Saving Babies in Central Vietnam - Our Project

Saving Babies in Central Vietnam

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one million babies die each year from birth asphyxia (eg. the inability to breathe immediately after delivery). The goal of this project is to minimize infant mortality caused by asphyxia in rural villages of Central Vietnam.

Within one minute of birth, a baby should be breathing well or should be ventilated with a bag and mask.  The Golden Minute, taught in ‘Helping Babies Breathe’ (HBB), identifies the steps that a birth attendant must take immediately after birth to evaluate the baby and stimulate breathing.

Imagine being pregnant with your 7^th child - but having no living children because all 6 of your previous babies died within minutes of birth.  This is a common story in developing countries.  Worldwide, approximately 10% of newborns require some assistance after birth.  1% need a full resuscitation but the other 9% can be saved with simple procedures and equipment.  HBB addresses the needs and treatment of the 9%.  Many women in rural central Vietnam do not have access to childbirth in a well-equipped hospital.  Countless births are at home, attended by traditional birth attendants with no equipment and minimal training.

In March of 2015, four HBB Master Trainers will travel to Central Vietnam to teach HBB.  We are all Registered Nurses from the Chicago area and are partnering with Global Community Services Foundation (GCSF) - an NGO with a presence in Vietnam - to offer this training.  They have arranged for us to teach 108 traditional birth attendants (TBA).  The women we will be teaching are from small villages scattered through Central Vietnam.  We will provide each traditional birth attendant with the equipment that she can use to assist babies in breathing and we will teach them how to use the equipment and how to sterilize it after each use.  We will also train 20 doctors and nurses to teach HBB and will provide each new trainer with a full training kit as well as supplies for each of them to train six more traditional birth attendants.

For just $30 we can provide each TBA with a $30 re-sterilizable resuscitation bag and suction device.  With just one day of training, the TBA can be taught to assess the newborn and use the equipment to help babies breathe and save lives.

For just $100 we can provide each new HBB Trainer with a newborn manikin, HBB flip chart, a resuscitation bag and a suction device.  These supplies can be used repeatedly so that HBB training can continue and be reinforced in Central Vietnam.

We have already ordered $10,000 worth of supplies, however the entire trip will cost over $20,000 as we will be paying for a van, a driver, interpreters, food for the students and housing for the students.  The majority of the traditional birth attendants will walk to class – some may have a walk of 6 to 8 hours.  We will provide housing so that they do not have to walk home after dark.

 

First United Church of Oak Park has graciously agreed to partner with us in our endeavor.  Checks can be made payable to ‘First United Church of Oak Park’ with Vietnam noted in the memo line.  This will allow for a tax-deductable contribution to our project.  Checks should be mailed to:

First United Church of Oak Park, Attn: Finance

848 Lake Street

Oak Park, Illinois  60301

Donations may also be made on-line at: http://www.firstunitedoakpark.com/giving/.  This link will take you to the church donation web site.  You then click on ‘Manage Online Giving’ and choose ‘other’.  Indicate the amount you wish to give and type ‘Vietnam’ in the box.  For Gift Frequency choose ‘one time’ from the drop down menu.  The next screen allows you to put in your credit card information.

We are committed to this project and appreciate any support you can give.  We believe in this project and want to make a difference.  You can help.

Thank you for providing the support to make our mission possible.

 

Harriet Hawkins, Nancy Lins, Amy Rogers, Betsy Rogers, Warren Udelson