As a refugee, being pregnant for the first time in a foreign country can be scary. Because of her husband's busy schedule as a chef, *Niang also had to come for her antenatal check-ups alone. Despite the fear and risks, *Niang consistently came for her appointments because she trusts the team and was educated on the importance of antenatal care.
During her 37-week check-up, Dr Charmaine detected the baby in breech presentation. This fatally complicates the delivery as it will cause the baby to get stuck in the womb while the mother bleeds out. The plan was to send her to the hospital for an ECV procedure to move the baby back to a position that is safe for delivery.
However, the cost of the procedure and emergency operations are too much for the couple to bear as most of their savings had gone to paying for *Niang's release from the detention centre. On her way home from the clinic appointments, she was detained by the police three times. Without being able to afford the hospital fees and the fear of rejection, *Niang refused to go to the hospital despite the urgency of her situation.
Our team worked out a way for *Niang's family to afford the procedure and emergency C-section. Thanks to early detection and intervention, Niang and her baby were saved.
In her postpartum follow up, Niang and her husband could not stop smiling. Joy was overflowing as they celebrate the life of their firstborn daughter.
*Name(s) have been changed to protect the identity of the individual.