Ultrasound Skills Training in Potoru

Monday, this wonderful duo at Potoru really worked hard!

The team scanned 6 patients that afternoon, and I provided refreshers on estimating the gestational age by measuring the head circumference, biparietal diameter (HC, BPD) and the femur length (we don’t include the abdominal circumference because of its technical difficulty).

What’s great about this team is the continuous involvement and support from the Community Health Officer Dauda and the dedication of the midwife Christiana. Dauda’s skills are very solid and he has a great bedside manner. Christiana works hard despite her various tasks and constantly works to improve her skills.

Of the 6 patients, 3 of them were teenagers (17, 17, and 14). Christiana talked about how culturally it’s still a huge problem even though they have contraceptives and family planning available.

We sat and discussed a bit how we can help address this issue. It’s difficult for sure, but seeing these girls and knowing how the trajectory of their lives just shifted, this is something we can’t ignore.

Here’s an article about the topic. Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/.../13643_2023_Article_2361.pdf

Tenki