Meet Winnie and her baby girl Olivia, Bulamu’s first newborn supported by Helping Babies Breathe+ training we provided!

Winnie (age 25) traveled to two healthcare facilities in search of assistance to deliver her child. The first facility told Winnie she needed a C-section that would cost about 82 USD, which she didn’t have. Despite her advanced labor, Winnie was forced to go elsewhere. The second facility Winnie went to said she probably didn’t need a C-section, but had no staff able to help her.

By the time Winnie found her way into Bulamu’s care, she and her unborn baby were exhausted and in distress. The baby’s heartbeat was growing weaker as Winnie’s labor progressed. A C-section was their only hope.

Thankfully, the Bulamu-trained maternity team that received Winnie was able to provide her with a C-section at no cost. Then, when the baby was born struggling to breathe, Winnie’s maternity workers put into practice the new lifesaving skills they received at Bulamu’s first Helping Babies Breathe+ training in early 2023. Olivia is alive today because of Bulamus’ Maternal and Child Health programs and Helping Babies Breathe+ training. She is the first of 135 newborn resuscitations at birth in the first 3 months since this work started! By late 2024, our goal is to provide this training to 150 of our partner health facilities that deliver babies, supporting 100,000+ safer births per year.