Better Care for the Pregnant Mother
and her
Unborn Child
Salesian Fathers, Leribe, Lesotho, Africa
INTRODUCTION
Jesse Polyclinic in Lesotho, where the Salesian Fathers have been working for many years, provides in-patient, maternal, surgical and out-patient services to the community of Leribe in Lesotho. The laboratory and medical imaging services there are seriously lacking. With the help of misean cara, the Salesian Fathers were able to purchase an Ultrasound Machine for this clinic.
PROJECT SUMMARY:
The area of Leribe is rocky and mountainous, and as a result of
this, travel in the area is not only expensive but also dangerous
and difficult, especially for pregnant women. In view of this, the
Jess Polyclinic hopes to provide a one stop comprehensive medical
service to the poor which will eliminate the ordeal of traveling for
those who are sick. At present it provides voluntary HIV counseling
and testing, free anti-retroviral treatment and free TB treatment.
Recently, there has been a growing problem of pregnancy in HIV
infected women accompanied by many diverse complications. As a
result of having an Ultarsound machine (purchased by the Salesians
with misean cara) the clinic can now provide quality ultrasonic
diagnostic imaging services to pregnant mothers, among others. This
helps to intensify prevention of mother to child HIV transmission,
monitor the growth of the unborn child in-utero and detect any early
congenital or physical effects, as well as detecting early liver and
abdominal complications resulting from HIV disease.
Not only is this a huge benefit to the sick but it also allows
mothers to know the health and sex of their babies and thus to plan
better. It also has another benefit in that it allows the community
in and around Maputsoe where the clinic is situated to get an
accurate diagnosis on their first visit and so saves them having to
travel further.
One patient's story is worth sharing:
"In February 2007 a 41 year old woman known to have a uterine
fibroid was sent for an untrasound. During the preceeding two months
her 'tumour' had been growing very fast and her doctor was worried
incase the 'tumour' had turned malignant. To everyone's delight the
ultrasound showed that she was 20 weeks pregnant. Without the
ultrasound she was going for total removal of her uterus. If this
baby survives to adulthood s/he will definitely come to know s/he
escaped the surgeon's knife from a donation coming from faraway
Ireland!"
CONCLUSION
Having an ultrasound in the Polyclinic has made all the difference. It has increased the clinics ability to diagnose accurately and immediately various illnesses as well as assisting the pregnant mother greatly in the information she has during her pregnancy. The importance of this cannot be underestimated in a place where there is a high rate of HIV/AIDS and because of the towns location, where having to travel while sick only adds to illness. With the help of the ultrasound, the clinic is now a more efficient and more reliable 'one stop' comprehensive medical service.