STORY BY LIZZIE CHIHANA
(on the picture), a pregnant women (5th month) from Zambia hitchhiking around Denmark tracing welfare.
As we sat down after dinner during coffee my host family asked me about the health system back home in Zambia which is in the southern part of Africa.
Being pregnant (5th month) for the first time it is not easy to get very good medical facilities in a developing country. My host family, whose wife is called Lara, is also expecting their first child. She told me how good and advanced the health system is in Denmark. As we talked I realised that we had all the same feelings of pregnancy and childbirth but yet our conditions are so different. She feels the baby kick like I do, I long to have a healthy baby, so does she, but she will bring life in a good, safe, and condusive environment. As for me I have to walk through the difficult and insecure path.
She mentioned how expectant mothers are taken care of during pregnancy and childbirth. They have their own midwives, doctors and they are prepared psychologically and physically.
It really grabbed my attention because it is nothing near, to what I come from. In Zambia it is a completely different and sad story, because the health system back home is so poor that one cannot afford to have their own doctor.
At the small clinics a pregnant woman does not get all the attention that she needs and deserves, this includes them not having access to an ultrasound because if you do not have money then everything is always expensive. This results in most women delivering the babies at home and puts them in a very risky situation, resulting into many deaths both by the mother and the new born.
During one of the hitchhiking tours, I was privileged to visit a fertility clinic and got ultrasound. This was the most amazing experience I have ever had. I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to see my unborn baby with modern technology. From the top of the head to the bottom. The doctor told me he could see if there was any kind of defect. I saw my babys bladder, spine, heartbeat, and all the movements it was making. Now that is every womans dream. And me just watching my baby with all the movements made me realise how backwards our technology is back home in Zambia.
As you read this you would probably wonder why a pregnant woman in her 5th month is hitchhiking around Denmark. Some would think it’s risky and very dangerous to stand by the road for a long time and carrying a big bag on your back. But to be honest it is much more safe than having no access to good medical facilities when giving child to a baby.
In a typical Zambian rural area some pregnant women have completely no access to any health or medical facilities while others have to walk many kilometres to get to the nearest health centre. That is why so many women die while giving birth and on their way to the clinics. I strongly believe and feel that pregnancy is a very sensitive and special time for every woman. Good medical facilities and health systems are every woman need and wish. If we could all the proper attention to each and every pregnant woman then this world would be a better place for that special time when one brings life to this world.
Life is precious and should not be taken for granted in any way. It is every mother hope that one should not die while giving life in this special way.