Not a Time to Die: A Story of Birth in Uganda
THE HUFFINGTON POST
In a village in the rural Mubende district of Uganda, Annette had a feeling that something was not right with her pregnancy. Like most women in rural Uganda, Annette is a farmer, and works alongside the other wives and mothers in her community to provide food for her family. She made frequent visits for antenatal checkups, feeling more reassured that everything was normal. As with her previous pregnancies, Annette purchased a Maama Kit for 20,000 shillings, about $5 dollars, containing the basic necessities for a clean birth: two plastic sheets, a bar of soap, two sets of gloves, a clamp or cord to tie infant’s umbilical cord, a sterilized razor to cut the cord and a piece of clean cotton wool for the mother’s care. But, when she went into labor in the field behind her mud hut home, she was bleeding heavily.