The Youth and Its Role In Prenatal, Birth and Better Maternal Care

Today’s Youth is tomorrow’s parent. His role is critical in overcoming the obstacles on the path to better maternal care. The world should have faith in it and so should be the organizations that are part of women’s pregnancy journey. The youth has the goodwill, the opportunity and the critical roles to play. I have been there and I know it’s a challenge, but with energy, passion and a spirit of adventure big things are on the way.

We started a medical and birth centre in my mid-twenties with no resource, goodwill or experience in the world of medicine worse still, I myself didn’t possess  medical background. It was risk-taking but worth enduring in the end. It carried a lot of expected failures and that is why I regard it to be the best ride in this adventure. Who believed in us? Pretty not sure but we did our best to be ourselves. I anchored my dreams on service to humanity, passion for serving and youthfulness energy. To serve with passion full of energy, that is what it means. If you find the calling as a youth challenging, take a little time and look at my experience. I assure you it will take precedence to challenge yours. Most of you are younger than I was, more experienced than I am. You are more enlightened and intellectually correct which put my involvement in this noble organization into humility but with so much pride to be part and parcel of.

We have attended facilitated and served women’s care at prenatal level, birth room and postnatal at homes from our simple birth centre and how I stand with conviction with surety knowing the benefits will outlive many of the challenges ahead.  We call it focused amiable conceived care. The outcomes are encouraging. The whole care sets at prenatal level. Information is power and the positive prenatal information is empowerment. Witness the challenges of this informal settlement woman, (poverty, ignorance, drug abuse, HIV, Anemia, domestic violence, disease, dirty water to name but a few), so horrific to imagine to digest but they come out strongly to overshadow the threats in every possible way banking on the guaranteed support of encouragement, information, resources, recognizing dignity and the incorporation of compassion all throughout care.

At our birth centre here in the slum of Kawangware the challenges faced with these women and their families are myriad woven with social, economic and cultural system dysfunctional yet most of them have been overcome by a culture in service delivery packaged and practice adhering to the woman’s needs; the midwifery model of care that works magical and befits well to every low-risk pregnant woman.

The youth given information and opportunity is an enlightened mass who are seizing the opportunity to a brighter life of birth and pregnancy. On their part, they are incorporating science, culture and ethics to propel the agenda of their cause to higher levels. They know that Science has got its part, that path to propel positive prenatal towards successful and possible results. Culture has its part to overcome the obstacles that bring about fantasies of the modern era where civilization ridicules decency. Ethics calls on care to adhere to the true basic virtues of practice to do the best including providing right and timely information, respecting and honouring client’s body and participation and putting into practice proper care full of satisfaction.

The youth of today is tomorrow’s parent. They know, understand and are aware of their defiant environment. The prenatal process forming the backbone of their childbearing and development should be put into focus. They know their world so well, its challenge and its positives.

I married in my mid-twenties and my son came two years later. We had already opened our Medical and Birth center to care for local pregnant women. The culture was not the one we pride with but with the gracious Midwife Vicki Chan, incorporating the safety, compassion, support and dignified care during birth all changed. Unfortunately, my son will be born in a public facility where my wife endured a lot of loneliness and anxiety that came following. I love my son dearly, but I understand well his birth-care was not the beautifying one. Two years later my daughter was born. She is a princess who was welcomed into this world by loving, compassionate and dignified care. Irvinta now 3 years old was born at home with my wife Judith, Son Frank, Midwife, Doctor and I, a choice we took because it was a low-risk pregnancy. The birth was simple, easy and sacred so to say but little. This care received by my daughter perhaps is the greatest gift any caregiver; parent or community would ever adorn their babies. The journey was walked with love, care and support. All fears buried, love was in the air to empower the whole care. I reaped what I had sown by caring women with the standard basic care that is full of safety, compassion and social justice. Many of the families we serve have had the privilege and opportunity to experience the same. As a youth, I stood for what is right and I earned a place in my daughter’s life by giving her the care she needed and deserved.  If all the youths are brought aboard to identify how critical their involvement in prenatal and birth, we will all see the beauty of the world that God foresaw after creation. It was all beautiful. The youths will make the difference and our life will be beautiful.