Helping women facing unplanned pregnancies

The joys and struggles of motherhood and the process of bringing another human into existence lie just above and beyond the challenges that are already imprinted on any woman's life at birth.

Malawi: Women face a wide range of challenges and vulnerabilities in Malawi and around the world. Their difficulties range from not being heard by society enough, to exploitation and harassment, to expectations of how they should dress and how, as women, they must always be in sync with their culture and traditions.

The joys and struggles of motherhood and the process of bringing another human into existence lie just above and beyond the challenges that are already imprinted on any woman's life at birth.

As much as Africa faces many challenges related to child care and high infant mortality rates, statistics show that women in first-world countries face similar difficulties during pregnancy and childbirth. The ethnicity gap in these statistics, however, cannot be overlooked.

According to a 2019 UK watchdog report, Black women in the UK are five times more likely than white women to die during pregnancy and shortly after childbirth.

According to the same report, Asian women are twice as likely as white women to die during and after childbirth, while in the United States, Black women are three to four times more likely to die than white women, with indigenous Americans two to three times more likely to die.

Because pregnancy is any woman's natural way of bringing a child into the world, there are a number of difficult moments that women all over the world and in Africa face during this time in their lives.

While the majority of pregnancies are well-planned and anticipated, there are some that are not.

With a focus on women who find themselves carrying an unplanned pregnancy, one newly introduced privately-owned organisation, Golden Care Pregnancy Center in Lilongwe, is out to help women during these unprecedented times.

According to Monica Makwenda, the organization's managing director, while falling pregnant is a perfectly normal process for any woman, it is critical that women facing unplanned pregnancies have a place they can reach out to help them through that very undetermined period in their lives.

"Because the greatest need during this time is companionship and assurance, we, as an organisation intend to offer all the necessary counselling during this time so women feel valued and loved. The most significant intervention at the moment is the counselling we are offering, as in most cases women in such circumstances feel alone they tend to contemplate abortion which would have not been the case if someone was there to run the journey with them," she said.

Makwenda says statistics surrounding women's vulnerability during an unplanned pregnancy call for some intervention in order to prevent more women from considering abortion, which in the long run puts their health at risk and can potentially harm their bodies.

"The average young woman is sexually active and in most circumstances when experiencing unplanned pregnancy would want to merely get rid of it without thinking of predicaments of it. They later regret the decisions they make and undergo a series of depressions so we are here to curb the depression that roams around the women in these experiences we hope to give them a new image of everything so they understand how strong they are and also know that loved and valued by the society," elaborates Makwenda.

According to the organization's representative, the Golden Care Pregnancy Center will use its social media platforms to provide all necessary civic education because it is easier to reach more people online in this new age.

Hellen Katarina Thawani Mpira, a young Blantyre-based mother, was also contacted by the AfricaBrief to share her thoughts on the Golden Care Pregnancy Center initiative.

The young mother praises the Golden Pregnancy Center's establishment, saying that it is exactly what women need, especially during this difficult and transitional time in their lives.

She said: "This is such an important establishment which I believe will save a lot of lives. As a nation, our public health sector is very overwhelmed to handle the load of women requiring one on one sessions when needed.

Hence,  initiatives like the Golden Care Center will give a chance for those without the capacity to go for private sessions with specialists to have a chance to be emotionally assisted throughout the journey which is one important aspect of pregnancy. There are so many emotions that women go through in the pregnancy journey and without appropriate support, the journey is almost unbearable and sometimes even risky for both the mother and the baby.”

Mpira shared her own experience as a mother and parent, stating that she, too, went through many transitions and emotional changes during her pregnancy and after giving birth to her child.

She goes on to say that professional care and support are essential not only during pregnancy, whether planned or unplanned but also after childbirth, as women experience different emotions because their bodies are no longer the same.

" Even after giving birth, a woman goes through a rollercoaster of emotions. All of a sudden their life has changed and they have a little someone to always take care of. Their body is physically healing, they are mentally healing, they are barely resting and they have to balance that with their normal day-to-day activities. First of all, they need to be reminded of how beautiful they are, and how beautiful the scars that they bear are. They are a sign that they were strong enough to carry and bring life into this world. They need to be constantly reminded that they are doing a great job and that they are appreciated, and as much as they need constant guidance, they also need constant reassurance," she added.

Mpira believes that these are critical services for every woman, particularly in Africa and, more specifically, in Malawi, where women have little to no access to emotional and professional support during their pregnancy.

She said: "I believe raising awareness and civic education would be a great first step. Because not everyone would know how important these support groups may be. Or how important it may be to be a part of them. There are a lot of people who would be great at supporting and a lot who need the support but they do not know it. So awareness and civic education especially in rural areas would be a great step. Not limiting the thought to rural only, even the urban sector needs that as well.”

The Golden Care Pregnancy Centre stated that it has so far reached out to women who have recovered from suicidal thoughts, depression, and anxiety, among other challenges.

According to the Centre, after a series of talks and counselling sessions, women who were considering abortion changed their minds.