West Darfur woman defies opposition to antenatal care, safely delivers triplets

MORNEI, Sudan – Raising awareness of the importance of maternal health care is the first step toward improving maternal survival. This is what 26-year-old Khadija Abdulla did when she safely gave birth to triplets in the conflict-affected state of West Darfur.

The maternal death rate is high in West Darfur – 232 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the 2010 Sudan Household Survey, though some experts estimate the rate is even higher. Reproductive health services are often inaccessible and, when they are available, many people do not know to seek them out. And some women, like Ms. Abdulla, are encouraged to forgo maternal health care entirely.

Learning about antenatal care

Ms. Abdulla lives in the village of Dersaia, in West Darfur. She is responsible for planting and harvesting crops for her family, and for collecting water for household use – even when she is pregnant. She is also responsible for child care, and these responsibilities have mounted as she has had one child after another.

Her first two children were born at home, with only the assistance of a traditional birth attendant, who lacked the training to manage potential complications.

When Ms. Abdulla was pregnant with her third child, the experience felt different to her, and she grew worried.

She decided to visit the nearest health facility, a hospital in Mornei, some 40 kilometres away. Members of her family discouraged the visit, saying Ms. Abdulla was being overly cautious, but she went ahead, traveling to the hospital by donkey.

The facility – which receives medicines, equipment, training and other support from UNFPA – provided her with antenatal care, which includes counselling on proper nutrition, hygiene and safe delivery.

“I had never heard before of this antenatal care,” Ms. Abdulla said. “For me, delivering by a traditional birth attendant was the best one could get.”

She returned for each of the recommended follow-up visits, and ended up giving birth at home to a healthy baby.

When Ms. Abdulla became pregnant for the fourth time, she again visited the hospital. This time, the doctor realized, she was carrying triplets.

Triple surprise

“After I examined her and told her that she was pregnant with triplets, she gave me a surprised, scared and disbelieving look,” the doctor told UNFPA.

“When the doctor told me this, I just thought he was joking,” Ms. Abdulla said. She was put under special care and was instructed to visit the hospital on a weekly basis.

When she returned to her village, she explained her situation and insisted on giving birth at the hospital.
But her family, especially her mother, opposed this decision. All the women of the village delivered at home, she said.

Ms. Abdulla stood firm. After weeks of regular follow-up visits, she was taken to the hospital to deliver.

Under the care of trained medical staff, she safely gave birth to three healthy babies – two boys and a girl.

Today, she is still in awe of the experience. “I never imagined that a woman could deliver three babies at a time,” she said.