Pumwani marks 100 years of safe motherhood

From a 27-bed charitable maternity home to Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest maternity hospital, Pumwani Maternity, Child & Referral Hospital celebrates a century of serving the mothers of Kenya.

Founded in 1926 by the Lady Grigg Welfare League as the Lady Grigg Maternity Home, Pumwani has grown with the city it serves. A new building opened in 1928 with 27 beds; by 1944 the Municipal Council had taken over and expanded the hospital to 75 beds, with deliveries rising from 3,000 to 8,000 a year.

In 1969, President Jomo Kenyatta opened a modern 117-bed maternity unit with a theatre and a 50-cot newborn unit — the foundation of the hospital mothers know today: 354 obstetric beds, 144 baby cots and two maternity theatres.

A centenary year of activities

Activities through the centenary year include open days, community health outreach and a renewed mother-and-baby pledge from every team in the hospital. The name Pumwani comes from the Swahili pumua — to breathe — and a century on, that promise still guides our care.