When Sarah speaks, she’s expressive and joyful. She’s quick to laugh, joke with her children, and gestures widely with her hands. Her love for her family and her faith are apparent, even when she talks about the hardest moments of her life.
It hasn’t always been an easy road for Sarah and her family. When they were forced to leave their home in the Democratic Republic of Congo by violence, she was terrified her husband would die and her children wouldn’t be safe. But it’s only when she speaks about her complicated pregnancy that fear truly shines in her eyes. “I was so afraid and uncertain about making it because my condition was severe,” she confesses. But with faith and the support of Medical Teams, Sarah’s here today to share her story.
“Before fleeing to Tanzania, we had a good life with everything we needed and many dreams,” Sarah says. Sarah and her husband, a priest, lived happily in the Democratic Republic of Congo with their 5 children. But when her husband’s sermons about peace and unity upset a local political party, the party had him beaten until he nearly died.
Sarah says, “God heard his prayers and gave my husband a chance to escape and flee, so we followed him to Tanzania.”
Fortunately, Sarah’s family was able to escape to Tanzania. Once there, they began to rebuild their lives in a refugee settlement. When Sarah learned she was pregnant with her sixth baby, she and her husband were overjoyed.
But 6 months into her pregnancy, Sarah began to feel sick. She was dizzy and tired, and her stomach was swollen.
“My health deteriorated to the point where my husband rushed me to the clinic for treatment,” she shares quietly. “I didn’t feel like myself at all.”
Thankfully, Sarah lives near a Medical Teams clinic. She’d brought her children there for care before, but hadn’t sought out services for herself. But when she felt unwell during her pregnancy, she knew she wanted to give her daughter the best chance possible for survival.
At the clinic, Medical Teams welcomed Sarah and began treating her. After running tests, our providers diagnosed Sarah with pregnancy-induced hypertension, or high blood pressure, and began treating it with medication. They also helped her with general prenatal care, including malaria prevention medication.
She says, “The kindness displayed me feel valued despite my sickness.”
Sarah came back for follow-up appointments throughout her pregnancy. Medical Teams providers treated her hypertension and monitored her closely until she gave birth. They even visited her at home to make sure she was well when she couldn’t make it into the clinic!
When she went into labor, Sarah had a postpartum hemorrhage. She lost so much blood she required a blood transfusion. Our providers acted accordingly, and she and her daughter both survived the birth. Today, Sarah is the proud mother of a healthy baby girl, Noela Amuri. Medical Teams continued to care for both Sarah and Noela after the birth.
