Iy'agbebi (The traditional birth attendant)

The room was so stuffy as the body odour if the women in the room pervaded the atmosphere. The only window that gives ventilation and light to the room was so small and this added to the scarcity of air in the room thereby making the women sweat like the Christmas chicken. With their protruding tommy , they sang and clapped their hands as they always do every Tuesday of the week at the usual ante-natal that hold inside the Iya'gbebi's resident. They will sing some songs, dance and clap their hands for a period of time before she will address them and give them some tips on how to have a stress free delivery. Iya'gbebi, a tested traditional midwife has been taking delivery of babies in the community long time "even before the mothers of some Doctor and Nurses were born" she would say with pride . "I have successfully taken bath of both male and female babies in this town. I have delivered women of twins and triplets even in the surrounding towns and villages without problem". The weekly meeting always witness the presence of existing pregnant women who has been coming to the meeting before and the new ones that wants to register also.

Close look on the women ,you will see them in their faded Iro and Buba . Their unkempt hair and saggy skin speaks volume of their social status. One of the women thoroughly exhausted, spread her head-tie on the floor and sat on it., yawned loud and blew her nose while other were busy singing and clapping.

Finally , It was the turn of the iya'gbebi to address them. The traditional midwife fondly called Mama by the women ,an old woman in her 60s dressed in her traditional Iro and buba dress, she ordered the women to sit down on the wooden bench provided.

"I greet and welcome you all " she said " all of you as the leaves drop from the tree without inflicting pain to the tree so shall your day of delivery be" "The new baby will come out easily, like a toad popping out of the soft muddy rut in the rain" all the women shouted "Ase" in response with excitement.

" I want to let you know that you are in a good hand " "my reputation as an accomplished traditional midwife in this town has bagged me the bragging right" she said with her shoulders squared " be rest assured that your babies will be safely delivered, your husbands will hear the good news and spoil you with precious gifts" she added " just don't skip this weekly meeting and make sure you take your agbo(the traditional concoction) regularly and eat you food at the right time" " with these you are going to have a safe delivery "

"Lastly before you all go to take your bath with the specially formulated " agbo abiwere" is there anyone with question " iya'gbebi asked. Three women raised their hands and mama signaled for the first woman to ask her question. " Thank you mama for your effort towards our safe delivery, please what should I do to stop my craving for food at intervals, after my breakfast of eko and robo, I would eat like 3 ...times before lunch " other women grumbled to testify of the same experience. "Its normal for you to crave more for food during pregnancy" mama interrupted and the women kept quiet to hear her. " but you must be careful with the way you eat if you don't want you child to be a glutton because the more you eat during pregnancy, the more your baby will be eating after delivery " "I will only advise to eat more of solid food like EBA, amala , iyan etc , those food will hold your belly well and you won't be eating excessively" she concluded. "Mama" the second woman spoke " I hear that it's not good to eat okro and snail during pregnancy, how true is it ?" She asked "Yes it is true, may we not give birth to an imbecile , a sluggish child " iya'gbegi prayed and all the women echoed "asee".

" Last question " The woman that sat on the floor tried to stand up before asking her question. Her feet were swollen and she looked so pale. " You can sit down and ask you question " mama ordered . "Thank you ma, please I want to know the reason for my swollen feet and sometimes I feel so week and tire, my friend Aduke in the city advised me to come to the city hospital for check up but the arrogance and haughtiness of the nurses coupled with the endless waiting on a long queue to see the doctor is so frustrating to me" "mama is there any way you can help me?" Iya'gbebi seemed to understand her condition, she constantly warn her clients against submitting themselves to clinical examination, Always wonder why on earth they would visit the clinic at all when they have a Messiah living with them. "Abike, you case is a special case that requires a special treatment, I've handled several cases like yours that the Almighty has helped me to solve. As for the swollen feet , I will make some incisions on your feet this will solve it permanently and your strength would be restored " she concluded. She gave each of the women their portion of the specially formulated agbo to drink and use the remaining portion to bath. She then dispersed them reminding them not to miss the meeting next week.

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Two weeks later , a young woman was wheeled to the emergency section of the City General Hospital obviously in pain and critical ill. Her feet swollen and she looked malnourished, this is not good for her condition as a pregnant woman. She was accompanied by a middle aged man visibly worried and sad also another young lady who obviously looked upset "See what your ignorance has caused now Abike" the lady muttered as they wheeled the woman to the surgery room . The doctor and the nurses immediately jumped into action. The operation lasted several hours,both the Doctor and the nursing sister emerged looking spent and out. "Who is the husband ?" The Doctor asked and the young man answered with a shaky voice " why didn't you allow your wife to register for antenatal? " " She always attend Iya'gbebi maternity center" "and she always take care of her" the man explained. The Doctor shook his head in pity "I'm so sorry we lost the baby and your wife was so lucky to be alive" he said and walked away. "I'm so disappointed in you" Aduke said furiously " with your level of exposure, you still allow your pregnant wife to patronise the unqualified traditional birth center " " you'd better asked God for forgiveness over the life of that child you've just wasted" she said furiously as she went to meet her friend who was been wheeled to the ward.