. . . woman dies with fetus’ arm sticking out

“Ms Muchichwa was laid to rest last week on Friday. Her church did not perform their usual rites because she was taken to hospital, which is contrary to their beliefs. The two families and the local community were largely involved in her burial,” said Mr Mafararikwa.

The Manica Post news crew tried to speak to the Madziro family but our efforts were fruitless.

Even a visit to their homestead during the funeral wake repeatedly drew blanks as the family declined to comment.

The Madziro family patriarch and spokesperson was evasive when pressed for a comment on the matter.

He cited church protocol which restricted him from speaking over the issue and eventually disappeared from the homestead.

The other family members were not forthcoming.

However, The Manica Post managed to track down and talk to one of the church’s midwives — Ms Rupimo (54) — who first attended to the late Ms Muchichwa.

In her account, Ms Rupimo said she immediately turned away Ms Muchichwa the moment she arrived at the ‘maternity ward’ after conducting a routine inspection and noticing that the fetus’ arm was protruding.

“She came here at the chitsidzo walking on her own. I noticed that something was wrong from the way she was walking and after inspecting her, I noticed that the fetus’ arm was protruding.

“I advised her that I could not attend to her as her condition was something I had never experienced before. I called her husband and he came to pick her up and took her to another midwife, only for me to later receive the sad news that she had passed on,” said Ms Rupimo.

Ms Rupimo said she renders obstetric and gynecological services to expectant mothers, just like mainstream midwives.

The 54-year-old said she boasts 35 years of practising midwifery in the Johane Marange Apostolic Church.

“I have been practicing midwifery in the Johane Marange Apostolic Church since 1987 after the birth of my second child. I was ordained in this role by the church.

“I was born and raised in the Johane Marange Apostolic Church and delivered all my five children through chitsidzo as per our religious tradition,” she said.

Ms Rupimo said she received no professional training in midwifery, adding that she is guided by the Holy Spirit in her undertakings.

“Everything is led by the Holy Spirit. We do everything through prayer and intercession sessions,” she said.

Ms Rupimo said expectant mothers usually check into the church’s ‘maternity wards’ as their expected dates of delivery draw closer. They then stay there until they give birth.

During that period, Ms Rupimo said she checks if the fetus is in its head-down proper position in the mother’s uterus.

When the fetus is in breech (bottom or feet-first position), or lying across the uterus, she said she puts them into the correct position before the pregnant women goes into labour.

“My eldest daughter gave birth to twin babies that came feet-first during their delivery. I was the midwife during my grandchildren’s births and everything went on well,” she recalled.

Ms Rupimo’s ‘maternity ward’, which is housed at her homestead, can take in a maximum of nine expectant mothers at one go.

During The Manica Post news crew’s visit at her homestead, some pregnant women were doing dishes and laundry, while others were cooking.

While our crew could only observe what was going on, Ms Rupimo denied us a tour of the maternity ward for us to get a first hand experience of what exactly goes on in there.

She, however, said all the women bring their own supplies to cover the duration of their stay at the ‘maternity ward’.

“After delivery, I continue monitoring the mothers here and they are only discharged after their babies’ umbilical cord falls off. During that time, they will be learning to clean the stump and the belly button,” said Ms Rupimo, adding that no fatality cases have ever been reported at her ‘maternity ward’.

She said the longest she has stayed with an expectant mother was seven months after she checked in two-months pregnant at the instruction of the Holy Spirit.

Ms Rupimo said she doesn’t charge for her midwifery services as “she is doing it all in the service of Johane Marange Apostolic Church”.

However, she only takes in members of her church.

The elderly woman said she has lost count of the total number of children she has delivered, including twin babies.

Ms Rupimo implored pregnant women to regularly get routine check-ups.

“This will help to prevent prenatal complications as the ultimate goal is to ensure safe childbirth that does not put both the mother and baby’s lives in jeopardy,” she said.

According to the 2022 Population and Housing Census Report, the Life Time Risk of maternal mortality for Manicaland was 17.3 deaths per 1 000 women in the province, which was the second highest in the country after Midlands (18.2).

The LTR of maternal mortality reflects the chances of a woman dying from maternal causes over the course of her 35-year reproductive life span.

The indicator considers the probability of a death due to maternal causes each time a woman becomes pregnant.