In October when I was still in Ethiopia I wrote a blog post about the newborns and their mothers. It surely seemed the least I could do with this knowledge. Babies who are born in a clinic conditions are blessed with luck. This doesn’t really do for much, but a free cotton sheet to keep warm during the cold nights will. Along with the sheet babies get a small hat whits proves also quite useful. I gathered from the head of the clinic, who was desperate, that this was was the last pair of sheet and hat. Among his other duties was also to get the locals accustomed to giving birth in safe environment.

Average lifespan (56 years) is most affected by the deaths of children under 5 years of age. Association with the clinic that the mother is left with might become crucial in the baby’s survival. Most common diseases in Ethiopia are especially dangerous to the children since the early symptoms are usually more scarcely described by children than a by a grown-up. High fever which is quite common due to the cold nights, is also often fatal. Child labour for many young women is the first contact ever with healthcare institutions. From this experience the trust between medicine and the mother is born, which gives the child as well a better chance to survive. Important part of giving birth in an institution is also the information about future family planning. It all works well and if we could help just a little
Now back in Estonia I stumbled into a Tallinn University student gathering. Egle Hollmann had been speaking with the students about the situation of the babies in Ethiopia and together they decided to knit some most useful little hats for the newborns. Read also the post from 8th of Feb at www.etioopia.ee

If you have a leftover ball of wool and some initiative you can easily find a quite meaningful purpose!

MERLE

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