Welcome to Midwives at Maternity Azur (ΜΑΜΑ)

Educating women and empowering midwives to increase skilled birth attendance and health facility delivery.

MAMA was established in recognition of the central importance of the role of the midwife in providing safe maternity care, and to reduce maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity in Hoima and Kikuube districts in Western Uganda. We aim to empower and promote the advocacy of Ugandan midwives to improve all aspects of maternal and perinatal health, in particular by promoting skilled birth attendance and health facility delivery. We collaborate with our partners, Azur Health Centre, in Hoima town, supporting a team of Ugandan midwives to provide round-the-clock maternity services at Azur Health Centre and at the rural maternity clinics we have established in the remote villages of Runga and Kyarushesha.

 

Latest News

March 2022: Newsletter

We are delighted to share our long overdue third newsletter, which outlines the many projects that have been keeping Sofia and the team in Hoima extremely busy. Sofia tells us she is returning to the UK in April with all manner of new skills, including used car saleswoman!

February 2022: New MAMA Vehicle

Five years ago MAMA was able to purchase a 1992 Toyota Hilux to provide essential transport for emergency referrals from our Runga, and later Kyarushesha, clinics, as well as transporting staff and resources, including clean water. Whilst this vehicle has been quite literally life-saving, at nearly 30 years old and with a mileage of over 250,000km on the clock, our precious ‘Mzee’ (old man in Swahili) was beginning to struggle. An extremely generous gift from a donor who prefers to remain anonymous has enabled us to purchase a replacement. After some searching in Kampala by Sofia and Esau a suitable vehicle was found, and is now safely installed in Hoima. 

January 2022: Clinic Workloads 2021

2021 was an extremely busy year for both our clinics, with both moving to new premises. Thank you to the UK Aid Direct Small Charities Challenge Fund, The Vardy Foundation, The Northwood Charitable Trust, the Kitchen Table Charities TrustAbingdon School, Spratley and Partners and numerous individual donors who make our work possible. 

Kyarushesha oversaw 556 births; conducted 4666 antenatal visits; reviewed 1791 patients through the outpatients department; provided 671 people with family planning; and immunised 1376 children. There were 1557 maternity admissions, 987 general admissions, 143 pregnant referrals to Hoima town and 152 non-pregnant referrals. There were 8 stillbirths, no neonatal deaths and no maternal deaths. 

Runga had 207 births; saw 1624 women for antenatal visits; reviewed 681 patients through the outpatients department; and provided 277 people with family planning. There were 273 maternity admissions, 326 general admissions, 42 pregnant referrals and 26 non-pregnant referrals. There were 3 stillbirths, no neonatal deaths and no maternal deaths. 

December 2021: Rotations Charity Shop

We were delighted to be given the opportunity to be able to once again take over the Rotations charity shop in Whitchurch for a week in December 2021. Thank you so much to the team that made this possible. We raised an amazing £1035. 

October 2021: Kyarushesha Building Opening

In March 2020, thanks to a generous two-year grant from the UK Aid Direct Small Charities Challenge Fund, MAMA was able to open the doors of the new MAMA Grace Clinic in Kyarushesha, helping to address UN Global Goal 3. On 21 October 2021 we were delighted to host the official opening of the new building for our Kyarushesha Clinic. The building was formally opened and blessed by Bishop Samuel Kahuma and we were thrilled to share the day with friends and colleagues from Kyangwali Health Centre, Hoima Regional Referral Hospital and Azur Health Centre. The clinic is dedicated to the memory of our dear friend and former Senior Midwife at Azur Health Centre, Emvikia Grace. 

May 2021: Kyarushesha Building Project Completion

Simon and his team, ably overseen by Sofia and Esau, completed this project on track at the end of May, establishing permanent, purpose-built premises for our UKAid Direct-funded clinic in Kyarushesha. We moved in on 30 May, opening our doors the very next day. Huge thanks are due to The Northwood Charitable Trust, the Kitchen Table Charities Trust; an array of generous private donors; a series of ambitious fundraising activities undertaken by our supporters (Becks, Lucy, Duncan, Claire and Gillian); as well as those who wish to remain anonymous. In the first four months we have seen 1713 mothers for antenatal appointments and 532 people in outpatients; provided 214 people with family planning; delivered 189 babies; and made 98 emergency referrals to hospital. A report on the project completion can be found here

Providing services to remote areas

Through MAMA, midwives are able to offer numerous services to women including intrapartum care, antenatal, postnatal and neonatal care, HIV and syphilis screening, treatment and counselling and family planning. Find out more in our featured articles below:

Outreach Clinics

Holding outreach antenatal and family planning clinics in isolated settings has been a key way MAMA has reached isolated, deprived communities in Western Uganda. These outreach clinics have been invaluable in developing strong relationships with these communities and their leaders, as precursors to establishing our permanent facilities.

Further study for Josephine

MAMA funded Josephine, who was a junior midwife working at Azur and our Runga clinic, to return to school to study for her midwifery diploma. In 2019 Josephine returned to Azur Health Centre and our projects as a senior midwife.

New Vehicle for MAMA

An incredible donation sees MAMA equipped with new vehicle, essential for collecting referred women who develop complications in their labour or delivery.

Neonatal care and admissions

Infection, breathing difficulty or prematurity are just some of the reasons why a baby may need to be transferred to the paediatric ward after birth. MAMA also supports the neonatal services at our partner hospital, Azur Health Centre IV in Hoima town.

Caesarean section

Caesarean sections may be required as a result of babies becoming distressed during labour or if labour becomes obstructed due to a small pelvis, large baby or malposition of the baby. It might be indicated electively due to a history of previous Caesarean sections or uterine rupture, or if babies are in certain positions (for example lying sideways across the womb). At MAMA we support our colleagues at Azur Health Centre in performing these operations when needed, whilst remaining mindful to not perform them unnecessarily.

Ugandan Volunteer Midwives

When a midwife or nurse qualifies and then gets employment, they are expected to work as a ‘volunteer’ for one year to pay back the government for their training. These midwives are only paid 50,000 Ugandan shillings a month (roughly £10).

Maternity Waiting Homes

Waiting homes are for expectant mothers to come and wait to go into labour in a designated area so they can receive care from a skilled birth attendant at delivery. And MAMA is happy to announce the opening of their maternity waiting homes, the first two in Hoima district.

Health Projects – Pre-eclampsia

In October our health project addressed pre eclampsia. The project we delivered to 38 health centres across Hoima District and numerous women were educated on the warning signs of PET. Staff were given boxes of emergency medicines and equipment, and some training on how to manage the condition

Akiiki

“I am sitting on my sofa with a cup of coffee. I have to write a report about the new Outreach Clinic in Kaboya but I’m not sure where to start….it is not all about figures and statistics. Perhaps we should start from the beginning…”

Kangaroo care

Simple skin-to-skin ‘kangaroo’ care has been proven to improve the outcomes of neonates, especially those born too early, of low birth weight or who are sick.

Get involved.

MAMA encourages you, if you feel inspired by the work we do, to consider supporting us in one of the following ways.

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