In Malawi, maternal and infant mortality rates are among the highest in the world. AMHI provides home-based nursing care to vulnerable babies and postpartum mothers to save their lives.
We have two programs: Mother Care and Baby Care. In both programs mamas regain their health and babies survive their most vulnerable first year due to great nursing care at home. Nurses visit them in their homes and villages to assess their health, educate families on their health, and mobilize communities to support their most fragile members (especially in times of emergency).
In Baby Care, the little ones admitted into the program are those who, without our support, would typically be discharged home and die within a few weeks. This happens because they are premature, or are twins/triplets and the mom doesn't have enough milk, or because they lost their own mom in childbirth and have no source of breastmilk. Families are poor and without support, these little ones quickly fade away. Nurses in Baby Care identify these "at risk" newborns and the provide home based care until they celebrate their first birthday.
In Mother Care, the mamas we enroll are those who had particularly difficult births and whose health is not completely stable at the time of discharge. We all know that when the mom is sick the rest of the family suffers and this is even more pronounced in resource poor settings. Her newborn and toddler are often the ones to suffer the most when she cannot care for them. Nurses continue visiting her to ensure she has what she needs to speed her recover and discharge her from the program once she is stable.
We support sick mamas after delivery and vulnerable newborns in Malawi through home based care and nutrition assistance programs.
