Red Cross meets challenges facing mothers and children in Nicaragua

Did you know that more than 530,000 women across the world die each year as a result of pregnancy and childbirth complications? Or that women in underdeveloped countries are up to 100 times more likely to perish due to poor pre- and post-natal and delivery healthcare than their counterparts in Canada?

These tragic facts are made even more harrowing by the stark realities that many women in underdeveloped countries face each day. From crippling poverty to civil unrest, the outbreak of armed conflict, natural disasters and other emergency situations, the tumultuous nature of existence in these regions can negatively impact the quality of life for women and their unborn children.

Organizations like the Canadian Red Cross are committed to helping mothers and children gain access to vital healthcare resources. Since 1997, the Red Cross has supported family education, community-based neonatal health initiatives, nutrition and prevention activities, as well as maternal health.

In conflict-ridden countries like Nicaragua where access to healthcare can be limited for rural communities and where many healthcare programs are inadequate, the risks for expectant mothers are immense. To meet the challenges facing maternal and child health in the country, the Canadian Red Cross partnered with the Nicaraguan Red Cross and the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health to launch the ENLACE Project.

ENLACE was a five-year initiative that ran until September 2011 in 224 isolated rural communities in Nicaragua that had limited access to health care, clean sanitation and water. Offering maternal and child healthcare services, ENLACE enabled community health to expand and provided pregnant and nursing mothers, children under five years of age and young women of reproductive age with invaluable resources in the realm of reproductive care. The project had a gender approach that promoted the active participation of men in the health of their family and community.

For expectant mothers who are about to give birth in countries with inadequate health systems, the challenges are often stark.

According to the World Health Organization, severe bleeding, infections, inaccurately or unsafely performed abortions and disorders such as pre-eclampsia and eclampsia (a life-threatening condition experienced by pregnant women that's characterized by seizures and is not related to a pre-existing brain condition) are the leading causes of fatality for maternal deaths and are responsible for more than 70 per cent of maternal deaths globally. If these conditions are not treated, they can result in death for healthy women.

The inequities that women face with regard to healthcare can be startling, and during pregnancy, the lack of proper care and access to maternal health programs can have devastating consequences for mothers and children alike.

The Canadian Red Cross strives to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable women and children in need worldwide. With the generous support of Canadian donors, the Red Cross has been able to continue world health programs in Nicaragua, Honduras and Haiti, as well as in Africa.

A financial donation can immediately benefit maternal healthcare programs and can help show your commitment to the humanitarian work of the Red Cross. To learn more about donating, please click here or visit your local Red Cross office today.