Spotlight on Sister Dr. Najjuka and Malnourishment

Kampala, Uganda — Recently, Sister Dr. Najjuka Liliana Lucy Justina, one of Smile Train's most active partner surgeons in Africa, came across an infant with a cleft who was extremely malnourished.

The mother, still a child herself, had brought the baby to our partner hospital wrapped in many layers of clothing. Accompanied by her own mother, she explained that she had not been feeding the child. "The grandmother did not even advise her daughter on the importance of breastfeeding, the baby was dying and her daughter was in pain, as she was full of breast milk," said Sister Dr. Najjuka.

The young baby was being stigmatized because of the village's superstitions about cleft. Sister Dr. Najjuka immediately took the baby to the nutritionist and the mother to counseling. As the baby was fed and brought up to weight for surgery, the young mother was taught how to breastfeed and take care of her baby. Once strong enough for surgery, the baby's cleft lip was repaired, and according to Sister Dr. Najjuka, “The surgery was successful. The mother and the child are now happy."

For more on this story, please see the article from EALP Journals.