Most of the deaths are preventable, with basic obstetrical care.
It is not uncommon for a woman in labor to arrive after a daylong, bone-rattling ride on the back of a bicycle or motorcycle, sometimes with the arm or leg of her unborn child already emerging from her body.
A few minutes’ walk from the hospital is an orphanage that sums up the realities here: it is home to 20 children, all under 3, nearly all of whose mothers died giving birth to them.
“You can never get used to maternal deaths,”
“One minute she’s talking with her husband, then she is bleeding and then she is gone. She’s gone, very young. You cannot sleep for one week. That face will always come back to you.
“Why don’t we have a global fund for maternal health, like the one for TB, malaria and AIDS?” Dr. Massawe asked.
clipped from: www.nytimes.com 