Lack of delivery beds for PWD's hindering pregnant disabled mothers from accessing reproductive health services.

 

Figure 1 A disabled mother being wheeled to the facility-photo by Elizabeth Akiror.

Soroti Regional Referral hospital is grappling with handling mothers with special needs. The facility which accommodates mothers from across Teso and sometimes beyond, lacks proper toilets, delivery beds and enough wheel chairs to cater for disabled mothers.

Figure 2 A mother with her new baby in ward-Photo by Elizabeth Akiror.

 The expectant disabled mothers in Teso have raised concern over their inability to access maternal health care delivery services at the regional referral hospital.

Stella Aligo, a disabled mother of one child and a resident of Soroti municipality who narrated her experience at the time she was going to deliver her first child recalls it was a very nasty experience that she wishes no other mother in her state should undergo.

‘’I wanted to go and defecate, the toilets were very dirty. Just imagine another able bodied person who is putting on shoes and also fearing to enter, but now how about me who is crawling; I suffered. I spent the whole week without bathing. If I start explaining what I went through, I just feel like crying’’, recollected Aligo.

Figure 3 Stella Aligo, a disabled mother-Photo by Elizabeth Akiror.

Video story of the article Voiced by Elizabeth Akiror

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjWtDbubzMM&t=25s

This concern is not only felt by Aligo alone. Jane Aluum, 47 years old, and a disabled mother of three children also recounts having encountered a similar experience while she had gone to give birth at the same facility in the recent past.

‘’Accessing the toilets and bathrooms was very difficult, there were no ramps, the place was very slippery and when you try to move, you could easily slide and fall down and increase on the pain which is already there”, said Aluum.

Figure 4 A slippery toilet and bathroom floor at the hospital-Photo by Elizabeth Akiror

According to Aluum, at the time when she needed to access the labor bed, she was supported by the midwife who was there on duty to make her get to the high delivery bed while she was close to pushing her baby.

Photo by Elizabeth Akiror

https://www.newvision.co.ug/news/1316489/disabled-pregnant-scoffed

Sr. Alice Grace Apako, the in charge maternity ward at the regional referral hospital in Soroti acknowledges that lack of basic facilities such as the patient trolleys used to roll expectant mothers to the theatre and adjustable beds are some of the challenges they face in as far as helping the disabled mothers to deliver is concerned.

‘’ when it comes to a disabled mother, she is not able to climb this high bed, so we sometimes need a wheel chair, which are also not enough at the facility. We also lack enough patient trolleys to wheel these mothers incase an emergency calls for a caesarean birth’’, according to Sr. Apako.

                                            Figure 5 Sr.Alice Grace Apako-In charge Ward 4

At the regional referral facility; we still have no specialists for sign language interpreters especially for the deaf mothers who might come around to deliver and therefore we are constrained communicating to these mothers, Sr. Apako added.

Sr. Apako earlier expressed worry noting that through the shared dirty bathrooms, the disabled mothers and especially those crawling are more prone to picking infections.

Figure 6 A shared toilet and bathroom at maternity ward-Photo by Elizabeth Akiror

https://www.ringsgenderresearch.org/not-business-as-usual-make-health-facilities-in-uganda-friendly-for-the-women-with-walking-disabilities/

The specialist in gaenecology and obstetrics Dr. Martin at Moroto hospital said that the hospital has challenges when it comes to handling specific kinds of mothers with special needs.

Dr. Ouna revealed that as a facility, they always find it difficult to handle severely disabled mothers who find it challenging to access the high delivery beds, adding that examining them becomes a huge obstacle especially for those that might require caesarean birth services.

      Figure 7 Dr. Martin Ouna-specialist Gynaen & Obstetrics-Photo by Elizabeth Akiror

He encouraged government and other stakeholders to construct buildings for specialized care of mothers and persons with Disabilities (PWD’s) as a whole to mitigate such challenges.

https://www.developmentpathways.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Webready-DP1294-ESP-Disability-Uganda-Sept-2020.pdf

Soroti regional referral hospital ward 4 for the expectant mothers was built in 1950’s leaving out provision for PWD’s.

Earlier on, Dr. Ouna noted that disabled mothers have ended up delivering or sleeping on the floor as most facilities are not in their favor.

The woman councilor representing women with disabilities in Soroti district council Jane Aluum revealed that a budget of 16% was allocated for PWD’s adding that with the magnitude of problems PWD’s face, this is not enough to sustain their demands.

‘since now am a leader of PWD’s, I will continue advocating for the rights of PWD’s more so the women with disabilities, Aluum observed.

With a few wheel chairs in the hospital being shared across all wards, Aluum explained that this makes it more vulnerable for the disabled mothers to get infectious diseases.

Figure 8 Jane Aluum- Soroti district woman councilors for PWD's. Photo by Elizabeth Akiror

Soroti hospital constructed in 1957 was originally an outpatient facility, but in 1960 it was upgraded to hospital status. In 1998, it was elevated into a regional referral hospital with currently a capacity of 300 beds.