On Innovating Care in Maternal Health - Women's Health Series with Martha Agbornyenty

Episode Transcript

Claire Murigande

00:05

Hello and welcome back to narratives of purpose. You are now tuned into a new episode showcasing unique stories of global changemakers who are contributing to make a difference in society.

For those of you who are listening to narratives of purpose for the first time, my name is Claire Murigande. I am your host on this podcast which is all about amplifying social impact. If you want to be inspired to take action, then look no further. You are in the right place. Get comfortable and listen to my conversations.

Martha Agbornyenty

00:34

It actually dawned on me just a few months ago that For Mom and Baby foundation is the first midwife led organization in Cameroon.

And I really believe that this is a mind revolution and like a reshaping for midwives to know that you can also run an organization, you can do things out of the box.

Claire Murigande

00:53

My guest in today's episode is Martha Agbornyenty, who is based in Douala.

Martha is the founder and executive director of for mom and Baby Foundation, a non profit organization that is prioritizing maternal and child health in Cameroon through community engagement, health provider training, research and policy advocacy for mom and Baby foundation was created as a means to support mothers and babies in the crisis stricken zones in Cameroon. Martha is an award winning young midwife leader and a gates foundation goalkeeper. I'm telling you, this young woman is one to watch.

Remember to rate and review our show wherever you listen to your podcasts. We are really grateful for everyone who has taken the time to share their thoughts. Thank you for the feedback and we also want to hear from you.

So please tell us what you think of these conversations. Alright now let's dive into the discussion with Martha. Enjoy.

Claire Murigande

01:57

Today in my virtual studio, I have a new guest who is based in Cameroon. Martha, welcome to the podcast. How are you today?

Martha Agbornyenty

02:05

Thank you so much, Claire. I'm good. It's a little cold in Cameroon today, but it's bearable.

Claire Murigande

02:10

And by the way, perhaps for our listeners who don't know exactly where Cameroon is, I think I've asked you this question before, but is it considered still West Africa or Central Africa?

Martha Agbornyenty

02:21

Yeah, it's actually considered both West Africa and Central Africa, but majorly West Africa.

Claire Murigande

02:26

So, you know, before we start about for mom and baby foundation, I was quickly looking at your LinkedIn profile just before you joined, and there's something that I noticed that you were already quite active as a student. You were the president of the Midwife Students association, and I'm guessing that your advocacy for maternal and child health is not new.

So tell me a bit about where this drive comes from.

Martha Agbornyenty

02:51

Oh my God. Claire, you must have done a lot of digging background checks before this session. I'm flattered, by the way. And yes, you're very right.

This is a five year long, this far, advocacy journey, and it's my life's work. Advocating for mothers, babies, and midwives is my life's work. And as you rightly said, I began doing this right from when I was a student midwife.

And back then, I mean, compared to now, I could say I knew little or nothing.

All I had was just my passion on me, you know, and the drive to just say, okay, there are people to save waters and babies to save, so let's get on it. So that was all I had. And I knew that even if it's just a word of knowledge, it's able to save the life of a mother or baby.

So that was a fire I had burning in me at that time as a student, which equally led me to get into the political aspect of departmental leadership.

So on the day of the campaign when, because I was, first of all, vice president of the University of Boya, which is the main national university in Cameroon, on the day of the campaign of the University of Boya Students Midwife Midwifery association campaign, it was the day I lost my dad. And I just went to school to pick up a few stuffs and to take permission that, you know, this is a really tough moment.

I'm not sure I'll be able to be regular at school. I need to, you know, a lot of family meetings and gatherings in preparation for the burial ceremony and all.

But instead, I get to campus and I see that everybody has gathered and people who were aspiring for the post were already there. So I walk into class just when the very first person who was giving her campaign speech was already up and speaking.

I was like, oh, what's going on here? You know? And I had my dad glasses on because I had pried my eyes out already.

So I walk in and I go to the back of the class because I didn't want to distract what was already going on.

And then after she's done speaking, someone, a senior student, a senior midwife, walks up to me and she says, mata, but we know you're capable of handling, you know, political issues like this. We've seen you organize seminars, conferences for us. So why don't you become the vice president?

Because I was in my early second year of midway free school, so normally the second year student cannot be the president. So that was how I, you know, I was like, okay, what do I have to do?

They said, you just have to stand in front of, in front of everybody and say something. So I just took the front of the class and I was like, um, I just came to collect my stuffs because I lost my that day.

And this senior student walked up to me and she was like, martha, you seem like a good fit for this post. I was like, okay, so that's why I'm standing here. So I believe that, you know, I'm up to the task.

It just cast me, you know, all the political, cast your votes of me. I believe that we are going to completely change the face of midway free, not just on campus here, but globally. So.

And everybody was clapping, clapping. And before I knew it, the votes all came for me. And that was how I became vice president.

And then fast forward to the next year, I was voted in as president again, given the many achievements we recorded in my time as vice president. So that's like a background of it.

Claire Murigande

06:08

And then when did you actually start for mom and baby foundation? Was this like right after your studies or as a student before you even graduated? Tell me about the origin story of your foundation.

Martha Agbornyenty

06:20

So I started for mom and baby foundation when I was my final year in university. And actually the foundation was born from a blog that I run. And I started that blog in 2020 during my second year as a midwife.

And the major aim of that blog was just to drive knowledge out there and ensure that, you know, not just mothers are aware of issues concerning maternal and child health, break fathers as well. You know, boys and girls are like anyone who has access to the media space. So, I mean, it began from there.

I began consistently putting up helpful articles. Of course, that led to me doing a lot of research for students of that, you know, at that level.

So it really expanded my brain to what midwifery was all about because, I mean, it's a profession that people knew little or nothing about. I could remember the backlashes, serious backlashes.

I had, you know, Ketesimi wanting to be a midwife as the last girl of seven girls in my family, that wasn't easy. My sisters weren't having it, everybody wasn't having it. So we had to go back and forth, back and forth.

And I was like, I'm not really sure of what I'm getting into, but I know that I'll be okay, and I know that I'm going to do something substantial with my life on this profession. So I was just speaking.

I didn't quite have it all figured out, but okay, back to the story for mom and Baby foundation was founded in 2021, and it was breaded from Marthas's midwifery diary, which is the blog, because I figured that the blog was more of a talk talk, you know, platform. But I wanted something that brings the action to life. We can't just be doing the education online.

Why don't we reach out to the women in the community? And I was looking at my own midwifery differently.

I wasn't looking at it from the perspective of, you know, just go to the hospital, sit there, wait for women to come in and say, okay, open your legs. I have to send my fingers inside and check how many centimeters you dilated.

No, I was looking at it from the perspective of, we meet these women in the community as midwives, we should be able to bridge that gap between the women in the community and the hospitals, because should be told most women shy away from going to the hospital, especially in those rural crisis streaking communities. And yes, my country is currently going through a socio political crisis which started as far back as 2016. And this has been really, really terrible.

It has led to the skyrocketing of the maternal mortality rates because you find more and more women. Over 55% of women and children in Cameroon have been really affected by this ongoing crisis.

You find women delivering in bushes instead of delivering in hospitals. You find them using tools, you know, maybe using a knife to cut off the umbilical cord instead of using a sterile object.

It's just been a really disheartening situation to see women and children go through. So, I mean, we started the foundation and we officially launched it on the 9 April 2021. And it was a really successful launch.

I mean, the launch was kind of like a formal event to let people know, oh, this is an organization that is really invested in maternal and child health. And it actually dawned on me just a few months ago that For Mom and Baby Foundation is the first midwife led organization in Cameroon.

And I really believe that this is a mind revolution, like a reshaping for midwives to know that you can also run an organization, you can do things out of the box. So that is kind of the background story of for mom and baby foundation. We launched the foundation with our flagship project, emergency kit Project.

And it was very, very, it was just a shabby package, in quotes, shabby packaging code, because I didn't have enough. You got, I just wanted to, you know, give some basic, you know, necessary equipment to these women and help them support them.

But I didn't have the means to. I just used my little student allowance, and I was able to ask a few friends to help me package them. And there we had it. We did that.

And today we've, you know, been able to do much more better.

Claire Murigande

10:35

So you spoke about, you know, educating not only women, but also men and boys, and you talked about these kits.

So what is it exactly that for mom and baby foundation offers today in terms of support and education and perhaps even more that you're probably doing, because you spoke in the beginning of being very active in the political scene, so to speak. So tell me about what it is that you do and how do you support women in rural areas?

Martha Agbornyenty

11:01

All right, so our work is two sided. On one hand, we work directly with mothers and babies, and on the other hand, we work with midwives.

And this is for sustainability purposes because we know that we, for mom and Baby foundation can always be the ones at the forefront, you know, helping the women, the mothers and babies. Consistently. We equally need the midwives, which are the primary caregivers when it comes to the women and children.

So we carry out community engagements where we organize community fun fairs. We go into the community, have these, you know, fun karaoke with pregnant women.

In those crisis tricking, you really see them with their long tummies, holding the microphones, dancing, you know, and it also helps with their mental health, releases some stress, makes them feel, you know, seen felt. We do games, you know, we, through the games, we educate them.

We, I mean, let them know certain things which, even if they are other fellow pregnant women in that community, are not present. Those who were there will be able to carry the information to them. So that's the community engagement aspect of it.

And so far, we've been able to engage over 3500 mothers and babies in the community. Yes, throughout different community outreaches. And that is spread across over 10 to 15 communities so far.

And then we probably have the health provider training aspect where, of course, midwives are very, very, very inclusive. They're a core part of our work.

We make sure that they feel seen, they feel heard, they really accept or acknowledge the fact that they are the major resource people or the people whose hands are needed on deck to ensure that the lives of mothers and babies are safe. So we do that by organizing seminars to update their knowledge on the latest evidence based practices.

We bring in partner pharmaceutical companies to talk about the medications that they administer to the women. We invite speakers from different portfolios, even mental health people from. Because we are really big on mental health as well.

We are very conscious of the fact that these health providers, these health professionals are as well, humans and they suffer burnout.

They have families that they have to tend to imagine having, suffering from maybe a marital crisis at home and then going to the hospital and meeting 15 women, pregnant women on the line who are about to deliver. Sometimes you just lose your co and just want to, you know, pull up, but you wouldn't really give giving your best.

So we make sure that we tend to their mental health. We teach them relaxation techniques and all those things. So that's what we do in our health provider training program.

And then we also have the research and advocacy aspect. When we go into the community, we collect basic statistics, things.

Just by taking down the ages or the marital status of these women, we can be able to deduce some facts. Maybe we could see that it's because, you know, these girls are very young.

That's why they do not have the necessary knowledge, you know, that has to do with pregnancy, childbirth. Another part of our work is that we work very, very closely with community health workers.

They are like the backbone of our work, and these are people that live in those communities. So they help connect us to the chiefs, they help connect us to the women leaders.

And this really eases our work, and it enables us to be able to get access to the community and be able to closely follow up on the women when we have to at any given point.

And yes, the advocacy part, I'm very, very much invested in that aspect because I believe that we should not be taking decisions for, especially as midwives, because we, you find little or no midwife on decision making spaces. Of course, I'm a midwife, so I'm going to speak about this fact with my whole heart, mind, you know, body, legs, everything, everything put together.

So, I mean, we, we deserve a seat on every table.

We can't be doing the dirty work, dirty in quotes, at the maternity, you know, making the women bring the babies to life, ensuring they are fine, whereas the policies do not favor us.

So we need more and more midwives to occupy spaces on policy making tables, so that at least any policy that is being made or that is being implemented is one that is coming from someone who has lived their experiences, not just people who decide to sit on the tables without knowing what's actually going on on ground. So that's what we are mainly looking at when it comes to advocacy. Those are the major, major key aspects, how we can group it.

And of course, our emergency kids project falls under the community engagement program, and we ensure that this is like a kit. At first, we didn't have it all figured out. We just put the content in some kind of bag.

We just put it out there, gave it to the women, starting from those who were present at the launching of the foundation. So, yeah, it was really, really interesting.

But then after some time, we decided to repackage the kits and we began putting the contents, you know, basic supplies for the mother and baby, things like diapers, things like a cod clamp, things like a maternity padded, a surgical bleed, because in case she gives birth while at home, maybe the contractions come in, you know, so fast and she isn't able to detect that it's labor that has started and the baby comes. She has a clean, very sterile equipment to use to cut the cord to be able to detach her from the baby. Yes. So we put all those things.

Those are just to name a few of the contents that we have in the kids right now.

We package it in a waterproof branded bag so that, for example, now it's rainy season here in Cameroon, so some of them can easily just carry their bags and go to the hospital. Even if it's raining and water has to touch the bag, it's just going to slip off. It's not going to affect the content of the material.

So far, we've been able to distribute over 1500 of these bags to pregnant women, and it's been very much put to use. Looking at all the reviews we've gotten, I mean, a very funny experience we had.

Not long ago, we had an activity here in Douala, the economy, capital, and I, the volunteers were coming. They had carried some kids from the office in Boya, you know, and they entered the same public transportation as a pregnant woman who had a kid.

She had purchased a kid from the hospital. So when they arrived, their destination, this pregnant woman, when they were removing the things, they saw the pregnant woman's kid and they took it.

They thought maybe one of them entered with the kids and sat with it. And when they took it, the pregnant woman was like, oh, no, that's my bag. And they said, no, it's a bag.

And so they went back and forth for close to two minutes. And it was only later the woman was just lamenting. She was like, and I got it from the, from this hospital.

And we're like, oh, you cut it from this hospital. Oh, my God. We are the ones who produce this kid. So. And that was when the mood was lightened up and it was. It was really a full circle moment. We were.

They told me, and I was over then when I was so happy, because you could really feel the tangible impact that, you know, we've had just through this. And yeah, we were happy. Even though she asked me to be taking pictures of with the bag, she really held her back and smiled.

Claire Murigande

18:32

Perhaps just tell me as well, on the policy making side, have you seen like, any impact of your work? 

You were saying before being present on these discussions as midwives, you can also influence the decisions that are going to be taken. Do you have some examples at this point of what you've been able to influence on the policy making side?.

Martha Agbornyenty

18:54

Yes. But not so much on my country per se.

I feel like more of the impact I've had is from other countries, because I remember I was part of the young Midwife leaders program organized by the International Confederation of Midwives. And I believe that this program is really what gave me stability when it comes to midwifery, really gave me a voice, a global voice.

And yes, so there's this colleague of mine in Burundi, and courtesy me being awarded the Goalkeepers award and the many interviews I had, I think there was one interview that was really trending in their country, according to what he said of the things I said with respect to midwives investing in midwives. And he said there was a lady from UNFPA there in Burundi who watched it, and she began looking for a midwife there in Burundi.

And that was when she got to him and when he met her, because, I mean, connecting with UNFBA, then Burunzi is a huge. It's a big thing. It's like a huge achievement.

So when she got to him and they met, that was when she was like, I heard this cameroonian midwife saying this on national tv, you know, on social media, it's everyone's social media. And I just had to look for a midwife to include him or her on our policymaking table. And that was when he wrote me.

He sent me a really long voice and was like, you have no idea what you've just done. We've been looking for this partnership for the longest time, and it came as a simple result of what you did.

So on the other hand, in my country, it's not so easy, because we have so many regenerate people. And especially coming from seeing a young girl doing something of this magnitude, it's, of course, it's not going to be highly, highly supported.

So we just keep pushing until the day when our work really takes ground and they begin to sing, you know, that value burden. So then we keep growing.

I always tell, remind the bull and says, of the fact that we are a growing organization and we shouldn't expect everything to come all at once. Take a deep breath. Breathe in, breathe out. We are going to get there. So one step at a time.

Claire Murigande

20:59

That's the right mindset, I have to say, right ? Because it's going to take a process, but you're already there. And the fact that you also have an, an impact or at least an influence outside of your country is quite impressive. Which leads me, actually, to one of the questions that I wanted to ask you about.

I said in the beginning that you're an award winning midwife.

Your work has been recognized beyond the borders of Cameroon. You've been in so many different countries. We actually met in Paris, by the way, in March earlier this year.

And you're also Gates foundation goalkeeper.

So tell me, first of all, what is that recognition about?

And then on a broader scale, all these other recognition awards you've had, how is that supporting your mission with For Mom and Baby foundation?

Martha Agbornyenty

21:41

The Global Goalkeepers Award is a recognition of people who are making significant strides with respect to the sustainable development goals, regardless of your country, your economic status or whatsoever. They just need to see your work and see that it's making, you know, irritable effect globally.

And so, truth be told, I had no idea that the award was coming. So it actually came as a result of me being part of the young midwives leaders program with ICM. That's the international contribution of midwives.

And I was like the chairperson of my cohort for that particular session. And it's a two years program, by the way.

And so I just got an email one day from our coordinator and she was like, ashumatta, we've nominated you for a global award, and we are hopeful that it comes back to you because we believe in the work that you do. We believe in how you're able to represent not just yourself, but us. So we are keeping our fingers crossed.

They sent that email informing me of the fact that they've put my name forward early 2023. So I didn't get any news about it. And then boom, early July. On the 5 July, I can't forget because I screamed.

I scrambled the way we are going to say, hey, Cameroon. I screamed. Scrum shouted, you know, I just received an email.

I was like, oh, ashumata, you've been selected as the winner of this category, the change maker category of the Global Goalkeepers award. I mean, most people till today think that I applied for this award, but I didn't apply. I had no hand in it simply came on its own.

And I was blown, you know, and seeing people, because the team actually had to travel. They had to send in a photographer from and videographer from South Africa to come and record the work we do here in Cameroon.

So it was like I was dreaming. And you can imagine the trend this particular video had.

And even during the award ceremony, everyone was just like, we never knew midwives are this big or that they do this really much work on ground. We are so proud of the work you do. ICM was so happy, and these recognitions have really helped to add more volume to my voice and the work that I do.

It has been able to connect me to many more midwives who are looking to do really great things in future and those who are already doing great things but do not yet have that global voice yet. So it's really helping me into all this. And courtesy the Young Midwife Leaders program as well.

I was able to start up a midwifery mentorship program, to be able to mentor other younger midwives, to be able to grow in the profession. And, you know, just basically put a piece of me in each midwife that I meet so that you'll be able to have that fire to grow and do better things.

Claire Murigande

24:35

On a more personal note, how do you manage to balance these activities? Right?

You were also saying before that through your program, you're also very strong on mental health, but for you personally, how do you also balance that?

Because like you said, now you're doing so many things, and still you're being able to have this mentorship program and support other upcoming midwives. How is it for you to manage, to balance all of that and still have that fire going? Right?

Martha Agbornyenty

25:04

Truth be told. It's been a lot.

I really felt that those early years of my life as a student midwife and how multitaskful I was really contributed to the resilience that I've built over time.

It really stretched me to the point where even if I'm doing a hundred things right now, it really doesn't, you know, have that much of an impact on my well being. I really see it as a part of me. I see it as a responsibility.

I see that something that I'm supposed to do in Cameroon, they'll say « c’est ma raison d’être », you know, in French. So, yeah, it makes me happy. And more to that, I am equally running a home. I'm a really full time wife. I'm really big on that.

So, yeah, or equally doing that is not really easy. Comes with a really supportive partner. My husband has been the best supporter on this.

He's really, really, really been very instrumental, you know, being my biggest critic, you know, always criticizing my ideas. But it's still helping me put it together in the most professional way, given the fact that he's even into communications.

So if you notice the post that we do on social media, they are all me. And that's Curtis, is the things I've learned from, from him.

Claire Murigande

26:19

This is also just confirming what I hear a lot on the podcast about, you know, entrepreneurs and founders is you really need to have that support system because, as you say, if you're not fit enough, well, you can't run the mission. So good for you that you have a good support system.

Martha Agbornyenty

26:33

Yeah. And equally, movies are another thing that keeps me, you know, in tune with myself. I love watching movies.

I love playing games, you know, just like cards. As simple as cards, whatever. I love playing games. So I'm going out, maybe just having a really chill evening. It's good for me.

Claire Murigande

26:52

As a last question, I want to have your outlook because, so this year, I've been talking to a lot of founders.

I'm especially focusing on women's health, and I've looked at it from different aspects, but this maternal and child health advocacy part is something that I didn't really consider in the beginning. And I was like, wait a minute. Actually, this is where it all starts, right?

So I like to know from you, you know, looking into the future, how do you see this evolving? As you said, you're now a global voice, and this is something maybe people hadn't considered before.

So how do you see maybe midwifery or even maternal health taking more space on the, I would say, global women's health scene?

Martha Agbornyenty

27:32

I see that something that is very possible. We just need many, many more hands on deck because we have more midwives dropping out of the profession every day.

I mean, the state of the world that was released in 2021 in partnership with UNFPA and the International Confederation of Midwives clearly stated that the world is short of over 900,000 midwives.

And that's just to tell you that people who are not trained to be midwives abuse taking seats in the maternity, and that's a really big risk to women's health. So, and of course, to maternal and child health in particular.

So I really believe that if midwives are invested in that, if the world really takes its time to invest in midwives, then more educational institutions are going to give, you know, the education that is necessary to midwives, because, I mean, looking back at my time, I never had even one single midwifery, you know, lecturer or someone who has a midwifery background. All my lecturers were nurses. And that's absurd. We never really had someone who could speak from a place of passion about midwifery.

Because 1 minute they'll talk about what they're there to teach, the next minute they are talking about nursing. Nursing is beautiful, but we are not nurses, we are midwives. Midwifery and nursing aid, they are sister professions.

But I mean, let's talk about midwives. Tell me about midwifery. So that's why it's really important that it starts from the educational.

Let's go back to the drawing board, the basics, and that education, the quality of education that is given to these midwives, it's so, so important.

And that's why from time to time, I make sure that I go back to universities, you know, that offer midwifery and ensure that, you know, just speak with the students, encourage them, you know, to make sure that they are on track.

Because one of the things I saw, I realized in my time, was that once we graduated, some of my classmates went to doing very mediocre jobs, maybe selling like things on the street, selling clothes instead of being at the maternity. We have women dying common. But of course, they always tell you the pay is not encouraging. You know, we can't manage all these. It's so terrible.

So I really believe that if we plant these seeds, if we are able to really be intentional about the quality of education that are given to midwives, it's really going to go a long way.

Claire Murigande

29:55

Going back also to education is super important, and that's something to really put the focus on. So, as a last word, is there anything else that you would like to share with our audience? How can they support you? Where can they find you?

Is there anything else that you'd like to add?

Martha Agbornyenty

30:12

Yes, please invest in midwives. And of course, the foundation is very, very open to funding. We are always, always, always open to funding.

We need more funding to expand or extend our reach, given the fact that our work is centered simply around the crisis streaking areas here in Cameroon. So that already takes a whole lot for us because we have transportation, first of all, to those areas is really, really terrible.

So we are open to funding, we are open to partnerships this particular year, because the first two years of building the organization, we're very focused on doing it on our own, making sure that we build our strength. We don't just put up cut out pieces of us out there, we build our strength.

So right now, from the third year, we are open to partnering with other organizations globally to ensure that we have a wider reach on maternal health.

Claire Murigande

31:06

Great. Thank you so much. Thank you for taking the time and thank you for sharing your story on the podcast.

I've certainly learned a lot and I will definitely continue to follow you and see how for Mom and Baby foundation grows in the future.

Martha Agbornyenty

31:19

Thank you so much Claire.

I've had a great time just talking about it because, you know, sometimes you just do do do and you hardly have time to pause, sit down and talk about the work that you do. So this is a beautiful reminder of the strides we are making with respect to maternal and child health here in Cameroon.

Claire Murigande

31:34

I'm confident that you will continue to make bigger strides.

Claire Murigande

31:42

Thank you so much much for tuning in today. I appreciate you taking the time. That was episode 74, a conversation with Martha agbornienty on prioritizing maternal and child health.

Learn more about for mom and Baby foundation on their website at formomandbaby.org, as always, the link is available in the show notes. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it in your network.

And if you are curious for more content about women's health from fascinating conversations on our podcast, be sure to listen to our special series released earlier this year in March in episodes no. 66, no. 70, you can also listen to episode number 38, talking about women's heart Health, plus episode number 42, focusing on midlife health.

Join me again in two weeks as I continue to showcase female innovators moving the needle in the women's health space. Until the next episode, take care of yourselves, stay well and stay inspired.

This podcast was produced by Tom at Rustic Studios.