Childbirth - Haiti Observer Blog

While the primary reason for maternal mortality Caribbean is hemorrhage(23%), followed by hypertension(22%), in Haiti it is different. The main cause of maternal death in Haiti is preeclamsia/eclampsia at an alarming rate of (37.5%), followed by hemorrhage at (22%).

Preeclampsia/ eclampsia are the development or worsening of high blood pressure during pregnancy. The symptoms of preeclampsia are seizures. This condition can develop any time from 20 weeks into the pregnancy until weeks after delivery.

Often, as blood pressure continues to climb higher, this may cause the placenta to separate from the wall of the uterus, causing severe bleeding and even death of the fetus and possibly the mother.

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We are aware that infant mortality in Haiti is at an alarming rate, the highest in the Caribbean. Maternal Mortality is yet another problem that the country must deal wit more effectively.

The maternal mortality ratio in Haiti in 2013 was 380 per 100,000 live births which was evaluated at more than 1000 maternal deaths. This was an official number. Considering how difficult it is to come up with real numbers, the actual rate of maternal death could be much more. Again this ratio is much higher in Haiti than in other regions in the Caribbean

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Would you believe this? A pregnant woman in an emergency situation in Haiti Capital was unable to receive the necessary help and as a result, both the pregnant woman and her unborn child end up dead. To make matter worst, they both died not because they did not seek out help, but she came in at the worong time, during a weeks-old strike by resident doctors, nurses and other staff.

Do you see anything wrong with this picture?

That happened on wednesday, May 4, 2016 at the gate of Haiti State University Hospital in Port-au-Prince. A bleeding pregnant woman dropped dead at the gates of Haiti's largest hospitasl just like an animal.

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The Martelly/Lamothe Administration, with the particular interest of Haitian First Lady Sophia Martelly, has unveiled the formation of a new training program for midwives at the National Institute of Higher Education of Midwives (INSFSF) on Monday, October 7, 2013. The First Lady, who didn't make light of the important role the women of this very old profession play in Haitian society, ushered in the facility and program by recalling the discipline's importance.

With its target being the implementation of a development plan plus human resource management in the fields of maternal and newborn care, and also family planning, the program established necessary changes to the way in which midwives are trained in the country.

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Haiti, which suffered a crushing and debilitating earthquake in 2010, needs health-care workers, particularly in maternal and neo-natal care. Statistics reveal mothers during child-birth and neonates suffer 50 times the rate of child-birth mortalities than women in the U.S. Haitian women experience difficult pregnancies with dangerous blood-pressure levels, anemia, and sometimes cholera.

U.S mid-wives have arrived on a mission to bring down the death toll. And what they have found is distressing. The ratio of mid-wives to maternity patients is two for every 33 in labor. Mid-wives often work 24-hour shifts, sometimes for a week. Exhausted, they fall asleep, abandoning their charges. Women, who have already delivered, die from hemorrhaging that does not receive attention because of mid-wives' sleep deprivation. And during early hours of the morning they fear for their security, vulnerable to rapists. As a result they leave their patients alone.

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The oldest independent black republic of world, Haiti gained its independence in 1804. Haiti is a small island country that shares the island with Dominican Republic. The total land area of Haiti is 27,750 sq. km. or 10,714 sq. miles. The country is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. According to CIA World Factbook, the birth rate of Haiti in February 2013 was 23.87 births every 1,000 population.

Birth rate is defined as average number of births annually for a given year in a population of 1,000 people. This birth rate is also known as the Crude Birth Rate. The birth rate is the parameter that is used for determining the rate of population growth in a country. This birth rate is dependent on population's age structure and fertility level.

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Just like abortion, miscarriage is a traumatizing experience any pregnant mother can ever go through. The memories may remain long after the miscarriage has taken place. The memories are painful to handle by the traumatized mothers every time she reflects on the events that led to the miscarriage. Like abortion, the patient may experience insomnia as well as fear. Equally, the patient may develop emotional imbalance long after the event has occurred.

There are different effects that may be attributed to miscarriage. These contributory causes of miscarriage affecting the patient include unexpected shocks. The sad fact is that miscarriage is happening every passing day. In fact, reports have shown that 1 out of 4 pregnant mothers lose their unborn babies through miscarriage. Some mothers who abuse drugs and alcohol are risking having miscarriages in the lives. Others do not mind the environment they are exposing themselves into thus they are risking miscarriages.

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The instances of rape have been at its highest in recent years. It has been considered as one of the most heinous crimes that could ever be committed, especially to women. Rape has destroyed thousands of lives of women, mostly young girls, as they will forever hold the painful memory of having been forced into intercourse against their will. Most of them who went through this traumatic ordeal have lived a life of shame and depression, even resulting to committing suicide and throwing their life away by different means such as prostitution. What makes matters worse for some victims is that the crime committed to their bodies has sprung with the possibility of a life growing inside their bellies.

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