Update on the Maternal Mortality Project

We've done 30 interviews in 7 days of field work! On one hand, I am SO EXCITED that the surveys and data are coming in so quickly, but on the other hand, I am devastated by the real-life implications of this. In just seven days, with little to no strategy, we were able to find 30 people who knew a mother, sister, daughter, cousin, or friend who died from complications related to childbirth. I knew from my preliminary research that Haiti's Maternal Morality Rate (MMR, for short) was 630 deaths /100,000 births (more facts on Haiti's healthcare here), which is astronomically high compared to the US's MMR of 13.3 deaths/ 100,000 births, according to the World Health Organization. However, I didn't expect to literally stumble upon so many people who had lost a loved one. Here's a document from UNICEF on the causes of maternal morality, if you care to read more: www.unicef.org/health/files/PreventingmaternaldeathsQandA.doc. What's the percentage of maternal deaths that occur in "developed "(I hate that term, but that's what UNICEF uses) countries? 1 percent. 99 percent occur in "undeveloped" states. 

Sagar and our translator, Valery, doing an interview in a tent city near our hospital. Notice how the siding is donated by Samaritan's Purse, an International Relief organization that identifies itself as being Evangelical. The siding on the next house was donated by USAID ("From the American People" it reads in bold letters), and the next one was from the Red Cross Society of China. I think I am beginning to understand why Haiti is called "A Republic of NGO's."