“When I Called, Someone Answered” — A Mother’s Story

My name is Ada.
And this is the story of how Mama’s Call saved my life.

When I found out I was pregnant, I was happy but also scared.

In Nigeria, every woman knows the truth we don’t like to say out loud:

Childbirth here is risky. Too risky.

We hear it all the time “Another woman died during delivery.”

Sometimes it’s a neighbour.
Sometimes a friend.
Sometimes a sister.

They say our country loses 512 mothers for every 100,000 births.

They say one in five maternal deaths in the entire world happens here.

But when you are pregnant, those statistics stop sounding like numbers.

They start sounding like you.

I didn’t always know what was normal during pregnancy.

I didn’t always know when to worry.
I didn’t always have money to rush to the hospital.

And most times, I didn’t have anyone to ask, no doctor on the phone, no nurse nearby, no one who truly listened.

Then one evening, I felt a sharp pain.
The kind that doesn’t wait.
The kind that tells you something is wrong.

My husband was not home.
The nearest clinic had closed for the day.
I was alone… and afraid.

But then a friend sent me a number and said,
“Call them. They will answer.”

So I called.
And they did.

For the first time in my pregnancy, I heard a calm voice, a nurse, talking to me like I mattered.

She asked me questions.
She stayed on the phone.
She told me what to do.
She stayed with me until I got to the nearest health centre.

I didn’t know this before, but Mama’s Call isn’t just a hotline.

It’s a whole team of people who believe no mother should die while giving birth.

They know that 43% of women in Nigeria give birth without a skilled birth attendant, and that many babies die simply because help doesn’t come on time.

They don’t wait until tragedy happens — they act before it does.

They followed up.
They checked on me.
They made sure I got to a safe hospital.
They stayed with me until I delivered my baby boy, crying, healthy, alive.

Mama’s Call gave me what every woman deserves:
Someone to call.
Someone to listen.
Someone to act.

Now I tell every mother I meet:
“You are not alone.
When you call, someone will answer.”

Mama’s Call is hope for mothers like me.
For families like mine.
For every woman who has ever felt the fear of childbirth in this country.

It is more than a number.
More than a service.
It is a promise,
that motherhood should bring life, not take it.

And because of Mama’s Call…
I am alive to tell this story.