MALI: Fatoumata Dio, "I have delivered more than 500 babies"

Photo: Sidiki Dembele

Traditional birthing attendant turned midwife Fatoumata Dio

KOULOGO, 6 May 2009 (IRIN) - The first child Fatoumata Dio delivered in 1981 when she was 19 years old was before she ever received midwife training - or even knew what the words meant. She went from serving as a traditional birthing attendant to working as a midwife in her rural northern Mali commune of Koulogo that includes 16 villages. Since 2004, she has received three weeks of midwifery training every year at the regional referral clinic 40km away. She is paid US$4 per month, while expectant mothers pay $3 to give birth at the clinic.

"I know if a child is already dead in the mother's stomach just by touching [the stomach].

"I have delivered more than 500 babies. From tears of desperation to tears of joy, I have heard and seen it all.

"The bad memories stay with me, especially when they surpass understanding. Last year I tended to a birth [that ended in] two stillborns. Two girls connected with four legs, two hands and two heads. This day, I was scared. The doctor was in training, the nurse was [out] vaccinating.

"I have delivered babies for two women who were in their 16th pregnancies. I told them about contraception pills we have here [at the clinic]. The doctor told them if they did not stop [having children] they would die.

"I have delivered babies for 16 girls between the ages of 12 and 16 who were not married.

"Two years ago, a woman in her 14th month of pregnancy woke me up at 3a.m. The entire family was crying. The woman did not stop screaming, 'I will die.' I said, 'No, God is great.' And after 30 minutes, she gave birth to a girl.

"You should have seen her laughing with the baby in her hands. I would not have ever dreamt of that scene.

"It is moral satisfaction that nourishes me in this job. The first girl I brought into this world is now 28 and has five children. When I see them, I am filled with honour and pride."