Run a Maternity and Neonatal Unit in Haiti

Maintaining quality maternity and neonatal services at our partner hospital in Haiti is as challenging as ever. Instability continues to restrict access to basic supplies such as fuel. While our solar/battery electrical system has been providing most of the hospital's electrical needs, the hybrid electrical system can make operating sensitive NICU equipment problematic. However, hospital staff continue to do an amazing job with the resources available.

In recent weeks, the NICU has seen over 20 babies (over double what the unit is designed for) at the same time putting huge pressure on the staff who do their best to provide the care each baby needs. Improving the capacity and resources available remains a top priority and will be the focus of our upcoming Giving Tuesday and Christmas Appeal. Please look out for that and support us if you can.

In more positive news, we're delighted to announce the restarting in full of our Community Health Outreach Programme. This is a project we've run for several years in the past when funding was available, and thanks to some new secured funding, we've been able to increase this vital activity once more.

This summer, we've increased the number Community Health Workers from 2 to 5. These people engage with mothers at a community level so that they can receive the pre and post natal support they need. They ensure mothers can access hospital care when needed, and they administer vaccinations and health checks for babies.

This team also coordinate a new group of 20 Traditional Birth Attendants who help to provide safer home births for mothers. Birthing at home is still the norm in Haiti but is fraught with danger. The TBA's are trained and equipped with birthing kits to provide a clean, safer birthing experience. They can also refer mothers and babies in danger to the hospital for emergency care if needed. 

We're so excited to have this project back to full strength and we look forward to sharing some stories from this work in the coming months.

Thank you so much for your continued support. 

Funding and maintaining specialist hospital equiment is one of our biggest challenges in Haiti. The harsh environment  and sometimes unstable power supply can mean sensitive equipment like incubators have a limited lifespan and need regular repairs and replacement.

Thankfully, the hospital has recently received four new infant incubators, which is a welcome upgrade to their NICU facilities. These are vital tools in caring for premature and critically sick babies, providing a controlled environment where they can be closely monitored and protected from outside infection. 

These new incubators are not a model the staff have previously used so they have all been receiving training on how to safely and effectively use them.

One recent story shows how important every element of our maternity and NICU service is, from the personnel in the community to the specialist NICU equipment like these new incubators.

One of our community-based Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) recently attended a birth where the baby quickly suffered breathing difficulties. The TBA arranged rapid transport to our NICU unit where the staff quickly determined the baby's lungs and liver were under developed. Treatment including CPAP breathing support and phototherapy thankfully saw the baby improve over a few days and safely returned home with Mum. Without the trained TBA, the NICU capacity to receive the baby, and the specialist knowledge and equipment to treat him, the result could have been a tragic one.

Thank you for supporting this ongoing project.