First time mother welcomes healthy baby girl

At a remote corner of the Bamu River delta, 17yo Aume was expecting her first baby.  She had been feeling labour pains for several days.

“Things weren’t moving forward.  The baby didn’t seem to be lying correctly.  We were worried she would die if she stayed here longer”, one of her aunties shared [with volunteer YWAM MS doctor Rachel Hopkins].  Sadly, losing women in childbirth is not an uncommon experience for communities along the river.

So the extended family made the decision to find fuel and a dinghy and seek help.  MV YWAM PNG, supporting primary health care outreach teams and anchored at least an hour away, in another arm of the Bamu River delta, was the closest place.

Thankfully the dinghy had sufficient fuel to find the spot and Aume was lifted aboard the ship by her supportive family.  The team aboard, including local health workers and international colleagues, got to work with what they had.  And prayed.

Fast forward several hours and Aume was again climbing into the dinghy, this time with her newborn baby girl, pink and snuggly wrapped, and everyone in a much happier mood.  The tide had turned.  It was time to head back home.

The next day, it was the YWAM team’s turn to climb into a dinghy and travel to the fishing camp where Aume and her family were staying.  Both mother and baby were doing well and welcomed the opportunity for routine postpartum care.

Without exploring all the clinical details here, it’s unclear what the outcome would have been for Aume and her baby girl if skilled birth help hadn’t been available that day.  What we do know is that Aume is an example of the courageous women, and families, of rural PNG who daily do their best to celebrate and protect life, no matter the circumstances.

The experience has also further strengthened the resolve of local health workers and YWAM volunteers to wok bung wantaim to see sexual and reproductive health education, family planning and antenatal care services regularly reach out to remote villages; as well as advocacy support for birthing facilities and transport logistics to serve women in the Bamu and beyond.

If you’d like to support these initiatives through volunteering, donations or prayer, more information is available at www.ywamships.org. Together, we can be part of making a difference!