Stories from the field
Maternity and newborn health are top priorities for Red Cross field hospital
By Lynette Nyman, IFRC, Carrefour, Haiti
April 30, 2010
The maternity ward at the Red Cross field hospital in Carrefour is perhaps the busiest in town. Located on a sports field, this hospital of tents averages around 100 births each month.
Jennifer Duggan, a nurse midwife with the Canadian Red Cross, has been present for most of them. One night this week, Duggan was up for hours helping to bring five newborns into the world. She says that on one recent day they had 18 births.
“It changes every day. Whoever walks in is who we see. We do not deny services to anyone and we accept patients from other hospitals,” says Duggan.
Run by the German and Finnish Red Cross, the maternity ward at this field hospital has become the one that women seek in Carrefour.
Seven days a week, dozens wait their turn for a consultation with the international Red Cross Red Crescent staff or the Haitian counterparts that they’ve helped teach and train.
In addition to giving women more access to maternity care, the hospital has eased the strain on local medical facilities that were already stressed before the earthquake.
Getting care
Like many women here, Eliana Leveque, 28, is a single mother getting free high quality health care at the field hospital.
“People in the neighbourhood told my friend about this hospital where I can show up and get help,” says Leveque. “I am here because people take care of me.”
On April 5, she delivered her baby boy while on the road rushing to the field hospital during the early morning hours. She has returned because her newborn has a fever. Like any new parent, she has dreams for the future of her baby, named John.
“I want him to go to school. I want him to learn so he can become a doctor or an engineer,” Leveque says.
Leveque delivered full term without complications. Others are less fortunate. High blood pressure affects many women putting the health and lives of both mother and baby at risk.
Making the situation more complicated is a general lack of medical records for the women, showing health conditions, such as hypertension, before or earlier in the pregnancy. Premature births and low birth weights are common as well.
Making do
Islande Belfleur, 19, is due with her first baby in one month. She’s living in a tent camp near the field hospital because her house collapsed during the earthquake.
“I caught a cold during the heavy rains and now I’m not feeling well,” she says.
“I am alone in the camp with no relatives. I do not know who will help me take care of the baby,” adds Belfleur. “Some may have too many children or maybe they are afraid.”
To help women like Belfeur, the field hospital staff is ramping up its prenatal services. A second nurse will soon be on board and well-baby counselling now includes hygiene training, breast feeding counselling, and important vaccinations for both mother and newborn.
“We know many of these women are returning to challenging circumstances,” says Duggan. “We are doing what we can to help them and their babies have a healthy start.”
