“I am newly married and I never had any experience with child delivery, I am lucky to have someone who comes right into my house to enlighten me”
A story of individual change from Bauchi state
I got married eight months ago, and I live with my husband in the same community where I was born and brought up.
One day a lady came and met me in my father’s house. She told me that she was there to interview women of child bearing age. At the time, I was just eighteen years old and I was not married. So I told the lady that I was not married and I didn’t have anything to say. But the lady refused to go. She told me that it didn’t matter whether I was married or not. I agreed to give her an audience. One of the questions she asked me was, “are you pregnant?” I was so shy and asked her, “how could I be pregnant when I don’t have a husband?” But she apologized to me and said it is part of her job to ask me such questions. The woman left, but she kept coming back to my father’s house, and kept asking me such questions. Sometimes when I saw her, I just ran away because I didn’t like the questions.
I got married eight months ago, and my husband happens to live in the same community. To my surprise that same lady entered my husband’s house and met me one month after my wedding. This time around I was pregnant but I did not have any knowledge about pregnancy or child birth. So the lady asked me again, “are you currently pregnant?” And I said, “yes.” The lady was so happy for me. That was the beginning of our new friendship. Then she asked me some more questions about injections and antenatal care. At that time I was not going for antenatal care visits, but she advised me about danger sign in pregnancy and child birth. She also told me to try and always have enough rest. By the time I was five months pregnant I started having stomach pains. So I met the lady and told her about it. She advised me to go to the maternity and see a doctor. Therefore I went and the nurse gave me some medicine and the pain stopped the next day.
As a result of that, I am now eight months pregnant and I am still going to the maternity for antenatal care. The advice that I get from this antenatal is very good and useful to me.
Although I am newly married and I don’t have any experience with child delivery, I am lucky to have someone who comes right into my house to enlighten me about how to take good care of myself.
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