rock bottom.

Every minute around the world :

380 women become pregnant,

190 women face unplanned or unwanted pregnancies,

110 women experience pregnancy related complications,

40 women have unsafe abortions,

and 1 woman dies (World Health Organization)


When I first read this on the WHO website, I felt sad but like all facts and figures that enter and leave my brain, its impact was minimal. Too far away, too abstract, too unbelievable, too impersonal to affect me other than on a superficial level. " Oh thats awful" I probably thought and then moved on to better thoughts like probably what I was going to eat for supper later or when I might be able to fit a walk with my dog in.Shallow but the truth.

Now I am living this quote. Why? Im not too sure anymore. Bihar is a living example of all the stats and figures that demonstrate how we collectively have a long way to go for making maternity care safer for the majority of women on earth. Why shouldnt safe quality maternity care be a reality for all women on earth?

The hospital has had 3 maternal deaths in the last 6 days, none of which I saw as I was away. But the American midwives witnessed all, 2 happened in one day. The first from a postpartum hemorrhage at home, managed by medication from a local pharmacy that did not work. She came in practically dead and there was no chance at saving her. The second came in in labor with a hemoglobin of 3! and platelets of 20! Her blood pressure was 170/110 and her breathing rate was 70. Her baby died and after her still birth, she bled a little and went into cardiac arrest, died shortly after. Third was a uterine rupture from a women who labored at home with oxytocin intramuscular injection and a history of classical Csection scar. Came in with internal bleeding and died.

These women' s lives are now over.Passed away in a room full of strangers, their families no where in sight. The collection of memories and stories that made up their lives are unknown to those present at their deaths. There is no love. These women were mothers, sisters and daughters.They had children at home. Dreams and thoughts lost forever. Lives cut short in unforgivable circumstances. Circumstances which illustrate how complex life is here. Lack of education, poverty, remoteness, cultural beliefs all contribute but there are so many other layers.

This is a war zone and no one is paying attention. It might not be guns killing innocent lives but it is the economic, political and social structure of the society in which these women live which kills them and their babies on a daily basis.

Possibly one of these women couple have lived with a quick blood transfusion. The problem here at Duncan is the lack of readily available blood for transfusion. There is a blood bank but they will not release blood to a patient until the family or friends donate an equal amount. It does not have to be the same blood type, just any type so they can keep blood stocked. It is often a hassle to get families to donate blood. They seem to disappear after the request is made. Despite the medical staff' s explanations as to why the blood is needed, even emphasizing that it is a life and death situation does not always guarantee the blood donation. People are afraid to give blood for fear of being too weak to work the next day or sick from it. Sometimes nurses give blood to help out. Often it is too late to save a life.

Why am I living this quote? What am I giving and what am I receiving? How is change possible here? I do not see anything here that makes me hope that change is possible.
I am only left with a deep sense of injustice for these women. All of them, the mothers and their children. And the doctors and the nurses living this nightmare. They are the people who fight a losing battle everyday.

Leah