Run a Maternity and Neonatal Unit in Haiti

The last few months have been our busiest of 2013, with the maternity and neonatal unit often overflowing!  It's incredible to see the number of women and babies being given excellent care at the hospital you support.

In fact, we have some great news!  A few years ago, 75% of women were giving birth at home without any medical support in Haiti, placing women and babies at great risk!  Thanks to projects like ours, that number has now fallen to 63%!  In financially difficult times, where we often wonder where our donations go, we hope you'll be encouraged by this.  However, whilst this shows the positive progress, its still a number which we want to dramatically reduce.

99% of maternal deaths still happen in the developing world, and everyday 800 women die due to child birth.  This Christmas, we've launched a special appeal called 'A Royal Birth', with Downton Abbey star, Laura Carmichael (who plays Lady Edith).  She became our patron and visited the hospital in Haiti last month!  Laura said 'What the hospital have created here over the passed seven years with HHA is nothing short of extraordinary.  Their maternity ward and an overflowing neonatal unit, (one of the very few units to support premature babies in North Haiti) saw over 5000 women, children and babies last year. World Health Organisation representatives recently stated it is one of the best in the country.'

However, despite the impact being made, we're struggling to keep this unit open!  That's why we've launched the Royal Birth Campaign.  If 1,000 individuals or groups could each raise £200 ($320US) this Christmas, we'll be able to keep this critical work open for another year, and give mothers and babies a safe birth this Christmas.  Please join with us and Laura Carmichael, as we seek to fulfil this critical need.  Please make a donation today and visit our special website: www.aroyalbirth.org

Links:

• Support our Christmas campaign today

Many thanks to all of you who generously have been supporting our maternity and pediatric wards at HBCH!  With your donations, we’ve been able to care for many Haitian mothers and children who otherwise would not receive medical attention.  From March to May 2013, our maternity ward has provided care for 834 hospital visits - 70 visits to birth a child (half of those high-risk c-sections) and 402 prenatal visits including 189 ultrasounds.  Haiti has an unusually high maternal mortality rate, even compared to other developing countries in the region.  One of the largest factors for this troubling statistic is that more than 75% of all births happen at home without trained medical staff.  Because of the reputation of our outstanding medical staff and facilities, HCBH is slowly dismantling the dangerous cultural norms of childbirth that have been prevalent for centuries.  Many mothers in northern Haiti know that they can come to HCBH for excellent prenatal care, have a birth attended by an obstetrician and a pediatrician, and receive first-rate postnatal care for both herself and her newborn.  

The pediatric ward at HCBH is just as busy!  From March to May, we saw 883 visits, 181 of which were in-patients, and the remaining 702 were to the pediatric clinic.  With your help, we were additionally able to provide for 149 children through our nutrition program.  When the majority of a child’s meals consist of rice and beans, it’s impossible for them to consume all the vitamins and minerals that are necessary for healthy development.  Unfortunately, that diet is the best case scenario for many young children in northern Haiti.  Thus the ability to provide Medika Mamba, a fortified peanut butter made in Haiti,  for a child makes a world of difference to them and their families.  

 We sincerely appreaciate your support of HCBH’s maternity and pediatric wards and hope we can continue to count on your to support our life-saving programs!  

Links:

• Visit our website today to find out more.