Helping Babies Breathe in Bangladesh
By Dr. Lia Harris, Helping Babies Survive Team Lead
Sustainable education; it is the purpose of the train-the-trainer model, which MedGlobal employs, through global partnerships, in developing countries and under-resourced areas.
In June 2019, healthcare workers in Bangladesh were trained as Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) instructors by MedGlobal Master Trainers, in partnership with UNFPA. Participants took a two-day facilitator course and then led the HBB provider course under the supervision of Master Trainers. After completing the course, they graduated with facilitator (instructor) certificates.
In June 2019, healthcare workers in Bangladesh were trained as Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) instructors by MedGlobal Master Trainers, in partnership with UNFPA. Participants took a two-day facilitator course and then led the HBB provider course under the supervision of Master Trainers. After completing the course, they graduated with facilitator (instructor) certificates.
Now, under the supervision of UNFPA midwives, they moved on to lead courses in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, to their colleagues who provide health care in the Rohingya refugee camp.
Anne Marie Brennan, a UNFPA midwife, supervising new HBB students. Anne Marie Brennan, a UNFPA midwife, with the Bangladeshi midwife instructors, Nahar Nira, Ite Khatun, Meena Akter, Jesmin Khatun, (Anne Marie), and Sonia Akter.
MedGlobal will be returning to Cox’s Bazar in 2020 to mentor these exceptional midwives as Master Trainers. With these skills, they will be able to teach new instructor courses, thus ensuring the sustainability of Helping Babies Breathe education in Cox’s Bazar. With a grant from Laerdal Global Health, MedGlobal will continue to mentor, monitor and evaluate the training via telehealth technology. The greatest measure of the success of our training is we will never need to return to Cox’s Bazar.
Helping babies survive, one baby at a time.
By Dr. Lia Harris
This heartwarming story is about our very own Bangladesh Field Coordinator, Maryam Molla. Maryam was trained as a Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) provider by HBB Master Trainer Volunteer, Dr. Henna Qureshi, in December 2018. Recently, she had the opportunity to use her skills.
A 5-month-old baby arrived at the clinic seizing, no one knew for how long. The baby had no prior history of seizures, fever, or any inciting event. The clinic team recognized the medical emergency; checking blood sugar, which was normal, and providing oxygen. They gave a dose of midazolam, the side effect of which, is known to be respiratory depression. Dr. Maryam knew this and prepared HBB resuscitation equipment.
When the baby became drowsy and started to slow his breathing, she was prepared to use the bag-mask device to support his breathing. She did support his breathing, all the way down the hill to the ambulance, and during the entire bumpy ambulance ride to the hospital. When they arrived at the hospital, the baby’s seizure had stopped, and he began breathing again. He was admitted to the hospital for further diagnostics and treatment.
Do you know what Rohingya people do when someone is nearing death? They say very loudly, “there is no God other than Allah, verily I have been amongst the wrongdoers.” This baby’s parents were saying this all the while Dr. Maryam was supporting his breathing, but I am so happy to report that his life was saved that day, thanks to Dr. Maryam and her HBB skills.
When the baby became drowsy and started to slow his breathing, she was prepared to use the bag-mask device to support his breathing. She did support his breathing, all the way down the hill to the ambulance, and during the entire bumpy ambulance ride to the hospital. When they arrived at the hospital, the baby’s seizure had stopped, and he began breathing again. He was admitted to the hospital for further diagnostics and treatment. Do you know what Rohingya people do when someone is nearing death? They say very loudly, “there is no God other than Allah, verily I have been amongst the wrongdoers.” This baby’s parents were saying this all the while Dr. Maryam was supporting his breathing, but I am so happy to report that his life was saved that day, thanks to Dr. Maryam and her HBB skills.
Helping Babies Breathe in Pakistan
MedGlobal recently deployed an educational mission to Pakistan in November 2019. Along with local partner, Indus Hospital, MedGlobal and volunteers provided training to health care professionals in Helping Babies Breathe. A group of those participants was trained as instructors (Master Trainers).
Now, those Master Trainers are moving on to train their colleagues in the region, furthering the impact and sustainability of the MedGlobal HBB program.
Training traditional birth attendants of the community in Helping Babies Breathe at Bhong, South Punjab. Each participant is given a neonatal resuscitator and is committed to sharing delivery data.
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