Helping Women in Liberia Take Charge of Health

Esther* knows she is living a miracle. So many things had to go right for her to be alive and healthy, in a hospital bed next to her tiny newborn son. Indeed, everything about Esther points to her being one of the 77 of every 1,000 new mothers who die in childbirth in Liberia, where she lives. Esther has diabetes and, in the final month of her pregnancy, developed extremely high blood pressure. A year before, Esther might have died, her danger signs unrecognized. Even if she had shown up at the hospital, she could have been turned away due to a shortage of beds.

But Americares recently completed an expansion of the Liberia Government Hospital in Grand Bassa County, adding a maternal care wing, with 23 new beds for labor and delivery. Americares provided critical equipment, medicine and supplies and hired trained staff to work alongside local nurses. To bring more women to the facility and increase their chances of safe childbirth, Americares also hired a community outreach specialist, who trained traditional midwives to recognize danger signs —like Esther’s swollen feet and headaches—and accompany women to the hospital for prenatal care, delivery and postnatal care. That is exactly what happened to Esther; a traditional midwife in her community saw her distress and told her she needed care immediately. 

This is just one example of the work being done by Americares in Liberia for our overall Maternal and Child Health work there. As we continue our work in Grand Bassa, we hope to expand to new facilities and begin work on a fistula program, reaching a critically underserved section of the community in the region.

More updates to come soon and thank you again for your continued support!

*name changed for privacy reasons