Run a Maternity and Neonatal Unit in Haiti

2017 is HHA's 10th anniversary, meaning 10 years of healthcare provision in Haiti. With your support we have built up a field with a derelict building, into a multi-departmental hospital serving 20,000 patients a year and employing 250 local staff. This impact and growth is most evident in our maternity department.

When the unit first opened in 2012, our vision was to see 1000 births a year within 5 years. This year marks 5 years since it opened, and in the last 12 months over 1600 babies were born safely. Women come from miles around to give birth at our hospital and they will be cared for without discrimination. 

Part of the reason hospital births have been increasing so fast is due to our community health programme which is focussing on improving access to healthcare for mothers and infants across the region. A key part of that project is to empower women through better health education, helping them to make better decisions about caring for themselves and their children.

We hold women's groups where women can meet together, learn and discuss important issues such as family planning, nutrition, breast feeding and much more. These are active groups which engage the community and encourage the knowledge to be passed on from one person to another. They are a key tool in reducing unnecessary maternal and infant mortality.

The women who attend the sessions can 'graduate' so there was no better day to hold the ceremony than International Women's Day! Most women who attend are uneducated, so being part of a graduation and receiving a certificate for the commitment they have shown is a big deal to them.

Dressed in their finest, the audience of 200 women from across the region, heard from a leading local doctor on the importance of healthcare for all and the need for equality between men and women. Then the groups took over performing dramatic sketches highlighting some of the key topics they had discussed in their meetings, such as malnutrition, HIV and family planning.

The success of these groups in empowering women to make their own informed choices about health and family was plain to see. Knowledge is power in this case and we strongly believe lives will be saved and improved for generations to come thanks to this work.

Thank you so much for supporting our maternity and paediatric unit, and the wider work to improve women's health in Haiti. 

Links:

• HHA maternity work

Making the right choices about healthcare for you and your family in Haiti isn't easy. Sometimes there is a choice and sometimes there isn't but making the wrong decision can prove to be a tragic mistake. It isn't;t like the UK where there is always somewhere local to go if we are in need. So we think it's our responsibility to not only provide the health services people need, but also make as many people aware of the choices they have and how to make them. 

We recently met a mother called Altanise who gave birth at our hospital. Her story starts long before she was pregnant. Whilst training to be a nurse herself she completed one of her rotations at HCBH and saw then the high level of care provided at the hospital whilst working in the NICU. She lives in a town near the border to the Dominican Republic, about a 45 minute drive away. Because of this distance she did not come to HCBH for her prenatal consultations. She had her prenatal consultations at a clinic near her home and also had an ultrasound, making her aware that she would be expecting twins. Knowing the high level and quality of care received at HCBH, when Altanise started going into the labour she made the long journey to HCBH.

Altanise needed a c-section in the end because one of the babies was breach. The procedure went well, two healthy baby boys were born, and needed to go to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for a little bit, but were soon reunited with their mother. After a few days recovering in the department she was able to go home. She also received some training on breastfeeding as we had a visiting nurse from the US working in the department that week, who provided much encouragement as even a few days after the birth she was struggling to produce milk. These were her first children.

A different mother, who may not have known what was available at our hospital may not have made the journey to give birth. With the complications that occurred in this story, the outcome of this birth outside of the hospital could have easily been tragic. We're so glad Altanise chose to make the long journey to us, and she is too!

Thank you so much for your continued support of our maternity and paediatric care at our hospital. Lives are saved every day thanks to your support. 

Links:

• HHA maternity work