The Flat Line on the Growth Card — Epoche A2
Village meeting - minutes Date: Saturday 15 May, 4 p.m. Place: Under the mango tree, Mshikamano village, near Moshi People: 28 mothers and fathers. Chair: Mama Grace Mtei. Notes: Neema Mushi. Guest: Nurse Upendo (clinic). Topic: Clinic day and the growth card Mama Grace opened the meeting: some mothers stop coming to clinic day when a child looks strong. Nurse Upendo came to explain why the clinic still wants them. Nurse Upendo held up a growth card. Every child has one; the mother keeps it at home. Each month the nurse weighs the child and puts one dot on the card. The dots make a line. The line tells more than the weight, she said. A small child whose line climbs a little every month is growing well. A bigger child whose line has stopped climbing is the child the clinic worries about. "We do not look for the low dot," she said. "We look for the flat line." A line that stays flat for two or three months makes the nurse ask questions - about illness, about food - before the child looks thin to anyone's eyes. Decisions Clinic day stays the first Tuesday of the month. Every mother brings the card each month - also for strong children. Neema will visit any mother who misses two clinic days. Next meeting: Saturday 12 June, 4 p.m., same place.