Already a mother to 7 children, Maria Charles from the Mwanza region of Tanzania, went into labour with her 8th child. Maria’s husband took her to her local health centre, where she received care and gave birth to healthy baby girl. Ntamburwa, her newborn, let out that reassuring first cry. She had arrived safely.

But then Maria began to bleed heavily. Maria was experiencing a postpartum hemorrhage, the leading cause of maternal deaths on the day of birth.

“I felt weak and lost consciousness right there.” explains Maria.

Luckily for Maria, she had delivered her baby at the Kahangara Health Centre, a facility included in the Safer Births Bundle of Care program. This meant her healthcare providers were trained and equipped to deal with emergencies, just like this one.

“A piece of placenta had remained inside the mother’s uterus. Fortunately, we had practiced this scenario repeatedly during trainings, so we worked together to help the mother and control the heavy bleeding and eventually, we stabilized her condition.”

Maria survived.