Hiwot's baby

The World Health Organization is following six women around the world to compare their experiences of pregnancy and motherhood. Here, Hiwot Abraham from Ethiopia describes life with her six-week old baby.

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Damiana Mamani: Bolivia "My eldest daughter helps me" Samah Mohamed : Egypt "I returned to work after four weeks" Hiwot Abraham: Ethiopia "Her father's family will raise her"

Renu Sharma: India "I breastfeed around 10 times a day" Bounlid: Laos "I'll have to take her to work" Claire Roche: UK "We go for check-ups each week"

Hiwot Abraham, 17, said her daughter Elizabeth, her first baby, seemed to be developing well.

Hiwot will return to her studies when she finishes breastfeeding Elizabeth

But she told the WHO: "I've rekindled my relationship with Elizabeth's father, and together we've decided that his family will take care of Elizabeth as soon as I have stopped breastfeeding.

"I will miss Elizabeth very much, but this way I can return to school to finish my studies, which are very important to me."

She added: "My mother and I had discussed the idea of putting Elizabeth up for adoption, but we finally decided to let her father's family raise her - at least like this I can still visit her whenever I want to.

"I plan to study at evening classes and work in our restaurant during the daytime.

"Eventually I want to study at catering school and find a job as a cook in a restaurant."

In Ethiopia, one in six children die before their fifth birthday, the majority from preventable and treatable diseases such as pneumonia, malaria and measles.

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Seven days

A week after her daughter was born, Hiwot told the WHO: "She is beautiful - my mother says she looks just like I did at that age."

She added: "I am feeling more positive about my baby now. To be honest, before Elizabeth was born, I was ready to give her up for adoption.

"I really love Elizabeth now, although I do find it hard to look after her and work at the same time - especially as I breastfeed six or seven times a day."

Hiwot added: "My boyfriend doesn't seem to care that much about us.

"I'm lucky that my Mum is helping out. I really need her support right now.

"Sometimes I do feel I'm too young to have a baby. I wish I could go back to school."

The WHO estimates that in Ethiopia, 38 in every 1,000 babies dies in their first seven days of life from preventable diseases.

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Childbirth

Hiwot said she appreciated the care she received from her doctors. But she said her hospital's facilities were poor.

She told the WHO: "I was especially surprised that the hospital had no running water.

"The only water we had was from a bucket."

She added: "I'm happy that Elizabeth was born healthy and that we are finally home.

"But I must admit that being a mother hasn't come naturally during these first few days.

"I'm not getting much sleep. Life seems harder now. Sometimes I even wish I didn't have her."

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Seven months

When she was seven months pregnant, Hiwot told the WHO: "I don't know if I'm expecting a boy or a girl. I hope it will be a boy, because boys are stronger. What I pray for most is that my baby will be healthy."

'What I pray for most is that my baby will be healthy'

Hiwot's family have turned one of the rooms in their house into a little restaurant to earn some money to look after the new baby.

She added: "I wake up at 5.30am each morning to prepare breakfast for our customers and work until it gets dark."

Following a visit to an antenatal clinic, she said: "No one has told me what to expect during labour and that's the part I'm most nervous about."

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Five months

Describing her relationship with her boyfriend, Hiwot told the WHO: "We didn't use contraception."

"When I became pregnant, I decided to keep the baby. I also decided to leave school."

Hiwot says her nearest antenatal clinic takes half an hour to get to.

She is due to have monthly check-ups there.

The WHO says Hiwot is lucky, because only 27% of Ethiopian women receive antenatal care during their pregnancy.

Complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death in Ethiopian women aged 15 to 19.

In Ethiopia, only 9.7% of women have a skilled assistant, such as a midwife, doctor or nurse, with them when they give birth.

The WHO says all women should have access to such care.

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Where the women live

Photos courtesy of the World Health Organization.