Ruben Health Centre Maternity turns TWO!

June 2nd 2018 the Ruben Health Centre officially opened its birthing unit and necessary support services In the midst of Covid-19 curfew and other restrictions on mass gatherings Ruben still wanted to mark the occasion of a second birthday and shout out the achievements.

The Birthing Unit is first and foremost about the Mother to be and her needs. 1,970 Mothers have sought out the Unit for the birth of their babies.

The Unit offers 24-hour service, qualified birth attendants, referral services if needed at any time prior to the delivery, during or post delivery. There are four government hospitals within 45 minutes in the ambulance.   Unfortunately, in this period there were two Maternal deaths after referral and six neo natal deaths.

During this two-year period    over 1,700 babies have been delivered with over 250 mothers being referred for more specialized medical procedures.

The Services are free.

The Celebration

June 2nd was a normal postnatal care clinic day and with the previous day being a public holiday, a big crowd was expected.  Over 150 mothers attended the clinic, while over 300 others wandered in for the birthday celebration.

It was kept short and simple in fitting with Crowd management during Covid19 times.

Mothers and babies sat on the recently grassed field and after a welcome, the MC invited mothers and their children to come and share their experience of the services of the Ruben maternity.  

As director I was intrigued by the very real readiness of these normally shy women to volunteer to talk at the microphone and share with the other mothers. All were full of high praise for the service.

Key features they mentioned.

·         Its is free

·         Professional staff and very friendly.  (No pinching or belittling likes government maternity services.

·         Clean and a bed each.

·         Hot meals provided.

·         Visitors and even fathers were always very welcome.

·         Baby Clothes provided for some who came in a hurry or who had nothing.

·         Education for the mothers around breast-feeding and other general baby needs.

·         And finally, the one mentioned most… A hot shower

The School orchestra began the official part with the national anthem, followed by a few brief speeches from the Maternity In charge Cecilia who got a huge welcome and roar of approval when invited to the microphone.  She clearly was no stranger to them but rather their dear ‘sister’ in their hour of need.

The special guests of the day were a handful of first week 2018 babies now walking around like kings and queens, along with one set of twins from 2018. The orchestra played Happy birthday while the Ruben Choir sang. Two candles were blown out by two of the wee babies from 2018 and pieces of cake ceremoniously shared around. To wrap the occasion up, all mothers were given two loaves of bread and some hygiene products from Unilever.

Smiles all round evident as all mothers and babies departed.