Obstetricians Saving Lives in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone has been named by the United Nations as the worst country for a child to be born. This is no easy title to earn, especially as it is surrounded by other nations who have similar child-bearing and obstetrics issues. However, in Sierra Leone, 159 out of 1,000 children die before they reach the age of five. The situation is no better for the mother as 11 out of 280 mothers died in childbirth in March alone! These deaths were the product of a lack of adequate medicine, including that which obstetrics can provide – sever infection, labor obstruction, bleeding, and pregnancy-induced hypertension are all causes of death but can easily be remedied by an influx of obstetricians to the area. More than that, surviving mothers will lead to a better chance of survival for their babies.
Healthcare was previously enormously expensive for residents of Sierra Leone, but the country has recently launched a free healthcare service for pregnant women, breastfeeding moms, and children under the age of five. This hopes to set into motion a higher rate of survival, and the plan is expected to save the lives of 1.2 million mothers and children, and a cost of $19 million. The obstetricians who have worked previously with many of the women in Sierra Leone recount horror stories where they were forced to make choices that no one should because of the lack of funding. Many times, doctors were forced to let pregnant women die because they had no money to pay for any procedures, “not because they wanted to but because they had to.” NY Times. Obstetricians are now the saving grace of the nation, as they can help improve mortality rates and ensure more mothers live to see their infant children reach the age of 10.
The funds have largely come from the UN and the UK, with promises that health care workers will also be taken care of, as they continue to work on pregnant women and their children. Obstetricians are the main doctor on site for many of these emergencies and it is unfathomable to think of the many difficult choices the nation itself has forced them to make. We in the United States take our obstetrics program for granted: there are laws that prevent doctors from not acting on a woman who is clearly dying. However, Sierra Leone did not have the funds to take on the cost burden themselves for the thousands of women who come to hospitals every day. This is one step in the right direction, for both the women who come to these clinics and the obstetricians who serve them; but until the country completely revitalizes itself, health will be a chronic problem for its citizens suffering from other debilitating illnesses.
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