Nelly C., 20

Nelly is a child from a family of five siblings living in an extended family setup. She resides with her mother, who relies entirely on casual labor that provides barely one meal a day. Their home is a mud-walled house in a remote, densely populated rural area where most residents live in extreme poverty. For the past three days, Nelly experienced labor pains, including abdominal pain, backache, and occasional headaches. Due to economic constraints, she delayed seeking care, walking approximately 30 minutes to reach the hospital. On assessment, she was diagnosed with obstructed labor. The medical team immediately recommended a cesarean section as the safest option to save both mother and baby. The operation was successful, and Nelly and her baby were stable postoperatively, although she experienced postoperative delirium. By day four post-cesarean, she developed secondary uterine rupture and puerperal sepsis, which were managed effectively. Given her poor financial and health status, Nelly was enrolled in Helpster Charity for continued support.

Nelly presented to the facility with obstructed labour, which required an emergency caesarean section. The surgery was successful, and both mother and baby were stable after delivery. However, she later developed puerperal sepsis, which was promptly managed with IV flucloxacillin (Floxapen), IV metronidazole (Flagyl), and IM tramadol for pain control. She responded well to treatment, made a full recovery, and was discharged home in stable condition. During a follow-up check-up, it was confirmed that Nelly and her baby are both doing well.

Obstructed labour is a dangerous childbirth complications that requires emergency intervention especially ceaserian section to save lives of the baby and the mother. If the ceaserian section would have not been contacted it could have been resulted to complications such as severe infections and sepsis, postpartum hemorrhage, and the development of obstetric fistulas (like vesicovaginal fistulas) in the mother.