A touching story from our Nigerian BARNARDS Project Coordinator that encapsulates the heart of BARNARDS, aiming to reduce neonatal mortality in developing societies as a result of sepsis caused by antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
“When we were at the neonatal ward, I noticed a young mother staring at her baby silently while her baby lay still and motionless. She did not utter a word. The ward was so busy and all the staff were preoccupied. I called the attention of the doctors, who then began to resuscitate an already dead baby on the makeshift resuscitare (a cold brown table). After a couple of minutes the baby was wrapped up in a cloth and the nurse called out for the mum. The baby’s grandma came up and carried the baby in her arms silently. I watched them leave without uttering a sound, without shedding a tear, it was almost like nothing happened but I could see their silent pain. The doctors swiftly moved on to the next patient…”
-Zahra Modibbo, June 2016
