Maternal Health Themes

There were many themes in the videos concerning important maternal health issues in Egypt and Haiti. One theme is that they were based in impoverished areas with little access to care. Being able to afford and have a place to go for medical help is important for the well being of the residents. Both places had some complications with birth that lead to the baby or the mother dying or being sick that was not well taken care of. The cultures in both these areas were different. It appeared as if the women were seen more as equals in Egypt, then they did in Haiti, where their standing came from the men they married. In Haiti, one gender-based factor that stood out was that the women would marry again if their husband died, and would be expected to have more children even if she already had ten. Another theme I noticed as that both places had a river they have to cross to get care from a hospital, but Egypt has a nurse in the area.
There are unique elements of maternal health in each country. In Egypt, they had a person called a Daya providing maternal health. This Daya was an uneducated woman trained by her mother to assist women in birthing. They had many problems with the Daya’s such as, they could not identify issues quick …show more content…
A critical element to success in the maternal health program in Haiti is that they do not charge women the fee that the clinic charges to get care. Without this fee women can get the care they need for them and their baby. In Egypt a critical element to success is that the Tuk Tuk midwife nurse travels, so it breaks down barriers with having to cross the river to have a medical professional 's help. She would focus on the patient 's health closely and their nutrition, so the mothers would have care before the births to help the baby’s growth. The midwife also leaves her phone number with the patients in case they have any issues after the birth they can contact