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Sierra Leone –Dr M’Cormack
By Roland B. Marke
Dr. Fredanna M’Cormack is a US based Sierra-Leonean. She holds PhD in Health
Education. Fredanna is interested in using her knowledge to save life of pregnant
women, lactating women and their infant kids in her native country. In this exclusive
interview with African Examiner’s contributor Roland Marke, Fredanna talks
passionately about her project ‘Bele Uman Project’ which was established to prevent
pregnant women from dying while giving birth.
Here’s an excerpt of the interview:
Roland: Welcome professor, or may I call you Fredanna? It’s my pleasure to
interview you. How and why was the ‘Bele Uman project: Saving mother,
saving lives’, conceived?
Fredanna: Yes indeed, you can call me Fredanna. The reason why we (Fredanna,
her sisters Fredline M’Cormack-Hale and Freida M’Cormack and colleague John
Yannessa) started this project was because of our concern over how many pregnant
women were dying giving birth. At the time the maternal mortality rate was between
1800 and 2100 per 100,000 populations. I had done some research in the past and
an internship with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and really found this
problem to be widespread. To further understand this problem, my colleague,
Professor John Yannessa, and I applied for a small grant to conduct research. As it is
focused on saving lives of pregnant women in Sierra Leone, we coined the phrase.
RM: What is your background and why is this project geared toward the
welfare of pregnant mothers and their babies?
FM: First and foremost, I am a Sierra Leonean and my heart is always with folks in the
motherland. Anytime I have the opportunity to do something in Sierra Leone, I seize
the opportunity to do it. My siblings are the same way. Also, I have an interest in the
overall wellbeing of women. I have worked at women’s centers as a rape awareness
coordinator and a volunteer advocate for victims of sexual assault, rape, and
domestic violence. I have worked with the Women Infants and Children Supplemental
Food (WIC) Program in the US trying to improve the health status of pregnant women
in St. Louis, Missouri by improving their nutrition. I also did an internship in Kenema,
focusing on the emergency obsteric care (EMOC), which looks at improving
pregnancy outcomes by getting pregnant women to the hospital in enough time for
them to deliver. The experience was eye-opening because of the difficulties pregnant
women face and saw the complications that could arise when pregnant women did not
seek delivery services in a timely fashion.
A couple of years ago, I conducted a research project in Freetown as part of
dissertation for my PhD in Health Education, to determine what factors may influence
pregnant women’s anemia status. Poverty, lack of transportation and limited access
to necessary supplements were always raised or identified as problems the women
faced. I felt that a lot more needs to be done and I am glad the opportunity has arisen
to enable us to build on the previous research and move forward with this project.
RM: Walk us through the project, including the research strategy you wish to
employ in achieving your objectives, the financial challenges and the
credibility factor.
FM: I will be working closely with nurses such as Alice Kabbah in Kenema, Wuyata
Kelfala, and others particularly at the Kenema Government Hospital and in rural
Kenema to identify pregnant women and post natal women who have recently given
birth. We hope to interview about 300 such women to ask them about their pregnancy
experiences and the choices they made to deliver at home or at a PHU or in hospital.
We also want to ask them about their experience, since the government has
recommitted to providing free health services to pregnant women. For those
healthcare officials/health workers in the field, we would like to ask them what
challenges exist in providing health service.
Unfortunately, due to time constraints and funding restrictions, we will only be able to
go to Kenema district. However, as the project develops and we receive additional
funding, we hope to expand our scope of research and focus on preventive
measures not just emergency response. Down the line, we would like to develop
training programs for service providers, educational programs for pregnant women,
and alternative opportunities for traditional birth attendants, based on the findings of
our research.
RM: Why is this project personally near and dear to your heart?
FM: While I was in Kenema, I met a woman who delivered a stillborn baby. I also met
young 17 year-old girl Hassanatu, who changed my life. Being poor, uneducated, and
arriving at the hospital with a complicated pregnancy, Hassanatu came to the hospital
really late after almost thirty hours of labor and the pregnancy was obstructed. The
baby’s heart rate was really low and was experiencing severe distress. The only
available outcome for Hassanatu was to get a cesarean section (c-section) an
operation that cost Le 250,000 approximately US $80 at the time. This is an
astronomical amount of money for someone whose household income was less than
$30 a day for a family of six (including the unborn). In addition, the doctor on duty
was reluctant to perform the surgery if he was not paid upfront. Hassanatu’s story
seemed like it would have a grave outcome. Thankfully, because of EMOC services
provided by IRC at Kenema Government Hospital and interested parties, who rallied
to raise money for a necessary cesarean section, Hassanatu delivered a very weak
baby girl the next day (16 hours after arriving at the hospital) via c-section. During
the night, Hassanatu was in severe pain but was cared for by the nurses at the
hosipital. After the baby was born, she needed oxygen for those first few hours. At
that moment I knew that something needed to be done to make sure that more
women do not face the complications Hassanatu faced.
With the Sierra Leone government’s implementation of free health care services for
pregnant women, I hope that women will be able to feel comfortable using the medical
services available. Also, I hope that the health care services include transportation to
the health care facility, provision of delivery services, and cesarean services
conducted by able physicians. We have to find ways in which a woman’s hopeless
financial resource does not determine that woman’s pregnancy outcome. I am looking
forward to more happy endings. Right now, a healthy, precocious 2 and half year-old,
who bears my name Fredanna is in Kenema and I am so happy that I was part of her
story of survival.
RM: How will this research help bridge the gap between Sierra Leone,
United States and other countries as far as health care is concerned?
FM: Right now, this is a relatively small project. With just enough funding provided by
Coastal Carolina University and Seton Hall University for data collection equipment,
supplies, travel and stipends for interviewers. We hope that when people hear and
see our efforts, they will be willing to invest their time, services, expertise, money, and
equipment toward this worthy cause.
We plan to share the results of the research to the global community to be used as
baseline and a foundation to develop appropriate and effective programs. Sierra
Leone’s commitment to provide free health care services for pregnant women and
children could be the beacon for other countries to address what is usually a
needless tragedy.
RM: Are there future plans to expand your study beyond the borders of
Sierra Leone?
FM: Right now we are just taking the project one day at a time. With the Bele Uman
name, it is geared towards Sierra Leone. However, as the project progresses, who
knows where we will end? Only time will tell what God has in store for this project.
RM: What is your long term vision for the project: Do you have any other
message to convey to the world?
FM: Hmmm…long term, we see this project being part of a larger cause that
addresses girls and women’s issues more broadly, and which also impact maternal
health outcomes. These include working on teen pregnancy prevention, sexual rights
empowerment and crisis pregnancy counseling, all of which are related to improved
pregnancy outcomes.
My message: God has given each of us a destiny that can be fulfilled. If you can think
it, with God’s grace, you can do it, so make it happen!
Roland B. Marke is a Sierra Leonean writer, commentator and activist for the poor and vulnerable.
He’s also the author of Teardrops Keep Falling, Silver Rain and Blizzard and Harvest of Hate:
Stories and Essays (Fuel for the Soul).
His website is: www.rolandmarke.com
Roland Bankole Marke © 2010
By Roland B. Marke
Dr. Fredanna M’Cormack is a US based Sierra-Leonean. She holds PhD in Health
Education. Fredanna is interested in using her knowledge to save life of pregnant
women, lactating women and their infant kids in her native country. In this exclusive
interview with African Examiner’s contributor Roland Marke, Fredanna talks
passionately about her project ‘Bele Uman Project’ which was established to prevent
pregnant women from dying while giving birth.
Here’s an excerpt of the interview:
Roland: Welcome professor, or may I call you Fredanna? It’s my pleasure to
interview you. How and why was the ‘Bele Uman project: Saving mother,
saving lives’, conceived?
Fredanna: Yes indeed, you can call me Fredanna. The reason why we (Fredanna,
her sisters Fredline M’Cormack-Hale and Freida M’Cormack and colleague John
Yannessa) started this project was because of our concern over how many pregnant
women were dying giving birth. At the time the maternal mortality rate was between
1800 and 2100 per 100,000 populations. I had done some research in the past and
an internship with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and really found this
problem to be widespread. To further understand this problem, my colleague,
Professor John Yannessa, and I applied for a small grant to conduct research. As it is
focused on saving lives of pregnant women in Sierra Leone, we coined the phrase.
RM: What is your background and why is this project geared toward the
welfare of pregnant mothers and their babies?
FM: First and foremost, I am a Sierra Leonean and my heart is always with folks in the
motherland. Anytime I have the opportunity to do something in Sierra Leone, I seize
the opportunity to do it. My siblings are the same way. Also, I have an interest in the
overall wellbeing of women. I have worked at women’s centers as a rape awareness
coordinator and a volunteer advocate for victims of sexual assault, rape, and
domestic violence. I have worked with the Women Infants and Children Supplemental
Food (WIC) Program in the US trying to improve the health status of pregnant women
in St. Louis, Missouri by improving their nutrition. I also did an internship in Kenema,
focusing on the emergency obsteric care (EMOC), which looks at improving
pregnancy outcomes by getting pregnant women to the hospital in enough time for
them to deliver. The experience was eye-opening because of the difficulties pregnant
women face and saw the complications that could arise when pregnant women did not
seek delivery services in a timely fashion.
A couple of years ago, I conducted a research project in Freetown as part of
dissertation for my PhD in Health Education, to determine what factors may influence
pregnant women’s anemia status. Poverty, lack of transportation and limited access
to necessary supplements were always raised or identified as problems the women
faced. I felt that a lot more needs to be done and I am glad the opportunity has arisen
to enable us to build on the previous research and move forward with this project.
RM: Walk us through the project, including the research strategy you wish to
employ in achieving your objectives, the financial challenges and the
credibility factor.
FM: I will be working closely with nurses such as Alice Kabbah in Kenema, Wuyata
Kelfala, and others particularly at the Kenema Government Hospital and in rural
Kenema to identify pregnant women and post natal women who have recently given
birth. We hope to interview about 300 such women to ask them about their pregnancy
experiences and the choices they made to deliver at home or at a PHU or in hospital.
We also want to ask them about their experience, since the government has
recommitted to providing free health services to pregnant women. For those
healthcare officials/health workers in the field, we would like to ask them what
challenges exist in providing health service.
Unfortunately, due to time constraints and funding restrictions, we will only be able to
go to Kenema district. However, as the project develops and we receive additional
funding, we hope to expand our scope of research and focus on preventive
measures not just emergency response. Down the line, we would like to develop
training programs for service providers, educational programs for pregnant women,
and alternative opportunities for traditional birth attendants, based on the findings of
our research.
RM: Why is this project personally near and dear to your heart?
FM: While I was in Kenema, I met a woman who delivered a stillborn baby. I also met
young 17 year-old girl Hassanatu, who changed my life. Being poor, uneducated, and
arriving at the hospital with a complicated pregnancy, Hassanatu came to the hospital
really late after almost thirty hours of labor and the pregnancy was obstructed. The
baby’s heart rate was really low and was experiencing severe distress. The only
available outcome for Hassanatu was to get a cesarean section (c-section) an
operation that cost Le 250,000 approximately US $80 at the time. This is an
astronomical amount of money for someone whose household income was less than
$30 a day for a family of six (including the unborn). In addition, the doctor on duty
was reluctant to perform the surgery if he was not paid upfront. Hassanatu’s story
seemed like it would have a grave outcome. Thankfully, because of EMOC services
provided by IRC at Kenema Government Hospital and interested parties, who rallied
to raise money for a necessary cesarean section, Hassanatu delivered a very weak
baby girl the next day (16 hours after arriving at the hospital) via c-section. During
the night, Hassanatu was in severe pain but was cared for by the nurses at the
hosipital. After the baby was born, she needed oxygen for those first few hours. At
that moment I knew that something needed to be done to make sure that more
women do not face the complications Hassanatu faced.
With the Sierra Leone government’s implementation of free health care services for
pregnant women, I hope that women will be able to feel comfortable using the medical
services available. Also, I hope that the health care services include transportation to
the health care facility, provision of delivery services, and cesarean services
conducted by able physicians. We have to find ways in which a woman’s hopeless
financial resource does not determine that woman’s pregnancy outcome. I am looking
forward to more happy endings. Right now, a healthy, precocious 2 and half year-old,
who bears my name Fredanna is in Kenema and I am so happy that I was part of her
story of survival.
RM: How will this research help bridge the gap between Sierra Leone,
United States and other countries as far as health care is concerned?
FM: Right now, this is a relatively small project. With just enough funding provided by
Coastal Carolina University and Seton Hall University for data collection equipment,
supplies, travel and stipends for interviewers. We hope that when people hear and
see our efforts, they will be willing to invest their time, services, expertise, money, and
equipment toward this worthy cause.
We plan to share the results of the research to the global community to be used as
baseline and a foundation to develop appropriate and effective programs. Sierra
Leone’s commitment to provide free health care services for pregnant women and
children could be the beacon for other countries to address what is usually a
needless tragedy.
RM: Are there future plans to expand your study beyond the borders of
Sierra Leone?
FM: Right now we are just taking the project one day at a time. With the Bele Uman
name, it is geared towards Sierra Leone. However, as the project progresses, who
knows where we will end? Only time will tell what God has in store for this project.
RM: What is your long term vision for the project: Do you have any other
message to convey to the world?
FM: Hmmm…long term, we see this project being part of a larger cause that
addresses girls and women’s issues more broadly, and which also impact maternal
health outcomes. These include working on teen pregnancy prevention, sexual rights
empowerment and crisis pregnancy counseling, all of which are related to improved
pregnancy outcomes.
My message: God has given each of us a destiny that can be fulfilled. If you can think
it, with God’s grace, you can do it, so make it happen!
Roland B. Marke is a Sierra Leonean writer, commentator and activist for the poor and vulnerable.
He’s also the author of Teardrops Keep Falling, Silver Rain and Blizzard and Harvest of Hate:
Stories and Essays (Fuel for the Soul).
His website is: www.rolandmarke.com
Roland Bankole Marke © 2010
Dr. Fredanna M’Cormack, ''Bele Uman Project''
Comments
Simeon L. Menegbo, Lagos Nigeria
I want to thank the doctor for the wonderful service they are providing. I as a man
understands the risk involved in pregnancy and child birth and will urge all African
countries to emulate this laudable service to humanity.
Simeon L. Menegbo, Lagos Nigeria
I want to thank the doctor for the wonderful service they are providing. I as a man
understands the risk involved in pregnancy and child birth and will urge all African
countries to emulate this laudable service to humanity.