Local Non-Profit and Haitian Midwife Help Clinton Foundation Bring Data on Maternal Health to Life

Progress on reducing maternal mortality globally cannot be mistaken for success; poor, marginalized women still at great risk, data shows

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Midwives For Haiti

Mar 17, 2015, 10:11 ET

RICHMOND, Va., March 17, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Richmond based non-profit, Midwives For Haiti, and their graduate midwife, Genette Thelusmond, were invited by the Clinton Foundation and spoke about maternal health at the March 9th launch of No Ceilings: Not There Yet- The Full Participation Project, A Data Driven Analysis of Gender Equality in New York.  The initiative, led by former Secretary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, seeks to inspire and advance the full participation of women and girls around the world.

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Midwives For Haiti graduates, Genette Thelusmond and Magdala Jean, are thanked for their work to reduce maternal and infant mortality in Haiti by Former President Bill Clinton in New York City on March 9, 2015. Midwives For Haiti is a Richmond, Virginia non-profit organization working in Haiti to educate skilled birth attendants and increase access to skilled maternity care through several high impact health projects.
Midwives For Haiti graduates, Genette Thelusmond and Magdala Jean, are thanked for their work to reduce maternal and infant mortality in Haiti by Former President Bill Clinton in New York City on March 9, 2015. Midwives For Haiti is a Richmond, Virginia non-profit organization working in Haiti to educate skilled birth attendants and increase access to skilled maternity care through several high impact health projects.

The data on maternal health is very clear. The global rate of maternal mortality has decreased by 40% in the past 20 years. "But we can't mistake progress for success. Despite those gains, progress has been uneven, particularly among poor, rural, and marginalized women," said Chelsea Clinton.

Haiti has the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti has roughly two hundred obstetricians and less than one hundred midwives serving a population of ten million. Midwives For Haiti trains skilled birth attendants.

Ms. Thelusmond, trained to be a midwife in 2010 by Midwives For Haiti, now teaches student midwives in Haiti. "Too many children do not survive to take their first breaths, or just as tragic, their mothers do not live to hear their baby's first cries," said Ms. Thelusmond, "But I believe we can change this story. I know that with every new midwife I help educate, we have the chance to save and improve the lives of hundreds, even thousands, more women and children each year."

"Many of the critical investments that have helped ensure that women and girls live longer, healthier lives have been made in skilled birth attendants and midwives, midwives just like Genette Thelusmond of Midwives For Haiti," said Chelsea Clinton.

Since 2006, Midwives For Haiti has trained 95 skilled birth attendants who work in hospitals, birth centers, and mobile clinics across Haiti.

Notes to Editor: Midwives For Haiti will graduate their 7th class of skilled birth attendants in Hinche, Haiti, on March 22, 2015. 

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150317/182302

SOURCE Midwives For Haiti

Related Links

http://www.midwivesforhaiti.org

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