Traumatic System, 9ja!

I doubt if there is any Nigerian who hasn't been traumatized by the failed system. Poor healthcare was my experience.

I still hear these words even years after,
"WHY DO YOU WANT TO WASTE YOUR MONEY FOR A CESAREAN OPERATION, INDUCE HER SO SHE CAN PUSH OUT THE RUBBISH!"  

Those were the words said by a Nigerian doctor in a Nigerian government hospital to me a mother who was experiencing a high risk pregnancy(giving birth in a government hospital was never my ideal delivery, but circumstances had me transferred there last minute).
See whatever you have heard about Nigeria government hospitals is never enough to prepare you for the ordeal when you personally experience it.

How much was this money you may wonder? Seventy thousand naira (N70,000) in 2016. The doctor said this because we insisted on a CS to give the baby a fair chance at survival. So the trials and frustration for me began in a government hospital from a failed system.

I was meant to deliver on Thursday morning and had started fasting since Wednesday in preparation for the surgery. On Thursday morning the doctor said the previous statement and insisted on not doing my surgery cos he didn't feel CS was a priority for a child who he believed won't make it. But you see no man is God, even as they refused to operate on me, in the midst of frustration God sent an angel in the form of a matron, never knew or met her before. She came and said don't worry I will find a doctor who will handle your delivery, so she got someone who wasn't on call and I had to wait for the current doctors on call to be done with their priority surgery before this doctor could take my delivery. By 7pm there wasn't an available theater for me, hunger was dealing with me, a pregnant woman, since I had been fasting from the previous night.

Anyway around 9-10pm, delivery was done, baby was out and it was round two of frustration.

Nigeria!
My daughter was kept in the incubator with three other babies, four babies to one incubator with a weak performance, her jaundice lasted over a week. You think that's bad, that is nothing compared to the attitude of the NICU nurses.

Twenty thousand naira(N20,000) was paid for a tin of Pre-Nan because I wasn't lactating, but for them to bring the milk to feed my girl was war. They will rain curses and abuses on you for demanding for your own paid milk. You will hear stuff like, "Are you a cow, go and press your milk out joor" or stuff like, "I'm not feeding anyone formula o, if you can't press your child will stay hungry". That's how I will stand and plead with them, my daughter will be crying from hunger in the incubator, these nurses won't be bothered they will tell me to keep on pressing something must come out. After like an hour of almost pressing my chest to turn to slippers and getting like 5 drops they will now say "You bring your cup here jare", in a very sarcastic manner. 

*By the way I did all the recommendations for breast milk but no show*. 

My normal sharp mouth humble because they were holding my most precious being, I couldn't just vent. I was at their mercy, I saw Oba!

Or is it when Shalewa came few days after to the NICU, her baby was also in the same incubator with mine, and asked me a few questions so I tried guiding her on what to do, mother to mother. The nurse cursed me o "teacher, knowknow, Matron, you will not mind your business there and face your baby" . They blasted Shalewa too, "they were like follow-follow, you will just come and be following" 😃

It was really so bad for us, we saw babies die by the hour due to negligence or no proper orientation. The nurses told us they had a big rule in that NICU, face your baby and your baby alone.If another person's baby is crying or dying it's not your business to raise alarm. If the mother can't watch for signs of her baby giving up and call for their attention then it's on her 🤦🏻‍♀️

Or is it how we practically beg every two days when babies were weighed, to know the statistics of our babies, to know if they have added weight, to at least have a bit of hope that they were growing.

Wow! Government hospital, government nurses, empathy level below zero.

Let me even talk about the women's ward itself, because we stayed in the ward for over a month waiting for our little preemies to grow. There was only one charging spot to over 50beds. Ooh why didn't we take private ward, the private ward was under renovations so they said, but it automatically became open when one of their matrons had a premie as well and need a ward to stay while waiting for her baby. She was the only one with access to the private ward, they even did party there self for baby naming 🙄.

Anyway I had someone go to the electrical department to see if they could help fix the socket beside my bed, I was willing to pay. The guy told me, "Madam, even if you buy the socket this process need many approval before I go fit fix am and e go take very long time, you go done comot by then self" 😃 . Shalewa and I closed the curtains one day and had her brother help us fix the socket without anyone knowing. So we started chilling well in our depressing state by our bed, atleast we could press phone.

So many things are just wrong in the healthcare system. Getting oxygen to the last floor sometimes was a problem, the elevators won't work. Oxygen tank will need to be pushed up the stairs and the particular man was always laid back about it and never in a hurry then his wife had a baby some weeks after and the child needed oxygen, Uncle became swift with his oxygen delivery, this is the selfish Nigerian attitude we talk about.

One faithful afternoon day, my baby was just dropped on my bed and said you have been discharged, they didn't pre inform me that we were going to be discharged that day o, she was just dropped on my bed, a tiny premie weighing 1.5kg was dropped.
1.5kg wasn't even up to the standard UN weight of 2.5kg for a new born but they discharged us at 1.5kg due to lack of incubators and beds.
You know the way Lagos traffic is, before her dad could meet me up, she was already hungry. I didn't have milk, I had to take her back to the NICU for them to feed her (payment for milk had already been made so there was still milk). The Chief matron was so mean but then hen, my daughter was already in my hand so I gave her a good piece of my mind and told her how mean she was if I was only asking for milk to feed my baby for a little while before I get picked up and go home since it was an impromptu discharge.

Like after I challenged her, she behaved and fed my baby.

Nigerian health system is so bad, I can't type every terrible detailed I experienced there and the fact I still lost my mum this year due to medical negligence is another painful one but we give thanks.

Now I'm so hyped about daughter's birthday. My heart expands the more every year with gratitude, love and thanksgiving for the gift of my child which the Lord bestowed upon me. 

One bible verse that held me all through and still one of my favorite verse is Psalms 46:10

#NewNigeria
#EndSars
#Endpoliceburtality
#Providegoodhealthcare


Stay Sharp,
Warri Girl.