Guinea-Bissau is one of the deadliest places in the world to
give birth!
Pregnant woman tends rice in Guinea Bissau
13-year-old brides have children before their bodies are
ready — about 7 percent of girls under 15 are already married.
This woman (approx) age 25 yrs has 5 children
The majority of women do not regularly visit health centers
due insufficient health care workers in rural areas, and lack of free,
efficient transport to health centers.
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) runs a mobile clinic touring 16 villages to give
pregnant women free consultations and train community volunteers to identify
at-risk mothers. CRS also has a center called House of Mothers, a residential
facility set up in Gabu but Gabu is very far away from the tiny, remote village
of Djati.
Two thirds of women prefer to have babies in their villages,
where they sit in a stew of warm water and banana leaves as matrons coax labor
along. However, if anything goes wrong, they are far from a hospital (most
mothers in Guinea-Bissau die because complications are diagnosed too late).
As in many parts of western Africa, Guinea-Bissau's
hospitals are few and far between. A journey of just 11 miles can take three
hours by foot, or cost up to $20 for a car, should one happen to be available. Even
if a mother gets to a hospital, families must purchase anesthesia drugs before
emergency operations can take place.
For women in developing nations—far more so than for women
in wealthy countries like the U.S childbirth poses significant risks. Click here to take a quiz, and get a sense of the stark disparities in maternal
health for women and what can be done to close the gap.
Help Build a Medical Clinic in Djati, Guinea Bissau
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