Pregnancy, Birth and Motherhood Without Fear

Thanks to your generosity, Hope Health Action is supporting thousands of mothers and babies across Haiti, South Sudan and Uganda. In Haiti, where ongoing violence and displacement continue to make healthcare harder to reach, this support is especially vital. By working directly within communities, Community Health Agents are helping mothers and babies access the care they need, wherever they are.

One of those mothers is Sophia.

Sophia is originally from Port-au-Prince. During her pregnancy, escalating violence and insecurity forced her to leave her home and relocate to Cap-Haïtien, joining many other families displaced by Haiti's ongoing crisis. Settling in one of the city's most vulnerable neighbourhoods, she faced the challenge of starting again in an unfamiliar place while preparing to welcome her baby.

After her daughter, Saskia, was born, Sophia began attending postnatal appointments at Fort Saint Michel Health Centre. But reaching the clinic was difficult. The journey was long, and regular visits were not always easy to manage with a young baby.

Thankfully, support did not stop at the clinic door. Through Hope Health Action's community health programme, trained Community Health Agents (CHAs) travel directly into neighbourhoods, visiting mothers and babies in their homes and ensuring that distance, cost, and instability do not prevent families from receiving essential care.

When Saskia was born, she was showing signs of malnutrition. Sophia was struggling with breastfeeding and worried about her daughter's health. During regular home visits, the CHA provided practical guidance on infant feeding, advice on complementary foods, and close monitoring of Saskia's growth and development.

Today, Saskia has recovered from malnutrition and is growing into a healthy little girl. For Sophia, having someone regularly check in, offer advice, and provide reassurance brought practical help as well as peace of mind during a challenging season of life.

Speaking about the CHA who visits her neighbourhood, Sophia shared:

"When the CHA comes to the neighbourhood, everyone sees her as their mother. She looks after everyone - she's always checking up on us. She makes sure the babies get their vaccines, makes sure mothers get prenatal care, makes sure they go to their doctors' appointments. The CHA's role is very important in this community."

By bringing care directly to families' homes, our CHAs are building trusted relationships and providing support at some of life's most important moments.

Thank you for helping make stories like Sophia and Saskia's possible.

Thanks to your generosity, Hope Health Action is supporting thousands of mothers and babies across Haiti, South Sudan and Uganda. Through community outreach, safer births, and access to specialist hospital care, your donations are helping women navigate pregnancy and early motherhood with greater safety and dignity.

But while numbers help us measure reach, they can sometimes feel distant. So we wanted to share a real story we heard from Haiti just last week - a reminder of what this support means for individual families, in the most critical moments.

When Kerline went into labour at just 29 weeks pregnant, fear set in immediately. She and her husband, Ephesian, had already experienced the heartbreak of losing a baby late in pregnancy, and they knew how fragile the days ahead could be. This time, however, their journey was different.

Kerline was able to go straight to Justinien University Hospital, the only remaining teaching hospital in the north of Haiti. Just a year ago, the hospital’s neonatal unit was struggling, with no working incubators and severely stretched resources. Thanks to your support, Hope Health Action has been working alongside the hospital over the past year, donating five specialised incubators and providing staffing support to strengthen neonatal care.

This support meant that, when Kerline and Ephesian’s baby boy was born extremely prematurely, he was admitted to a functioning neonatal unit - with an incubator ready for him, and a trained team able to provide the specialist care he needed to survive those critical early days.

Access to this level of care is rare in Haiti. Dr Vimal Vasu, a UK-based neonatal consultant who has volunteered with HHA and supported the development of our neonatal programme through staff training, explains the stark reality:

“In the UK, around 9 out of 10 babies born at 29 weeks survive to go home with their mother and father. Sadly in Haiti, this figure is reversed, with 9 out of 10 babies dying. We know that keeping premature babies warm after birth is one of the key ways to help improve their chances of survival.”

For Kerline and Ephesian’s son, the warmth and protection of the incubator, alongside skilled neonatal care, helped him beat the odds.

“Not a lot of hospitals in Haiti have this kind of service,” Ephesian shared. “A lot of children, I imagine, pass away because of limited access to incubators. It’s really important and it’s really needed in Haiti. We were really fortunate to have this kind of service here in Cap Haitien.”

Today, their baby boy, Caleb, is growing stronger every day. Despite being born so early, he is gaining weight quickly and developing well. Ephesian smiles as he explains that doctors advised Caleb should feed every two hours - but even that is often not enough for him, a small but joyful sign of how well he is doing.

Looking ahead, the family hopes that more parents across Haiti will have access to the same life-saving care they received. “Now we have our baby, and we’re hoping and praying for more things like this to happen in Haiti, so that more people can have their own child,” Ephesian said. “A lot of people have been losing their child because of lack of things like this.”

For Kerline and Ephesian, access to specialist neonatal care did not just save their son’s life. It gave them hope after loss, and the chance to bring their baby home.

Thank you for making stories like Caleb’s possible.