It’s been a great joy to share 15 stories of hope during these past weeks.
Thank you for your incredible support to improve the health of families in need in Nicaragua and for walking this journey with us for 15 years. We count on you to continue advancing our mission to prevent and treat diseases in 25 vulnerable communities.
This last story of hope (of our anniversary series) reminds us how your support is so critical to help Health Promoters prevent deaths of moms and babies in the communities you help us serve. Thank you!!!
This year, Anita got pregnant and was expecting her first child. However, her pregnancy wasn’t at all how she envisioned it. Her husband left her in Nicaragua and moved to a different country. She was heartbroken, and she felt like her life was falling to pieces. Looking for support, she moved with her mom to the rural community of Malacatoya 1.
During her pregnancy, Fátima González, an AMOS-trained Health Promoter, regularly visited her in her home. Fátima advised her about good nutrition and potential signs of danger, provided her with multivitamins, and made sure she was attending prenatal checkups.
Fátima became an invaluable support for Anita—a true messenger of hope.
When Anita was nearing her due date, she took Fátima’s advice and left her community to travel to the maternity waiting home in the nearest town, where health professionals would be ready to assist her in giving birth. But after spending a week in the maternity waiting home, she decided to return to her community—before she had given birth.
Medical staff from the health center came to the community looking for Anita, but she did not want to go back with them. She wouldn’t even let the nurse examine her. Fortunately, Fátima soon learned about the situation and knew she could offer help.
“I asked the health center staff to let me try to talk to her,” said Fátima. “We had a heart-to-heart. Anita explained that she was afraid of giving birth so far away from her home. I reminded her of the risks of home births, and explained more about the process of giving birth at the health center. In the end, I convinced her to travel back with the health center staff so she could give birth safely.”
A few hours later, when Anita was back in the maternity waiting home, she started to feel unwell, and she was taken to the hospital immediately. Her baby was in a breech position, and doctors had to perform an emergency C-section to save them both.
That evening, a tractor broke down and blocked the only way in and out of the sector where Anita lives. Had Anita stayed in her community, it would have taken too long to get her the medical care she and her baby urgently needed. And things could have ended tragically instead.
