Obstructed labor is a direct cause of Bangladesh's high maternal and neonatal mortality rates. In rural areas, over 90% of women give birth at home, at the hands of untrained birth attendants. HOPE aims to give women with high risk pregnancies, safe delivery to save their and their children's lives.
Bangladesh has one of the highest mortality rates in the world. This is largely in part to women not knowing the importance of antenatal care and delivery by a skilled attendant, and due to poverty. Women in rural areas cannot afford delivery in a medical clinic. When these women are suffering during delivery and need emergency C-sections, their family often waits too long to make the decision. If the mother survives, often her child does not, and she suffers from morbidities such as fistula.
HOPE has a database of 2,000 pregnant women at any time. These women will be screened to determine whether they are experiencing a high-risk pregnancy, due to young age, underdevelopment of the birth canal, unfavorable positioning of the baby, breach, etc. HOPE will then ensure this mother is at HOPE Hospital the day of her delivery, or plan for her cesarean delivery and save this mother and her child's life without costing the family everything they have.
Not only will this project save hundreds of mothers and their babies, but it will create a community attitude shift. Women who receive these deliveries will tell their friends and families how their lives were spared, and explain the importance of being screened for high risk. In remote communities where untrained traditional birth attendants are the norm, we want women to start understanding the value of preventive care and reduce maternal and neonatal mortality.
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