This is the story of a Kenyan teenage mother, Moureen, who survived two risky childbirth complications: high blood pressure (pre-eclampsia) and severe bleeding (post-partum haemorrhage). Her case is referred to as a ‘maternal near miss’, meaning a woman who nearly died but survived a severe complication/s during pregnancy, childbirth, or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy.
Moureen’s story is told by the clinician who attended to her during this delicate time in her life. The clinician, who has over 10 years of practice, requested to have her identity concealed. She however stated that her purpose of sharing this story is to enlighten the public on some of the circumstances that lead to maternal deaths in Kenya; how it happens that sometimes a mother’s life is lost while in hospital under the care of skilled attendants. This incident happened in April 2025.
This story is part of the ‘Wanjiku Kumbukumbu’ memorial board by Mummy Tales, an initiative that is documenting maternal deaths in Kenya. ‘Wanjiku Kumbukumbu’ aims to raise awareness about the issue and advocate for better maternal health.
By Maryanne W. Waweru I maryanne@mummytales.com
“I am a Clinical Officer working in a small health center in rural Kenya –specifically in the western region. Our facility is mission-funded, though it is quite under-equipped if I may say so. However, we do our best to adequately serve every client.
I’d like to share a challenging situation that my colleagues and I recently faced, regarding the childbirth experience of a 17-year-old girl –let’s call her Moureen*.
Moureen got pregnant while in Form 3 and decided she did not want to continue with her studies anymore. Moureen and her siblings depend on their mother, who works as a casual labourer in people’s farms in the village. Moureen hardly sees her father as he is rarely ever home.
After dropping out of school, Moureen took to trading in kienyeji (traditional) vegetables in the local market, 2 kilometres away from her home.
Alarming blood pressure readings
One day, while I was working the night shift, Moureen arrived at the facility accompanied by her mother. That was at around 8:30pm. They had trekked to the facility. The nurse on duty documented her, prepared her file and booked her in.
After examining Moureen, the nurse informed me that she was in active labour, with her cervix dilated at 3cm. She also said that the baby was doing well.
However, the nurse was worried about something. Moureen’s blood pressure reading was 146/96, with a pulse of 98. The nurse was rightfully troubled, because this reading indicated hypertension in pregnancy (pre-eclampsia).
We took the pressure readings repeatedly. Unfortunately, they remained high.
Meanwhile, we also checked Mourine’s urine for proteins –another indicator of pre-eclampsia. There was none. While that gave us some relief, it did little to ease our worries.
Dilemma in referring the patient to a better-equipped facility
When I checked the time again, it was slightly past 9.00pm. We did not want to have an emergency in the middle of the night, and after critically assessing and analyzing the situation, we decided to refer Moureen to a better-equipped hospital. The county ambulance was not available, so we asked Moureen’s mother to look for transport money so we could call for a taxi to refer the patient to a better equipped hospital.
In the meantime, we started Moureen on anti-hypertensive drugs.
A few minutes later, when we got back to Moureen’s mother, we found her at the same spot we had left her. She looked up at us with pleading eyes, telling us that she did not have taxi money.
Hiring a taxi to the nearest county referral facility would have cost between 4,000 – 5,000 Kenyan shillings ($30 – $38). The high cost was because the facility is a long distance away –around 34 kilometres. We had made the decision to refer her to a public hospital where we were sure she would receive all the services she needed, and at an affordable cost. Moureen’s mother only had 200 Kenyan shillings ($1.5) on her.
While there are a handful of private hospitals along the way, and which are well-equipped, they are costly. Additionally, one is required to pay first before being attended to. This was not an option for Moureen’s mother.
There is also a public ‘level 4’ hospital in between, but they too refer emergency cases to the county referral hospital, especially at night because of staff shortage. So we were stuck.
We continued recording Mourine’s blood pressure every 30 minutes, but the readings kept rising despite our interventions. At 10.30pm, the blood pressure reading was at 188/110. We gave her medication to prevent seizures and an injectable anti-hypertensive drug.
An impromptu fundraising
At that time, we were three staff at the facility. We conducted an impromptu harambee between us in an attempt to raise the required 4,000 shillings for the taxi. However, we did not even manage to raise 1,000 shillings.
Meanwhile, Moureen’s labour was progressing. We were also monitoring the baby, who was holding on well. Our worry was Moureen’s blood pressure that was not responding to the medication.
Rejection by a taxi driver
Desperate, we called our regular taxi driver to plead our case. We promised to give him all that we had and pay him later. However, he declined because we already had a previous debt with him. He insisted that we first settle that amount before he started his engine. There were no other trusted cab drivers at that hour that we could call.
Dejected, we gave up on the referral and decided to focus on monitoring the patient and managing the condition to the best of our ability.
Childbirth risks for teenage mothers
At midnight, Moureen’s blood pressure was still high. We knew what was at stake. We prayed for a miracle. Her labour nevertheless kept progressing ‘well’ and by 5.00am, her cervix was fully dilated. The membranes had ruptured, and the baby was in distress. While her blood pressure had slightly dropped to 154/96 –it was still high. Moureen was still ‘in the woods’.
We were now ready to deliver the baby. Moureen was only 17 years old –just a teenager, which predisposed her to more risk. But we felt confident about the task ahead of us.
The baby was crowning well, and the contractions were adequate. However, the labour had exhausted her, and she had no energy to push. Moureen passed out.
Her blood pressure shot up again at that point. We managed to bring her back and gave her some glucose. She regained some strength and with our support, she mustered all her energy to push, and we delivered the baby. It was chaotic, but we managed.
Another complication for Moureen
One thing about pre-eclampsia is that once the mother delivers the placenta, in most cases the blood pressure normalises, which is what happened with Moureen. However, we were not safe yet because she started bleeding heavily (post-partum haemorrhage).
We immediately administered a drug that stopped the bleeding in good time, saving her life.
Moureen’s son was born a healthy, bouncing baby weighing 3.5kgs. The birth of Moureen’s baby and their survival was nothing but a miracle.
When it was finally over, Moureen’s mum broke down in tears. While she had been present all along witnessing the events, she had remained silent, observing, praying, interceding. It was only when we told her that her daughter and grandson were safe that she burst into loud wails, shedding tears of relief. She had been tensed all along, and it showed in how she received the news.
Unqualified for SHA
Moureen is only 17, and without an Identity Card, she did not qualify for the government health insurance (social health authority -SHA) which would have catered for the delivery charges (read the June 2025 SHA update on teenage mothers here). Her parents did not have SHA insurance either.
Our childbirth delivery charges are fixed at 3,500 shillings. Moureen’s mother was unable to pay this amount. Moureen’s father, upon learning the news of his being a new grandfather later came to the facility and paid 200 shillings. Sometimes, we are forced to dig into our pockets to help families that cannot pay the full amount. However, on many occasions we ourselves are broke.
In cases such as this, we waive the balance because if the patient and their family genuinely don’t have the money because, what can we do?
While we have handled challenging maternity-related incidents at the health facility before, Moureen’s case is by far the most challenging one so far.
Our hope is that one day we will have our own ambulance and theatre, to enable us better handle emergencies such as Moureen’s.
If you would like to voluntarily provide information about a mother who has lost her life due to maternal health complications in 2025, or if you would like to support the WanjikuKumbukumbu project by Mummy Tales, please reach me at maryanne@mummytales.com
Read previous Wanjiku Kumbukumbu posts:
- Stella Mtira Wangama’s death from post-caesarean section complications
- Magdalene Njoki Mburu’s passing from childbirth complications (uterine rupture)
- Mwalimu Immaculate Akinyi Kirui’s death from childbirth complications after delivering quadruplets
- Elizabeth Wairimu’s death while giving life at age 27
- Phanice Kerubo, 27, dies from childbirth complications
- Vanessa Wanjiku’s death while giving life
Mummy Tales by Maryanne W. Waweru is a platform dedicated to empowering its readers on different aspects of womanhood and motherhood. Read more motherhood experiences of Kenyan moms here. Connect with Mummy Tales on: FACEBOOK l YOU TUBE l TWITTER
Featured photo courtesy: Iwaria
