The dead girl?! That could easily have been me!

Hello beautiful people *waving*
It's been a while since I've been here and there's been so much going on. Lots of interesting stuff. I'll let you in on all the juicy gist in good time.*smile smile wink wink*

I read an article in Punch newspapers today that had me in tears. It's about Nigeria's high maternal mortality rate and highlights the story of a 29 year old lady who died on Wednesday, a day after having her baby on Tuesday. What makes this story personal for me is that it could have been me the only difference being that she had a C-Section and I didn't.

Having Alexis last year is one experience I can NEVER forget.
I came here from Naija pregnant and I hadn't decided if I wanted to live here or not, so I was in holiday mode cos I knew I was going back home. I enjoyed being a JJC, went to Vegas and had a lot of fun, but I was always tired. My bloodwork showed I was anemic, which explained the tiredness and so my gynecologist put me on some meds and watched me closely.

Things went really well. So well, I had time to take these pictures just before I left for the hospital on Sunday evening. I was feeling like a babe ;o) Of course I was wearing gbemisoke.

This was me on Monday morning after a restful night that I thoroughly enjoyed (cos of all the attention from the nurses) I felt like I was in a 5star hotel :o)

Fast forward a few hours... pushing, bearing down, Alexis was born.. no pics cos hubby had enough on his plate, watching me push and all that. He was a trooper :o) The doctor said I did good, everything was ok and he left. I held my baby, everyone was smiling.... All is well that ends well right?

errrm, not without some drama that played out like a scene from Grey's anatomy...

I started to haemorrhage!! Just like the lady in that article, I was losing blood and my PCV was low.
Thank God for observant nurses!! As she was cleaning me up, she became worried that there was too much blood. She called the doctor, who had already left the premises, and voiced her concern. He came right back and alarmed at how much blood he saw, declared an emergency. In no time, I was in the ER getting a transfusion while the whole team was searching for the source of the bleeding and trying to stop it.

This experience is one of the reasons I decided to move here. I had my son in Nigeria, and even though my gynecologist and his hospital came highly recommended, I doubt that they would've been able to respond as quickly as the team here did. I think so cos even though the doctor on duty was around, only the midwife was there when I actually delivered the baby. He came around when I needed stitches.

Having experienced childbirth in both countries, I know there's a HUGE difference. While I can sit here and say "thank God I moved here", my heart is heavy cos lives are being wasted. I do not think that my life is more valuable than that of any other woman back home. It's just not fair. The statistics are alarming! According to the article,

"!n simpler terms, the risk of a woman dying from childbirth is one in 18 in Nigeria, compared to one in 29,800 for Sweden. Our women are dying; believe it when you are told that one woman dies every 10 minutes due to complications arising from childbirth. Our men are becoming widowers and our children motherless." 

 You can therefore understand how extra thankful I am to be alive and well to see Alexis turn one. My lil Princess has gone from being this adorable bundle that had me tearing up (for joy) for weeks after I had her

To this even more beautiful angel that has filled our lives with laughter

I am grateful to God for His many blessings, Especially the ones that money cannot buy.
While I celebrate, I remember those who've passed. I am not better than them. They didn't have to die. So while we go on with business as usual, lets remember that knowing what's right to do and not doing it is leading to deaths, most of them avoidable.

Have a great week and please remember to thank God for keeping you. He didn't have to.
xoxo