Port-au-Prince, Haiti – A major earthquake centered just 10 miles from Port-au-Prince has devastated the country, killing an estimated 200,000 people. Survivors are struggling to find necessary resources, such as food, water and health supplies. The Reproductive Health Response in Conflict (RHRC) Consortium estimates that there are approximately 63,000 pregnant women in Port-au‐Prince, 7,000 of whom will deliver in the coming month. Further, 15% (9,450 women) of all pregnant women will also require care for life threatening pregnancy complications.
Updates
Maternal Health in Haiti on PBS
February 2nd, 2010
The PBS newsmagazine show NOW on PBS highlighted maternal mortality in Haiti on Friday night with an interview from Ann Starrs, president of Family Care International. While Haiti's catastrophic earthquake has left lives and institutions in ruin, it has also exacerbated a longtime lethal risk in Haiti: Dying during childbirth. Challenges in transportation, education, and quality health care contribute to Haiti having the highest maternal mortality rate in the Western Hemisphere, a national crisis even before the earthquake struck.