Charis Around the World

Childbirth in Kenya

by Jannekah Guya

Martin and Jannekah Guya with six month old Ezriel and two year old Amariah.

The Bright Continent

By Jannekah Guya

            By far, the most intense birth experience I’ve ever been apart of was just a couple months ago.  I myself was 9 months pregnant with our second baby and my midwife Sherry, as well as a close friend from our sending church who is a doula, Mary, had both just arrived from the U.S. to assist us with our birth.  I know for certain that neither of them will ever forget their first day in Kenya as long as they live.  Neither will I.

            I had taken them to meet a traditional birth attendant called Gogo (Kiswahili for Grandma), whom I had only just become acquainted with.  I had learned of her because she had quite a renowned reputation in the community for being the best.  So I sought her out and had only a couple short visits and conversations with her.  I knew she delivered several babies every single day, all by herself.  Women walk considerable distances to have their babies in her tiny, stuffy, dark little mud hut, which smells strongly of birth and cows.  Whether you visit her in the middle of the day, or the middle of the night, you are sure to find several women laboring quietly in every corner as she calmly assists them.  Should you come early in the morning, you’d find a long line of men, women and children waiting outside for one of her many herbal tonics which are supposed to cure just about anything.  I still haven’t figured out when she sleeps.

            On this particular evening, we stopped by so I could introduce her to Sherry and Mary.   I thought we could arrange a time before my baby came when we could all have some good time to talk and learn from each other.  Sherry and Mary had also brought birth bags filled with basic tools for all the traditional birth attendants I knew and we wanted to give one to her.

            When we arrived at the little hut we found two women lying with their brand new babies and another laboring on the floor, clearly in transition.  Her name was Beatrice.  She looked absolutely terrified and though she never made a sound, she was screaming with her eyes.  She’d reach out and grab onto the nearest thing or person to her every time a contraction would come.  She was a tiny little thing.  She looked about 15 years old and was petite in every way, except for her contracting belly.  As a doula, and as a woman, my heart went out to her and I wanted to jump right in there to help, support, and love on her.  Sherry seemed to have read my mind and asked Gogo if she could check Beatrice.  Mary and I cheered in encouragement when Sherry announced she was fully dilated with just a little lip remaining.  Gogo invited Sherry to take over and cheerfully told Beatrice that a mzungu (white person) was going to deliver her baby.  Considering her progress, we all thought that we’d be welcoming that precious baby within the hour.  Little did we know that another six trying hours would follow.

            As time went on it became clear that Beatrice had some serious psychological issues going on that were creating bigger and bigger obstacles for her as her labor intensified.  She had undoubtedly suffered some kind of sexual trauma.  When it came time for her to push, instead of bearing down she arched her back and fought the contraction with all the strength she had left in her tiny body.  When Gogo saw this she laughed and said that the baby was coming whether Beatrice liked it or not and that we should just leave her alone because when she was ready to have the baby, she would.  Nonetheless, we stayed by Beatrice’s side, offering gentle instructions and words of comfort between contractions.  But as the hours passed Sherry began to grow worried about the baby.  Thankfully, she was able to use the fetoscope she’d brought in the birth bag for Gogo to monitor the baby. 

            Things began to go from bad to worse.  Beatrice began throwing up, which upset her more.  After Beatrice had a bowel movement, Gogo began “cleaning” the blood, feces, and vomit with cotton balls and soon soiled pieces of cotton were sticking to everything.  She wore the sterile gloves Sherry had brought in the birth bag but after “cleaning”, she removed the gloves and set them aside for later use.  She reused those same gloves with the dirty cotton stuck to them for the rest of the night, despite our encouraging her to use a new pair.  She didn’t want to “waste” them.   We were even more horrified when Gogo began to apply crushing fundal pressure to Beatrice’s little body.  It was hard to convince her this wasn’t necessary when we were with her patient in her hut where she’d been doing this her way for many many years.    

            After several hours, and as Sherry became more and more concerned with the baby’s heartbeat, our gentle instructions became more urgent and commanding.  God’s perfect design of the birth process, which I’ve seen beautifully take it’s course so many times here in Kenya, was tainted by whatever horrific thing had happened to Beatrice in her young life.  In the midst of the intensity, and with a language barrier, there was no way we could even begin to address whatever trauma was keeping her from cooperating with her body and with us.  She was definitely not in a condition to be receptive even if we could have tried.  Sherry finally insisted that Beatrice get up and squat, though she tried to insist she was too tired.  I sat behind her on a bed to support her, where one of the newly delivered mothers and her baby were resting.  Even in this position she continued to arch her back with all her strength with every contraction and though I was much bigger than her, it took every ounce of strength I had to keep us both from toppling over!  This went on for what felt like an eternity and as much as I tried to provide resistance that would keep her from arching her back, she had so much fight in her and she was winning.  If only she could have put that energy into pushing instead of fighting the work her body was doing for her, and pulling the baby back up inside as she arched her back!  She was completely resistant and even defiant to everything we told her to do.  It was a mighty battle.

Jannekah and Sherry assisting Beatrice during her birth

            Somehow, sometime around midnight, Beatrice and Sherry eased the baby out, with a lot of fear and resistance on Beatrice’s part.  I have never seen such a lifeless, completely limp little creature in all my life.  Sherry didn’t miss a beat and was immediately working on resuscitating the little body.  Beatrice laid, exhausted on the floor.  Because we’d had no idea we’d be assisting in a birth, Sherry didn’t have her own birth bag or any of her emergency equipment.  It was literally just her and the Lord and that precious little baby.  Thankfully she did have the bulb syringe she’d brought in Gogo’s birth bag.  She worked and worked and nothing happened.  She began to unconsciously cry out to God as she performed CPR.  Being physically and emotionally exhausted, just days away from my own baby’s birth, and completely helpless, I hurried outside so that no one would see me weeping.  I prayed a simple prayer as I wept, “Please Lord, please.”  Everything was quiet, and then, a miracle.  One weak little cry.  Hope!  Sherry continued to work using every bit of her 30 years of experience she had.  Another cry, this time stronger.  We all breathed again as the baby started to breathe too.  My weeping turned into laughter of relief and thankfulness.  Isn’t that what God promises to do – to turn our mourning into laughter?!  I wiped away my tears and went back inside.  Sherry was wrapping up the baby and Gogo was mopping the floor and all the bodily fluids with a filthy rag, which she then proceeded to wipe Sherry with, as she was also quite a mess herself.  Mary, Sherry and I all gasped in horror and then at once, we all began to laugh.  After all that we’d just been through, nothing could upset or surprise us, and nothing else much mattered than that Beatrice and the baby were alive.  Though as we left, we were still concerned and continued to pray for them.  They looked so weak, we wondered if they’d both really make it through the night.

            The next morning we went to check on Beatrice and the baby.  We hardly recognized them when we entered the hut.  Beatrice was sitting, beautifully dressed in a blue dress made of traditional Kenyan material.  Her husband was seated next to her holding the baby and they were preparing to walk home.  Mommy and baby looked strong, happy, and healthy, literally like two completely different people from the ones we had left just hours ago. That’s our God!  Beatrice told us that they wanted to name the baby after Sherry, but because he was a boy, they asked if they could name him after Sherry’s husband, whose name is Michael.  So then and there they named the baby Michael Kipchumba, which in Kalenjin, their tribal language, means “white man”.

            It’s not difficult to make birth so much safer here in Kenya.  Most mothers receive no prenatal care and if they did, important issues could be addressed that could prevent unnecessary complications and dangers during the birth.  It all starts with education - education for the mothers and the traditional birth attendants.  Education that would empower them to do this incredible work that God has bestowed upon women, both to give birth and to assist each other in giving birth.  Next, they need tools - basic tools that can mean the difference between life and death, especially in emergency situations.  Of course they need the knowledge of how to properly and safely use them as well.  Last, but far from least, is sanitation – simple understanding of how to keep things clean and safe and why this is so important. 

            After this experience I began to wonder if I really have what it takes to be a midwife considering I ran from the room crying in a moment of crisis.  But I shared this fear with Sherry and she kindly assured me that as long as we stay close to the Lord He will always come through for us.  She continued, “I will never forget that first night in Kenya at Gogo’s!  We had no equipment and the Holy Spirit was so strongly there with us.  I think that was one of the worst situations I have ever been in (since I usually have all my rescue equipment) so it was a lesson in pure trust of not only God and His power, but also of woman and her power as well as trust in the birth process!  Probably the most important thing to remember is that a newborn has the strongest survival instinct at the moment of birth as never again in their sweet little lives!  So unless there is something organically wrong with the baby, he will struggle to survive!  You just need to know the common sense things to do.”  For me, that’s where Charis comes in, and that’s why I am praying and believing that God is going to provide for me to get crucial teaching from them that will help me help others, and ultimately, save lives!

            It doesn’t take very much at all to impact a life in Kenya.  Just a willingness and a fearlessness to allow God to work through you.  It makes my job easy.  I just have to be a willing vessel and let God do all the work using whatever resources He has put inside me.  I think this is true wherever you are in the world.  After all, it’s just as Sherry reminded me, that God Himself promises us, “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

From left to right - Jannekah , Mary, Gogo, Beatrice, Beatrice's husband, baby Michael and Sherry

Holding a one day seminar with midwives from deep in the villages so that we could all learn from each other.

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Dear Charis Family,

The first time I talked with Jannekah, I sensed in her the “Charis Heart”.  She is truly a sister and I’m not sure I can even begin to communicate my excitement in having her as part of our “family”.  I believe her vision has been birthed from the same part of Father God’s heart as the Charis vision and I am convinced that our connection is a divine appointment.  As a result, I asked her to share with all of you about her vision for improving childbearing practices in her community.

I know that when God gives a person a vision for something, he also provides everything needed to bring it to pass.  If something that she shared here has touched your heart, please consider helping her in this great work she is doing.  If you would like to help Jannekah, who lives in a severely impoverished place, to cover her tuition, please let us know.  Any amount would be a great blessing.  There is a midwifery scholarship fund to help people like Jannekah get the education they need so they can make a difference in their communities.  The fund is currently very small, but if we all give a little, it will grow to the size needed to offer Jannekah either a partial or full scholarship.

To give you an idea of how just a little bit can make a big difference, I have broken it down for you:
If we raise $10,800.00, Jannekah will have a full scholarship for her tuition.  That seems big, but it is only 30 families giving $10/month for the next 3 years… or 15 families giving $20/month.  Or, for those who wish to sponsor one month of Jannekah’s tuition, 36 families giving a one-time donation of $300 would completely cover her tuition.  Most Americans waste more money than that, even in this suffering economy.  I believe it is completely possible to raise the funds!  God is a GOOD Father and he cares deeply about the people of Kenya!  Spread the word to your friends who care about the world’s women and babies!  Perhaps your small group or church would like to sponsor a month ($300) or a quarter ($900).  Together we can help improve the lives of precious Kenyan women and babies.

Thank you,
Kristin Schuchmann
Executive Director, Charis Childbirth, Inc.

To donate to Jannekah’s scholarship, make your check payable to Charis Childbirth, include a separate note designating it for Jannekah’s tuition, and send it to
Charis Childbirth, Inc.
P.O. Box 6900
North Port, FL 34290
 

Our International Charis Family
Your stories from around the world touch us and we pray for your safety.
Thanks, Love and Blessings to every one of you!

 'Behold, I will bring them from the north country, And gather them from the ends of the earth,
 Among  them the blind and the lame, The woman with child and The one who labors with child,  together,
 A great throng shall return there...And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD.'
 Jeremiah 31:8, 14~~~
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December 2010