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Liberia - Pregnant in the Shadow of Ebola: Deteriorating Health Systems Increase Birth Risks
Over 800,000 women in the worst-affected countries face increased risks
A woman is in labour at her
home in
20 Otober 2014 - Monrovia, Liberia – Thirty-six year old Comfort Fayiah, in Monrovia, Liberia, never imagined her pregnancy would end the way it did – with her giving birth on the side of the road, in a heavy downpour, to twins.
The Ebola crisis has left health systems reeling, increasing threats
to pregnant women. Throughout the three most-affected countries –
When Ms. Fayiah went into labour on 18 September, her family struggled to find a health centre where she could deliver.
“We went to four different clinics and hospitals, but the would
not allow my wife in,” said Victor Fayiah, Ms. Fayiah’s husband. “I begged
them, I cried, but they bluntly refused.” The crisis has also left pregnant
women vulnerable to exploitation: At the last hospital Ms. Fayiah visited, on
19 September, nurses said she would require a surgical delivery, but only after
a $450 fee was paid.
“The hospital administration requested a cash down payment of $450 before my wife would be touched,” Mr. Fayiah said. “Upon realizing that we did not have the money, and for fear that my wife could pass away in their premises, a man acting on the order of the hospital physically pushed my wife out. He said, ‘Get outside! Do you think this is a free hospital?’”
They walked barely 10 metres in the pouring rain before Ms. Fayiah collapsed and began to deliver twin girls.
Saved by passers-by
Instead of receiving care from hospital staff, she was assisted by people on the street, some of whom shielded Ms. Fayiah from the nearby traffic.
“Onlookers came, including women who formed a human chain
barrier using their clothes,” Mr. Fayiah said. “And a nurse assistant who was
passing on a motorbike assisted my wife to deliver.”
The nurse assistant, Duworna Monibah, recounted: “When I arrived at the scene, the first baby was already out and the second was not lying properly.
I forgot that there was something called Ebola. All I
thought about was saving the woman and her babies’ lives. I immediately asked
for plastic shopping bags as there were no gloves.”
With his makeshift gloves, he helped the second baby emerge.
“I managed the position of the last baby and, as God would have it, she came out,” Mr. Monibah said.
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The Liberia Medical and Dental Council later investigated the nurses who had turned Ms. Fayiah away; they were found guilty of committing an ethical transgression.
Over 800,000 women at increased risk
Ms. Fayiah’s story, sadly, is not an isolated case. Other women
have reported being refused care or facing exorbitant fees.
UNFPA estimates that in
Since start of the outbreak, UNFPA has worked closely with governments and partners to provide personal protection equipment, disinfectant materials, and reproductive health supplies and equipment, helping health workers provide safe, compassionate care for women.
To help ensure demand for care is being met, UNFPA is also
supporting mobile clinics and tent-based outreach to pregnant women, and is
recruiting hundreds of midwives to provide maternal health and family planning