Hard Labours

In Haiti, the life expectancy of women is estimated at 58.8 years, while the maternal mortality rate is estimated at 630 deaths per 100.000 live births (in Canada it’s 5 per 100,000 live births) ’ this is by far the worst maternal death rate in the western hemisphere.

In the capital city of Port-au-Prince, thousands of women deliver at home without skilled birth attendant. For many, there are no complications and they are able to deliver their baby relatively safely. But when and if there are complications, women are forced to make many difficult decisions. Should they stay home and risk their baby’s and their own life? Or should they try to find help, despite the major obstacles in their way? These women confront overwhelming challenges, not the least of which is the debilitating lack of financial means. They don’t have any money to pay for the taxi, they can’t pay the cost of the hospital care, which is so expensive they would need months to pay it off (a ceasarean-section costs 90$ - the average person lives on less than 1$ a day). If they borrow money, they must go without food or other essentials. The women also fear the social reprisals of arriving at a hospital shoeless and dressed poorly. Even if she arrives in time to get the care she needs, there is no guarantee there will be room for her at the hospital.

With such an alarming maternal mortality rate Médecins sans Frontières opened Jude-Anne Hospital in March 2006 to provide free emergency obstetric care to a most marginalized population: women who live in the slums of Port-au-Prince. Since the opening of the hospital, the monthly number of deliveries has been growing steadily. In two years, MSF has provided free and quality obstetric care for over 24,000 births, almost 60% of which were with complications that had potentially life-threatening consequences for the mother and the child. After two years of experience in such a demanding context, MSF feels compelled to share its experience and to raise awareness about the desperate situation of pregnant and vulnerable women through this film and the story of 15-year old Patricia.

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