What now?
- For me? Beyond the semester, I am acting as an advocate for Ugandan women by making others aware of the struggles that Ugandan women face to receiving proper maternal health care. I am engaged in making people aware of these struggles by sharing the results of my research project through the School for International Training, and by presenting at an International Symposium and Human Development Conference. I hope to emphasize the importance of midwives or other forms of skilled birth attendants present at deliveries, for the sake of the health of the women and child. I want to make Westerners more accepting of midwives as birth attendants, which is different from the Western practice of having an obstetrician-gynecologist present at birth. I also hope to return to Uganda to practice medicine in the future.
- For the mothers I worked with? By conducting this research, I helped the participants of my study become active agents in their own lives, concerning their own maternal health care. It is possible that these women had never been asked about what type of care they receive and what issues they face with receiving the proper care. By asking women about the barriers they faced to maternal health, I helped them realize issues that they may not have thought about before. Without the chance to think critically about these issues and discuss them with someone, these women may have just taken their situations for granted and not considered other options. I hope I helped these women realize what they deserve, in terms of quality of maternal health care. Maybe now that they have voiced their opinions to me, they will be more apt to facilitate changes within their communities and at home.
- For the hospitals I researched at? I hope that the hospital staff members at the sites I researched at will take action to improve the areas of maternal health care that were recognized as inadequate by the mothers I interviewed. I also hope that the needs of these health facilities will be recognized and met by people across the globe. To read more about the rural hospital, Kagando, where I conducted research, and learn how you can help, click here.