A fascinating morning, spent at the Bwaila Maternity Hospital. This is the main hospital for Lilongwe and the surrounding area; servings population of around four million people. Fifty to sixty babies are born there every day......quite a difference from the Mid-Argyll Hospital.....more like a hospital serving most of Scotland!
Our first visit was to the ward for premature babies, where we found around forty tiny cots and a few incubators. These were for the smallest babies. One was just 600 g, and sometimes there were two babies keeping one another company, and warm, in each cot.
The next ward was the 'Kangaroo' Ward, where mothers with premature / small (under 2.5 kg) babies were kept as their babies grew. Babies were strapped to their mothers (or fathers / grand-parents) to keep them warm. This helps the baby bond with their parents, while also keeping them warm as they grow. There are possibly lessons to bring home to Scotland from this part of our visit....
We were also given more details of the other facilities in this relatively modern unit (opened some four years ago by Dr Mary Robinson and the then Vice-President (now President) Joyce Banda. The unit was clearly working beyond its capacity and our overwhelming impression as we departed was of the hard-work, love and practical support provided by all of the staff, so ably led by Dorothy.
Afterwards we went down to the Lilongwe Wildlife Sanctuary where we were introduced to some of Malawi's wildlife. This is not a zoo, but the sanctuary provides a recuperation site for injured animals, some of which, when well, are returned to the wild. As it was around mid-day during our visit it was particularly hot and some of the animals were having a siesta....so we saw a sleeping porcupine and rock python. More active were the olive baboons, Malawian vervet and blue- faced monkeys.
During lunch, the skies started to threaten, and then the rain came.....being from Argyll, we thought that we knew about rain, but this rain was impressive.
More to be added.....to be completed
No comments:
Post a Comment