Amidst golden fields of corn, SANA’s team travelled today on its first mission to Qlaiaat in the heart of the Akkar Valley. Today’s trip was again carried out in collaboration with World Vision Akkar.

It can easily be said that this was, by far, our most attended mission, where with the tremendous efforts of World Vision Akkar, over 80 mothers and daughters gathered in the Village’s Mosque awaiting SANA’s team.

After a long absence of 3 months from Akkar, secondary to the political turmoil in the region, SANA’s team finally headed back to Tal Hayat, in the Akkar Valley, on a mission carried out in cooperation with the World Vision Akkar team (www.worldvision.org.lb).

It was with a strong heart that the team finally arrived having travelled roads that only 4 days ago were lined by snipers, but with a very heavy heart at finding so many of the moors filled with wicker-built refugee tents…

There was quite an attendance today and so much need exhibited with expectant mothers coming from various regions, some local but others came from far away having been displaced by war...

SANA started as usual with general recommendations and guidance to safeguard the mothers and their offspring. And today, SANA paid particular attention to addressing the necessary precautions that the expectant mothers need to follow while fasting during the Holy Month of Ramadan. Educational recommendations prepared by the Lebanese Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology were handed out to the mothers covering medical guidelines to adhere to while fasting throughout the three trimesters of pregnancy.

Perhaps this, of all of SANA’s medical missions, is the one mission with the highest number of complicated cases seen. Employing routine scanning today, a patient in the late second trimester was diagnosed with oligohydramnios, another in the early third trimester had polyhydramnios, a suspected placenta previa and she was having preterm contractions with a history of 3 previous cesarean sections. In addition, a mother on her first pregnancy had just contracted toxoplasmosis. Much time was spent in counseling the patients, in addition to making all the necessary medical arrangements for further care and management. Today, prenatal vitamins were made available courtesy of Mr. Dory Mansour.

Nurse Mariam Daher, a local from Tal Hayat, accompanied SANA’s team today and was given the basic instructions necessary in prenatal care.

And with as much strife as SANA witnessed today, be it as a result of medical or social issues, the team nonetheless headed back home having been soothed by the personal story shared by a new mother-to-be. That patient had been forced to flee her home together with her family and had found refuge in the Akkar Valley. And amidst all her despair, she met her lifelong mate, a local of the valley, and is now in her fourth month of pregnancy. The spark in her eyes and excitement at bearing this gift of life reignited hope and optimism, and reinforced everlasting faith in the power of the cycle of life…

…SANA’s team travelled alongside peach-laden trees on yet another medical/education mission to Btourmaz today.

As usual, the team started with an educational session for our expectant mothers and today, the main theme of the session was providing guidance to our mothers for the upcoming Holy Month of Ramadan. SANA sincerely thanks our Lebanese Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology for having put together invaluable guidelines dedicated to safeguarding maternal and fetal well-being while fasting, and the Society’s pamphlets were distributed to the patients…

Subsequently, prenatal care was provided, in addition to evaluation with ultrasound. And today, SANA diagnosed one of the fetuses with congenital malformations, and arrangements were made for continued follow up in pregnancy as well as postnatally. Nurse Ghinwa demonstrated her sonographic skills in 5 of ISUOG’s 6 step evaluation where her greatest need is still in fetal biometry, an area that shall be the focus of the subsequent training sessions.

All nutritional supplements were made available today courtesy of Levant Alie Houses SAL.

SANA’s team returned from Dinnieh carrying all sorts of varied fruits and vegetables, in anticipation of the next visit in the near future…