Yenifer a newborn baby girl from Guatemala. She is only nine days old, but was born weighing under five pounds and is already struggling to grow. Yenifer’s mother had to be given powerful antibiotics after her cesarian section, which decreased her milk production, not allowing her to help Yenifer reach a healthy weight. She has been asking a neighbor to breastfeed her daughter for about half an hour each day, but that is nowhere near enough, so her mother is making do with bottles of sugar water to help her daughter stop crying. This could cause Yenifer to have dangerous electrolyte imbalances that could leave her with seizures and permanent brain damage, as well as leave her immune system weak and vulnerable to life-threatening illnesses.
Yenifer lives with her mother, grandparents, and her aunts and uncles. Her father abandoned her family, and is not supporting them financially, leaving her family unable to buy even one container of formula. Unfortunately, her mother is unable to work since she has to take care of Yenifer, as well as help around the house with her seven younger siblings.
Treatment for Yenifer is simple and very effective. She will receive formula, a personalized treatment plan, and her mother will be given motivational nutritional education so she knows how best to feed her daughter, prevent future cases of malnutrition, and give her the foods she needs to grow and develop healthily.
Yenifer’s mother said, “It worries me a lot that my daughter is not growing well because I cannot feed her what she needs. I don’t want her to get sick, I want to see her grow happy and healthy, for that reason I am hoping for you help. I want her to grow so she can study and graduate as a nurse so she can help other people.”