Mamugosa’s decades in the labour ward

At childbirth, midwives play a central role and without them, many would not be alive today.
Felicita Mamugosa, 59, is among these silent heroes of maternal and newborn health, who, with unrelenting determination and compassion, has seen mothers through labour.

Mamugosa stands as testimony to the saying that sometimes what you look for is also looking for you.
As soon as she joined Nabisunsa Muslim Girls Secondary School in 1973, the school nurse tasked her to take care of sick students.
“The school nurse would give me tablets and task me to remind the sick students of the time to swallow them and to check on how they are faring,” Mamugosa says.

Eventually, fellow students nicknamed her school nurse and indeed the name counts. Because after her Senior Four in 1977, she joined Nsambya Hospital School of Nursing and Midwifery and in 1980, she emerged as an enrolled nurse.
Her passion for her career has since never waned.

She started practising her childhood desire at Nsambya Hospital in 1980 where she worked for six months as an enrolled nurse.
She moved to Rubaga Hospital and worked for five years (1980-1986) before she upgraded as a registered midwife.
Because she had been trained by a European, the hospital administrator retained her because they believed she had got the western ‘touch’ (experience).

Career turnaround
Later in 1993, Mamugosa was employed as a school nurse at Trinity College Nabbingo where she spent 13 years before being posted to Masaka Regional Referral Hospital where she has spent 12 years and expects to retire from.

Throughout her career, her ears have been ringing with labour ward screams from thousands of mothers as they struggle to bring new members to life. “Some of the babies are now lawyers, others are doctors. I often find parents and they tell me, ‘Musawo, this is the daughter (or son) that you helped me deliver,” the jolly midwife shares.

Mamugosa believes that it is God who called her into this career and she does it passionately to glorify her creator.
“God called me through a wound. While still in primary school, I got a wound on my left foot, which I never reported home. It took three months without healing,” she recalls, showing the scar.

Experience
Later, she says her father realised that she was getting to school late and questioned what had gone wrong.
“I disclosed to him that I had a wounded foot, which is why I could not walk fast. He then took me for treatment at a nearby health facility but in just three days, the wound had healed.”

It surprised her to see that the nurse had the powers to heal a wound in three days yet it had disturbed her for three months. From this incident, Mamugosa’s passion for nursing emerged and she prayed to God to make her one so as to heal people.
The midwife recalls that while at Rubaga, she would be the last one to leave the hospital because her cubicle had many mothers under her watch.

“Many mothers preferred me to attend to them, which saw my cubicle crowded with mothers,” she says.
This at times brought her hatred from fellow medics as she was once accused of extorting money from patients, which saw the hospital administration summon her to give an explanation. “This was one of my worst experiences. But good enough, it was later rectified,” she says.

Advice
She always tells the interns under her supervision at Masaka hospital to endeavour to treat patients with respect, love and care because these can soothe a patient in pain.

She also warns against extortion, a common practice among medics in public health facilities.
“Just offer a good service to them, and it should be out of the patient’s choice to give a token of appreciation over an excellent service offered,” Mamugosa shares.

Unfortunately, she has not received any significant recognition, apart from an exemplary medal she received from Trinity College Nabbingo.

However, as staunch catholic, Mamugosa believes God has rewarded her several medals because it is His mercy that has enabled her to serve passionately. Often times, midwives are accused of being rude and disrespectful to expectant mothers, but the mothers she has helped deliver say Mamugosa is different.

“I have had two deliveries, all through her loving hands. She offers you compassionate care at the time when you need it most. How I wish that all midwives are just like her!” says Shamira Nantongo.

Rhoda Namubiru, an expectant mother, says on her first interaction with her, one would imagine they had met before.
“I think her friendliness and caring is a God-given gift,” she notes.

Dr Senyondo Gonzaga, the head of the maternity department, knows her as a very hardworking midwife who cherishes her work.
“Many times she has had to put in extra time because the doctors have insisted that she is the most appropriate staff to look after the complicated patient or the patients at antenatal insist that she is the one who should assist them in delivery,” says Dr Senyondo.

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