New Smiles for Mom and Baby!

Babies born with deformities in West Africa often start life as victims of the West African superstition that abnormalities are signs of a curse. When Barbara was born with a cleft lip that extended up into her nasal cavity, her father pronounced her a “demon child.” He ordered his wife to take the tiny infant into the bush and leave her to die so that his family and village would not be demonized by her. But when Barbara’s mother, Aminata, refused to abandon her child, her husband threw her out of the house. Forced to move in with her sister and without a way to support her family, Aminata had to separate her four other children and send them to the homes of other relatives.

At eight months old, Barbara was slowly starving to death. Her cleft lip prevented her from getting the nutrition she so desperately needed. In fact, she weighed less than four kilograms – less than half of what a thriving baby her age should weigh. To complicate matters, she contracted tuberculosis and had to be placed in a TB program at a local hospital. Of course, the lack of financial support since the abandonment by the baby’s father posed another serious obstacle. Broken and devastated, Aminata reached her darkest, lowest point.

One day Aminata met a woman who said that Barbara was not a “demon child.” She also said that Mercy Ships would arrive in Sierra Leone in just a few weeks. Volunteer surgeons onboard the Africa Mercy could fix the baby’s lip – for free! Desperately clinging to this fragment of hope, Aminata took Barbara to a Mercy Ships medical screening. Aminata was delighted when Barbara was accepted for cleft surgery onboard the Africa Mercy. However, because the baby was below the acceptable weight for surgery, she had to be placed on the ship’s Infant Feeding Program. This program provided proper nutrition for the infant and instructed Aminata in a better feeding method. The ship’s team monitored Barbara’s weight gain each week.

Barbara gained weight the first week, but lost weight during the second week. She developed a fever, and struggled to breathe or keep her formula down. The nurses gave her nasal drops to open her nasal passages, allowing her to breathe more easily. The third week saw a slight weight gain but the nurses were concerned that Barbara might not be able to have her surgery. The doctors suspected she might have a cardiac problem, too, which would interfere with plans for cleft surgery. But the ship’s team continued with daily attention and care, and Barbara slowly began to gain weight.

At the end of three months, despite all her problems, the medical team gave Barbara clearance for surgery. The volunteer surgeons repaired the baby’s cleft lip and palate, as well as the centerline of her nose. Because of her delicate condition, they returned her to intensive care where nurses guarded her recovery. Nurse Jessica King, who supervised Barbara’s case for the Infant Feeding Program said, “Barbara is a miracle baby. She had a rough time in the ICU, but she made it. She’ll bring her mom a lot of joy.”