Page 39 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 22

Health & Healing

Lucy, thank you so much for
hosting us and thank you so
much for taking the time out
of your schedule to have this
conversation with us.
Thank you for having me it is such a
pleasure to be here on your channel.

Thank you. So, like I said Lucy
is a midwife and she is founder
of Eve’s Mama. Maybe you can
tell them a little bit more about
yourself, your background, your
training and why you are now on
this path.
I like to say I am a midwife be-
cause that’s what I do day-to-day. I
trained in Kenya; in Kenya, we are
first nurses before we are midwives,
because midwifery is a specialty in So, I thought maybe first we need stream midwifery or nursing work,
nursing, so that’s my general back- to train the midwives but then I I went into supporting women and
ground. After I trained, I worked in realized not really, it’s more the I realized the only way to do it in
hospital for a while in both capaci- mom also being able to empower this country is support them out
ties, as a nurse, as a midwife, at one herself in knowing what to expect. of hospitals because the hospitals
point I went into clinical adminis- And that also opened my eyes to a did not have a very concrete plan in
tration. And then my own journey lot of friends who had been around providing the support.
of having children, so that means me who had had children before
I’m also a mother of three, is what me and the struggles they probably What you’re saying is a very
I consider the main usher to what had gone through during their own interesting point and this is
I do today. Because my first expe- childbirth experiences but not even
rience was very medical, yet I really just childbirth but after. something that my husband
wanted it to be natural. I’m glad it has brought up severally when
ended up being natural but I felt like I must say that I found my expe- we have these conversations,
I really had to fight the system to get riences after getting a baby quite a that childbearing and child-
my natural birth, which as a mid- nice journey and a more fun jour- birth has been shifted to the
wife having been trained to support ney because I kind of had a lot of place of a hospital where
women through childbirth was a bit information. I knew at 3 am babies people are sick and or dying
of ‘What’s happening?’ Because I don’t know that I’m supposed to instead of it taking place in
was a midwife, yes. I would support be having my third dream, they a natural environment where
women, yes. But now I was on the wake up because they need a diaper you’re actually welcoming life.
receiving end, expecting the same changed and they need to feed, and How did this happen?
kind of support but it was more of I had mentally prepared for that. I
a tug of war for “Lie on the bed. knew that my body will change in There are many theories as to how
We’ll need to give you a drip. You more ways than one and I was ready it happened but it initially started
can’t walk around. You’re not ready for that. I knew that the baby would from a very kind angle. One of the
to push.” It was a lot of back and go through changes that sometimes earliest stories we have is in the first
forth that made me realize what will shock me and I was ready for world war where, you know what
women go through when they are that. So, I realized a lot of women happens when there’s war, sanitation
seeking help and support that will struggle because they don’t know is a problem, there’s no food, there’s
work with their own bodies that we, what to expect. no safety and people are dying. So,
honestly, as care providers are not there was a thought: “Let’s rescue
providing. When I decided to leave main- the pregnant women because they
are holding the next generation and

WWW.MSINGIAFRIKAMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 22 | APRIL 2022 39