Heavily Pregnant Woman Risks Life, Swims Across a Deadly River to Give Birth
A daring pregnant lady from Tana River County in Kenya swam across a river amidst the floods and gave birth to a bouncing baby boy in the hospital.
Today, Monday, 13th of November 2023, is the fourth day that Mohammed Bilal, the newborn, was brought to this world. His birth was on Friday.
Sadia Mahamud is a tale of fortitude in the face of calamity; she is camera shy yet courageous enough to bravely face nature’s forces to deliver her bundle of joy safely in a hospital.
“My clinic check-up told me I still had one week to go, so I knew I had time to get ready. However, I didn’t pay much attention to it because I assumed it was typical until Friday morning when I started to feel ill,” she stated.
After receiving a massage from the camp’s traditional masseuse, Sadia felt better.
She carried on with her everyday tasks until the rain returned later in the evening.
“I was laughing and swapping stories with my aunt as we were seated in the tent when I suddenly felt a terrible cramp that forced me to stand up. “I’m not sure how I managed to escape the tent, but I knew I needed to receive immediate medical attention,” she remarked.
Sadia quickly increased her speed from walking to running, battling the intense downpour as she made her way to the inundated Galole.
The floods had left her. She was crossing the seasonal river that had taken two lives in less than two weeks when her aunt and friend managed to catch up with her.
“A man on the other side of the river noticed me and dove into the water to assist me in crossing when I was almost halfway over. The water had become choppy and was chest high, according to her.
Along with her aunt and two other women, they wiggled their feet underwater as they crossed the swift-moving river while holding hands.
She briefly experienced some respite in the water, but as she was ready to get out, the pain came back, so she dove back in.
“The pain was too much and the water seemed to be a relief, so I thought it would be better to stay inside until it went away, but that was not going to work with the women who were accompanying me,” she stated.
With the men’s assistance, they reached her in a hurry. All that was seen of her was her neck as she sat in the shallow section of the water. She screamed as the men lifted her out of the water.
Traditional midwife Eshah Ismail reported that because there was no car or motorcycle on the road, they had to walk many kilometers to reach the hospital.
They made it to Madogo Health Centre without incident, where Sadia delivered birth.
“She didn’t take long to deliver the baby boy when she arrived, but she was too tired to go home the same day, so we waited,” Ismail recalled.
Ismail believes that the mother and kid are fortunate to be alive because, while traveling to the hospital, death was staring them in the face.
She claims that the swollen river is difficult to traverse and that the heavily pregnant woman’s ability to tolerate the power of the water was quite precarious.
There has been a history of deaths here, including the disappearance of men, women, and children. God must have been with us that day, she remarked.
They expect that eventually a bridge will be constructed by the government to facilitate easy access to and from Baraka village.
Many residents in Tana River settlements, which are currently stranded by the floods, are going through a difficult time as a result of the country’s heavy rainfall.
Eight settlements are only reachable by plane, according to Jerald Bombe, the coordinator for the Red Cross in Tana River County.
“They need to be evacuated and if we have to give them any assistance, it can only be by air and we are hopeful that we will be able to help them soon,” he stated.
