Things in Haiti are going well! I really enjoy talking to women and hearing the stories of their pregnancies and births. It is just amazing to me how strong these women are. Most of them deliver at home with a traditional birth attendant. Honestly, that seems like a better option than delivering at the hospital which is rather unsanitary and expensive. One woman this week told me that she gave birth to her last child completely unassisted and then flagged down a neighbor to come over to cut the umbilical cord! I can't even imagine what that was like. I am hearing a lot about voodoo. Many people believe that enemies can use their negative thoughts to "tie a baby in the womb" and thus cause a difficult labor. The necessity for some C sections is blamed on the negative thoughts of enemies.
The photo above is of women staying at the Center of Hope maternal waiting home. I will not be interviewing them for my study, but they see me around a lot and we have become friendly with each other. I took this picture at about 11:30 am when everyone got tired right before lunch. They prefer to nap on the floor of the porch rather than in their beds because the floor is cool. You would certainly never see women with high risk pregnancies sleeping on the floor in the US!
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