Midwife Sharmin Akhter, 25, readjusts her protective gear before she attends to a mother in labor at a sub-district health facility, called an Upazila Health Complex (UHC), in Barlekha, Moulvibazar District. Her reassuring voice comforts the mother, who continues pushing to deliver the baby—until the endearing cry of a newborn engulfs the room. Sharmin has
Ever since she started working as a midwife in 2008, Patricia Nwadike knew it was vital that she have the skills necessary to stop severe bleeding after childbirth. Then, as now, the top direct cause of maternal death in Nigeria, and across all of sub-Saharan Africa, was postpartum hemorrhage. However, global data indicate that a
Every day 800 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Helena’s story shows us it doesn’t have to be this way.
