AP/Washington Times Examines Factors Behind High Maternal Mortality In Haiti

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 19 Mar 2009 - 6:00 PDT

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The AP/Washington Times on Tuesday examined the high maternal mortality rate in Haiti and the efforts of international not-for-profits, including the Clinton Global Initiative and Doctors Without Borders, to address the issue. According to a 2008 UNICEF report, 670 women died from pregnancy-related factors for every 100,000 live births in Haiti in 2006. By contrast, in the U.S. that year, 11 women died for every 100,000 live births. Haiti's maternal mortality rate is more than five times the Latin American and Caribbean average, and it is higher than any South Asian or Middle Eastern country except Afghanistan and Nepal. Wendy Lai of Doctors Without Borders Holland called the situation "embarrassing to the Western world." She added, "[T]hese are preventable deaths."

The AP/Times reports that the high maternal mortality rate primarily results from the fact that millions of women either cannot access or afford health care, despite Haitian health officials' "significant strides" last year to waive the 25- to 64-cent entrance fee at public hospitals for pregnant women. According to Jacqueline Ramon, a maternity ward nurse at Port-au-Prince's General Hospital, women still must pay all other childbirth-related costs -- such as medical supplies, food and transportation -- leading many to turn to untrained midwives who use traditional medicine. Paul Farmer -- a Harvard physician and co-founder of the not-for-profit Partners in Health, which provides no-cost health care in developing countries -- said, "It's never, ever going to work unless we say some things are not meant to be sold, and safe motherhood is one of them."

The AP/Times reports that former President Clinton and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon highlighted the issue of maternal mortality as "part of a wider call for increased aid and investment" in Haiti during a visit to the country this month. The issue also is expected to be discussed at an international donors conference on Haiti scheduled for April 13-14 in Washington, D.C. According to the AP/Times, additional steps needed in Haiti include reducing unintended pregnancies and lowering the birthrate, which is the highest in the Western Hemisphere at nearly 36 live births per 1,000 people. Farmer said that comprehensive care for all pregnant women in Haiti would cost about $40 million or less annually. However, the country is facing a $100 million budget shortfall, driven by emergency spending after four destructive storms last year.

The AP/Times also profiled the experiences of women giving birth at home and in a Doctors Without Borders clinic (Katz, AP/Washington Times, 3/17).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

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