'I was so hot' Weather that ended a longed-for pregnancy

Mariama, not her real name, is a Burkinabe musician who lives in Ouagadougou. During the heatwaves earlier this year she went into early labour, and lost her baby.

- As told to Elia Borràs

It was my first pregnancy. I had been trying to have a child since I was 26, in fact, I had stopped trying. Then I went to the pharmacy to take a test and I couldn't believe it - I was pregnant! At that moment, I stopped everything and started taking care of myself. Everything was going well. Then the heat came.

At night, I'd wake up to get some air because I was so hot. You feel suffocated at night, you can't breathe well because on top of the heat, this year there was so much humidity. I'd also take showers during the night.

When I woke up, I was exhausted, as if I hadn't slept at all. I was scared, because the doctors told me to stay in a cool place, but they didn't understand my reality. What if there were power cuts? My chest was swollen, and my back hurt. I felt nauseous, dizzy - mainly dizzy from the heat.