A Baby’s First Breath
One in ten babies born, worldwide, struggle to take their first breath. The first minute of a baby’s life is crucial to their survival. The Helping Babies Breath workshop trains mid-wives, nurses and doctors to recognize this key moment as the “Golden Minute”. Within the challenges of the Liberian healthcare system, and the difficult context of life in the bush, this 1 in 10 statistic is likely low. Liberia has one of the highest maternal death rates. One NGO states that “roughly 1 in 28 Liberian women die in the weeks before, during, or after childbirth.”
A Baby’s First Contact
In most nations, the first hands that receive a baby as it emerges from a life in the womb to a life in the world are that of a doctor in a fully equipped and staffed hospital. In the interior of Liberia, defined as most anywhere outside of the capital of Monrovia, it is the Midwife’s hands that first hold new life.
These midwives come from a variety of economic, tribal, and educational backgrounds. Despite these different backgrounds, these midwives serve on the front lines, sometimes as the only hope a mother and their pre-born baby have. These midwives also share the desire to deliver healthy babies and to send them home with healthy mothers. To this end, a minority train at some of the few universities in Liberia that offer medical training. Even more are traditional midwives (TM) who have delivered many babies in villages throughout the bush. These TM receive periodic training from local clinics, NGOs and faith based ministries. This is where ministries such as ours can help “buttress”, as we say here, the existing system.
Edina, Grand Bassa County, Liberia.
Helping Midwives Help Babies Breathe
The Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) workshop is an internationally known training program. They emphasize providing health caregivers the proper equipment, the proper training, and the proper practice for the critical care of a baby’s first minute.
Along with the emphases from HBB, our ministry provides an emphasis on the biblical worldview. One emphasis is on the value of life “…children are an heritage of the LORD” (Psalm 127:3), both mother and child are created in God’s image, “fearfully and wonderfully made”, and with God-given intrinsic value. They are deserving of life, care, and compassion (Genesis 1:27, Psalm 8:4-5). God calls us to value and protect life (Exodus 20:13, Proverbs 24:11-12). Our encouragement to our midwives was to look to the example of the midwives in Exodus chapter 1. The Hebrew midwives were ordered by Pharaoh to kill all the male children. Those midwives faced the wrath of Pharaoh and rather than follow him, they feared God. Thus God dealt well with them, and the people multiplied.
One Tree Can’t Make A Forest
We are grateful for those who helped us… to help these midwives! Linda Whitener and her husband Michael (the photographer), traveled to Liberia to first train and certify our team. After this certification, our team then put on two workshops in Grand Bassa County, Liberia. Others helped as well. We received medical supplies from a ministry in N.C., Crossing All Borders, as well as food and a place to train for our Buchanan workshop from the Liberian NGO, BESTWA.
We are also grateful for you… your support and prayers make a big difference in the lives of these midwives, and the the mothers and babies in their care. Through your partnership you have helped the 1 baby in 10 to take their first breath. The first of many breaths of future classmates, siblings, mothers, fathers, doctors, business people… and midwives! Please continue to “buttress” these workshops, and others like them, in your prayers. To donate please go here. Thank you!
