Love From Haiti - February 2017
Healthy babies always make us happy. In Haiti, 1 in 14 children do not reach the age of 5. (UNICEF) Patient education, breastfeeding support, prenatal care, and delivering with a skilled birth attendant are all very important to improve the health of babies and their mothers.
Saving Lives, One  Birth At A Time

Widline Jean-Gilles (18), pictured above, came to Hospital St. Therese after a midwife in her local clinic of Maissade discovered that Widline had severe hypertension and was at risk of preeclampsia, a life threatening complication that requires delivery of the baby. Widline had a long and exhausting- but safe- labor with this first child, a boy.  She was grateful to the skilled birth attendants for their loving care and both mom and baby are healthy and doing well. Deliveries at Hospital St. Hospital average 200 a month and many mothers like Widline travel long distances for the free maternity care provided by our graduates working at this referral hospital.

The Mobile Prenatal Clinic- which referred and/or transported 307 high risk moms to Hospital St. Therese last year- provided care to 506 women in 23 rural villages last month. Many women walk up to several hours each way to receive the care our skilled birth attendants provide. 

There she is, the Carrie Wortham Birth Center in Cabestor. When we say "rural birth center," we mean it. 

At the Carrie Wortham Birth Center in January, 174 women received prenatal and postnatal care, 9 babies were born safely, and 4 mothers received emergency transport or referrals to the hospital.

Learn more about our impact in our 2016 Annual Report. 
Dads hold the little ones while midwives provide education at the birth center during a prenatal session. (Photo: Cheryl Hanna-Truscott)
Oh Baby! A New Home Visit Program In Hinche!
A very successful postpartum home visit program at the Carrie Wortham Birth Center inspired the birth of a similar program in Hinche. (Photo: Jasmine Martin)

Mothers and newborns are already benefitting from our brand new Home Visit Program in Hinche. Midwife volunteer Daisy Grochowski, who spearheaded this new program during her month in Haiti, tells us about one:

"On a Friday visit for a 3 day postpartum cesarean couplet, the mother was so weak she didn’t rise at all. She felt so fatigued and dizzy upon standing that she hadn’t been out of bed since returning home from the hospital the day before. An instant hemoglobin check revealed a level of 6, and her vital signs were elevated. Her baby had diarrhea, and an infection of the umbilical cord. Both were in need of immediate medical attention, and we arranged for a truck to drive them to the hospital. She was in the hospital for over a week, receiving daily iron injections and awaiting a blood transfusion, as the hospital was out of blood. I would stop by to see her most days, just to see how they were coming along. Mom was still weak and exhausted, but the baby was breastfeeding wonderfully, and doing much better. A grandma was always near the bedside, caring for them dutifully, expressing her thanks whenever she saw us. Feeling helpless about what to do while waiting for blood to arrive, we gathered volunteers and all donated blood. Although it wouldn’t go directly to her, it hopefully will save someone else. And, it allowed us to feel useful while waiting days for something we’re used to being able to order STAT. One week after her admission to the hospital, she finally received her blood transfusion. The next day she looked like a changed woman. There was color in her cheeks, and I saw her smile for the first time."

Read more about our new program and the lives we're touching at our blog.
A special farewell and thank you goes out to  Brittany Tusing for her many years of dedication to the mission of Midwives For Haiti. The picture above was taken on Brittany's first day as our In-Country Coordinator in 2013 (she took the reins from Carrie Wortham). After working hard for a year in Haiti, Brittany went to Boston University and obtained her Master in Public Health. She then returned to us for a year as our Monitoring, Evaluation & Operations Manager, helping us evaluate our programs so we can maximize our impact. The value she has added to MFH is without question. Thank you, Brittany, and we wish you much success in your next chapter! 

This month we welcomed Brandy Blue to our team as our In-Country Director. Brandy has previous international experience working with the Peace Corps in Azilal, Morocco and as a legal clerk in Paris, France. She has other previous work experience in Atlanta, Georgia with the American Civil Liberties Union working in the area of immigrants' rights, and most recently has been working with TRENDS Global working on the development and implementation of international projects with a focus on gender issues. Brandy holds BA degrees in Speech Communications and French, and a Juris Doctorate with specialization in international law and women's rights. We are very happy to have Brandy and hope you get to her meet her in Haiti soon!
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