What is a mama kit?
A Mama Kit is an all-in-one kit that contains everything needed to help provide a clean and safe delivery. In order to give birth in most hospitals or clinics in Uganda, you must purchase all of the necessary supplies and bring them with you. If you do not have the supplies you will often be turned away. Many of the women cannot buy the supplies, so they do not seek medical care, which often leads to complications and even death for the mothers and babies. A simple gift of a $7 kit can allow the women to give birth in a hospital or clinic, or if they must give birth at home they have proper sterile supplies. Research has shown that the gift of a mama kit can greatly reduce the number of women dying during childbirth.
Here are the answers to a few of the most common questions:
What is included in a mama kit?
- Each mama kit contains plastic sheeting, razor blades, cotton wool, gauze pad, soap, surgical gloves, exam gloves, cord ties, and a child health card. Each kit also includes an instruction sheet in both English and Luganda. All of the supplies are sealed so that they remain sterile until needed.
Where do you buy the mama kits? How much are they?
- The mama kits are purchased from a NGO in Uganda. The total to buy them and have them delivered to our partners all over Uganda is $7 per kit.
Why don’t you put together your own mama kits?
- We like the idea of supporting an organization in Uganda and contributing to their economy. It would not be cost-efficient to make kits in the US and ship them. Also, some of the supplies required by hospitals are not easily accessible here, like long rolls of cotton wool.
Where do you distribute the kits?
- We distribute mama kits through our own outreach events and also through trusted partnerships. We partner with a variety of organizations all over Uganda. We carefully vet these groups and continually do follow up to make sure they are using our mama kits in the best way possible. We work with crisis pregnancy centers, health clinics, missionaries, churches, and community health organizations.
Delivery Room at a clinic in Uganda
What happens if a woman does not have a mama kit when she goes into labor?
- If a woman does not have a mama kit when she arrives at a hospital or clinic, she may be denied help or sent away until she has her supplies. Some clinics do offer their own kits for people to purchase, but the cost if often inflated greatly.
If the women cannot afford a mama kit, how can they afford the hospital?
Delivery Room with a Village Midwife
- In the major cities in Uganda there are government-operated clinics and hospitals that care for people free of charge, if they can afford to purchase the needed supplies.