Debbi Meslar-Little recently traveled to Malawi, Africa with VIP on a Medical Trip. Her experience working in the Khanda Health Clinic allowed her to see firsthand what women’s healthcare is like in Malawi.
How to begin… So many sights, sounds, and images flooded my senses as we journeyed to our destination on my first trip to Malawi. As a retired midwife, I was hoping for an opportunity to learn about women’s healthcare in a country vastly different from my own.
Fortunately, timing was on my side as I would soon be helping at the newly opened Khanda Health Center (Opened August 2023). Here at Khanda, women could receive family planning services, prenatal care, and give birth if pregnancy was uncomplicated. They could also bring their babies for immunizations and weight checks after birth.
The trip to Khanda helped me appreciate the need for a clinic in this setting as the distance to the hospital is significant with difficult roads and uncertain transportation. Upon my arrival to the clinic I met nurse/midwife Stephen Munyapa, who was to be my teacher and guide over the next few days. At Khanda there are three wards for pregnant women; an antepartum ward (prior to birth), a labor ward, and a postpartum ward (after birth).
Our first morning together was at a prenatal clinic, and while I struggled with a fetoscope (specialty stethoscope for fetal heart rate), Stephen enjoyed using one of the ultrasound dopplers that we brought. The moms-to-be were quiet but their eyes lit up when they heard their baby’s heartbeat aloud.
Stephen practiced with an efficiency born of necessity as he also had two women in labor, one active and the other in early labor. Weights and measurements were duly recorded in his official log book in between checking on the young mothers-to-be. As it became clear that one of the young women in labor was progressing rapidly, I asked Stephen if I could help with the birth.
It was my extraordinary privilege to do so with his guidance. This beautiful young mother birthed her baby with power and grace in the safest environment possible thanks to the vision and commitment of Villages in Partnership. I was, and am, a fortunate witness to the successful beginning of the Khanda Health Center.
To learn more about visiting Malawi yourself, checkout the latest Friendship Trip & Medical Trip dates here.
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