Woman gives births during Beyond Zero race, names baby girl after First Lady

A woman gave birth during the Beyond Zero campaign marathon held in Nairobi over the weekend. She was taking part in the inaugural Philips Lumify Pregnancy 2km Walk that had about 400 expectant women taking part.

The woman started experiencing labour pain moments after the walk was started outside Nyayo Stadium along Mombasa Road. She was rushed to Pumwani Hospital where she gave birth to a baby girl and named her Margaret in honour of the First Lady Margaret Kenyatta who is the founder of the Beyond Zero Marathon.

The new segment was introduced in a move to shine light on preventable maternal deaths and infant mortality by Philips Kenya in collaboration with the Beyond Zero platform. The walk is in support of the ambition of the Beyond Zero initiative, and its shared goal to eliminate preventable maternal and infant deaths. The walk aimed at educating women about healthy pregnancy and childbirth, and give them access to technology that can potentially save their own lives and the lives of their babies.

The walk takes the conversation and motivation of the Beyond Zero initiative a step further by getting the lives it sets out to save involved – not only in the walk, but also in the healthy development of their babies.

The Philips Lumify ultrasound will be used to carry out screenings at the fun walk, by bringing technology that will otherwise only be available at formal hospitals and clinics to the participants. Mothers-to-be will be able to see high-quality images of their unborn babies on a smartphone, thanks to the mobile app and portable ultrasound.