According to statistics from the World Health Organization, most infant deaths occur within the first 28 days of life. Of these, about one third happen in the first 24 hours after birth.
As such, the care an infant receives immediately after birth makes a big difference for their survival and overall health. Giving that care properly depends a great deal on education.
One area of the world with a particularly high infant mortality rate is Ghana. In an attempt to support education efforts for nurses and midwives in the area, Dr. Macintosh and fellow professor Cynthia Johnson led a team of students to the lakeside town of Kpong, Ghana.
The two professors and five undergraduate nursing students arrived on April 27 and had until May 5 to work their hardest. They stayed at the nearby Ensign Global University, and they were out working from early in the morning until late into the evening.
Waking up surrounded by mango trees, the students recognized that they were far from home. Nonetheless, the community received them warmly. In fact, the Ghanaian people went out of their way to extend open arms to them!
“You’re welcome.” Third-semester student Grace Broadbear observed that Ghanaians greeted them with these words wherever they went. She didn't understand it at first as this phrase is used differently in the U.S. but quickly realized that everyone was legitimately welcoming them to their community.
Additionally, the students learned a great deal about Ghanaian culture, with locals giving them traditional food and even teaching them to dance!
The team used curriculum and materials from Helping Babies Breathe, a program that "teaches essential neonatal resuscitation and newborn care skills to support babies that do not breathe on their own after birth.”
This program, which utilizes small manikins to practice technique on, has been shown to reduce early infant deaths by nearly fifty percent.
They principally worked with Kpembe Nursing and Midwifery Training College. They’d been informed that while the Ghanaian students received sufficient training in terms of medical theory, they had no manikins in the school and therefore couldn’t practice effectively.
So, it was decided that the team would split up with several groups of Ghanaian students to demonstrate resuscitation techniques on the Helping Babies Breathe manikins. Afterwards, the students took turns practicing. Everything seemed in order, and the BYU students set to work preparing their program.
However, there were several hiccups that they hadn’t anticipated.
For one thing, the team realized upon arrival that there were actually about twice as many students as expected. The professors pondered what they would do, and a plan was formed:
What would’ve been a two-hour program became 20 minutes, and the BYU students would cycle quickly through groups of six to eight. This was improvisation at its finest, and though it wasn’t perfect, the training went extremely well!
The demonstrations were simple yet instructive. Each manikin could be filled with air or water, and a baby’s breathing could be simulated by squeezing a small air pump. Using a bag and mask, they simulated ventilating babies just as they would in real life.
“‘Be flexible,' that was the phrase we used a lot on the trip,” said Ben Kirby (semester three). Dr. Macintosh reflected on how she would carry that lesson with her:
“I will have a plan and be prepared, then give it to God,” she affirmed. “Everything always turns out better when He’s in charge.” During upcoming projects in areas like Morocco, she’ll go forth with this mindset.
Though they played it by ear, all on the BYU team agreed that the trip was a sure success. They taught skills to the Ghanaian nurses, and in return, they learned a great deal about acceptance and friendship. Together, both groups are ensuring a brighter future for countless children.
“It’s hard to know how many lives [this project] could impact,” Ben observed. “It could be hundreds, it could be thousands. We don’t really know.” Whatever the quantity, the nurses’ newfound knowledge of newborn care will have ripple effects that literally span generations.