Ministries

The Haiti Initiative - The Midwives Initiative

The Haiti Initiative
Parish Profile - About Haiti - Initiatives - Budget - Reports from the Field

Ask just about any midwife in Haiti how their career began and most likely they will tell you it started with a dream. These extremely hard working women feel individually called by God to help Haiti's most vulnerable – pregnant moms and their babies.

We strive to support their heroic efforts and to decrease the infant & maternal mortality rates in Latiboliere.

In addition to prayerful support, we send very basic supplies to replenish their midwife's kits. We also provided money for medical / professional training and certification for all of the midwives.

The Reality

If a mom or baby requires services beyond that of a midwife, during or after the birth, it would not be uncommon for them to walk two or more hours in hopes of finding treatment. Here are some grim statistics:

• Maternal Mortality Rates in rural Haiti are 1 in 18 live births
  From: Maternal Mortality and the Consequences on Child Survival in Rural Haiti, Anderson F, Morton S, Naik S, and Gebrian. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2007 Jul;11(4):395-401. Epub 2007 Jan 31
• 26% of births have a skilled attendant at delivery
  Source: UNICEF
• 80 children per 1000 live births DIE before the age of 5
  Source: UNICEF
• 25% of births are institutional deliveries
  Source: UNICEF
• "The state of the children in the country is related to its maternal mortality rate... We have seen that if a mother dies, the child is unlikely to make it to his or her first birthday."
  - Teresa De la Torre, chief of health & nutrition at UNICEF-Haiti
• Infant mortality rate 60 per 1000 live births
  Source: UNICEF
• Haiti has the highest rate of mortality for children younger than 5 years in the Americas.

The Need

Pregnant women are so grateful for the basic services and supplies listed below.

Supplies for a typical midwife’s kit:

• Cotton balls
• Disposable medical glove
• Washcloths
• Hydrogen Peroxide (16oz)
• Hand sanitizer (small bottles)
• Acetaminophen 500 mg
• Small bars of soap
• Twine
• 4x4 sterile pads
• 2x2 cotton squares
• Tylenol infant drops
• Alcohol preps

Financial

Money to pay the midwives as they often receive no compensation for their services and to pay for their education and to purchase supplies.

For more info contact: Carol Sullivan at thesullivans@tds.net

"God was kind to the midwives. The people went on increasing and grew very powerful; since the midwives reverenced God he granted them descendants." (Exodus 1:21)