female genital mutilation, which are common practices in the area, are profound and far-reaching.

“Medically, these young mothers face a myriad of risks and complications, from prenatal health issues to the dangers of childbirth itself,” she says.

Records show that deliveries at the hospital have been on an upward trend, with at least two babies delivered per day. However, cases of complications with home deliveries are still rampant.

Muendo says more needs to be done through outreach and community sensitisation to ensure all children are delivered in a medical facility.

“The young mothers face various consequences, which are devastating because they are stigmatised by their communities and ostracised by their peers,” she says.

"These young girls are robbed of their childhoods and forced to bear the weight of adulthood on their fragile shoulders. They are denied the opportunity to pursue their dreams, to receive an education and to build a future of their own choosing."

Without access to proper medical care or trained healthcare professionals, they are left to navigate the treacherous waters of childbirth alone.

"In the dimly lit rooms of their homes, surrounded by the whispers of worried family members and the lingering scent of fear, they endure the agonising pain of labour without the assurance of a safe outcome," she says.

For most teen mothers, childbirth is a solemn testament to the harsh realities of life in a world that often forgets the innocence of youth.

But as Jane's experience shows, it is also a story of resilience and hope, of young girls who refuse to be defined by their circumstances and who dare to dream of a better tomorrow, for themselves and for their children.