2 minute read
MSF NZ | CÔTE D’IVOIRE 2017
CÔTE D’IVOIRE
A PATIENT’S STORY:
Albertine delivered her baby in Koutiala hospital, Côte D’Ivoire. Albertine was referred from Dabakala, more than 80 km away.
Obstetrician-gynaecologist Dr Rasha Khoury explains Albertine’s case before getting ready to operate. “She needs to have her baby delivered by caesarean section because her baby is bigger than her pelvis. This is a potentially life-saving intervention, because if her labour prolongs she risks a uterine rupture or dystocia [obstructed labour], and both could cause serious, future complications for her. She has already had a caesarean for her first baby, and she took traditional medicine to accelerate the birth this time.
In fact, this combination has already caused a partial uterine rupture.” One hour after surgery began, Albertine is out of trouble. Her newborn has survived but had to be resuscitated by a paediatrician and midwife, because his small lungs were filled with meconium [a baby’s first faeces]. He is under care in the neonatal intensive care unit. Says Rasha, “Without the quick referral from Dabakala, the emergency obstetric services here in Koutiala hospital, the trained staff, the blood bank and the newborn unit, mother and baby would probably have not survived.”
