IHP-UK Donation of Ritodrine Helps Control Premature Labor

Dr. Ikhlas Mustafa

Shams Mirie is a regular patient at Beit Atfal Assumoud Obstetric Clinic in Beirut’s Burj Al-Barajneh Palestinian camp. Being a mother of three, and already eight months through her fourth pregnancy, Shams knows quite well how challenging it can be to manage a growing family and, at the same time, take good care of herself and her developing infant.

During her seventh month of pregnancy, Shams started to experience premature labor. Her obstetrician prescribed Ritodrine and recommended a good deal of physical rest. Shams was concerned and found it difficult to perform daily activities as she used to, “I was not even capable of bending to pick something up,” she says.

But having followed her doctor’s prescription of Ritodrine for a month, she managed to reach the end of her eighth month of pregnancy successfully, and notes that her abdomen started to feel “softer,” allowing her to enjoy the last days of pregnancy and perform daily chores with much ease.

Beit Atfal Assumoud’s OB/GYN clinic where Shams goes is one of the many recipients benefiting from ANERA’s Medical In-Kind Program. With support from International Health Partners-UK (IHP-UK), ANERA has delivered a shipment of Ritodrine to health facilities providing maternal health services in the Palestinian refugee camps of Lebanon.

Dr. Ikhlas Mustafa, one of the dedicated obstetricians working at Beit Atfal Assumoud OB/GYN clinic in Burj Al-Barajneh, often prescribes Ritodrine to pregnant women experiencing premature labor. She declares that she usually prescribes it starting the 24th week of pregnancy. Having extensive experience in caring for pregnant women, Dr. Mustafa is in favor of Ritodrine because it prevents premature birth and “helps relieve the symptoms that prevent women from performing their usual roles as mothers and wives.”

Since 1985, Beit Atfal Assumoud community center has been providing services to the residents of the camp, where over 18,000 Palestinian refugees live. Hosted at the center, the OB/GYN clinic opened three years ago and is sought by beneficiaries not only for its recognized medical services, but also for the human relations that the people of the camp have created with the doctors, nurses and staff. “Patients feel welcome and are able to trust everyone at the clinic”, says Dr. Mustafa and “they feel safe when they speak and have someone listen to them.” Dr. Mustafa believes that the clinic has been serving the exact needs of the community and that is yet another reason why people prefer to go there.

Access to affordable, quality health care is highly needed in the camps. Affordable, if not free, medicine is also key in supporting health care providers to better serve the local communities. In FY2011 and thanks to donors like IHP-UK, ANERA was able to provide over $13 million worth of donated medicine and supplies to impoverished and marginalized communities in Lebanon.

Date Modified: June 2011