In Haiti, Motherhood Means Courage
Supporting photography by Aljany Narcius.
In Haiti, motherhood means courage.
In undeveloped nations like Haiti, pregnancy and childbirth are fraught with significant risks. Insufficient medical resources, limited access to skilled healthcare providers, and a lack of access to education about maternal health all play a role in increasing the risks. The scarcity of healthcare facilities equipped to handle emergencies exacerbates these dangers, resulting in severe health consequences for both mother and infant.
In recent months, increased political instability has created an even more difficult reality for pregnant women in Haiti. To be clear, consistent, and excellent healthcare has always been difficult to secure. In 2024, gang wars across the capital city of Port-au-Prince have made finding care dangerous and impossible for most.
In answer to this longstanding great need, in 2007, the Heartline Maternity Center first opened its doors. We have been offering high-quality, deeply relational, compassionate, and respectful maternal & infant healthcare for more than fifteen years. Over the years, thousands of women have found comfort and care provided by skilled Haitian midwives and nurses.
Last year, the Maternity Center staff supported 135 pregnant women with weekly care – and accordingly delivered 135 healthy babies. Additionally, in our largest program, free birth control was offered to over 1,000 women.
In a country where 1 in 94 women die as a direct result of pregnancy or childbirth, the Heartline Maternity Center has never lost a mother. We have suffered zero maternal deaths in 1,600 births.
This is a victory in a country where victories do not come easy. Every month the stories being lived and told are incredible: like the surprise party MC clients threw for our team (complete with a personalized cake), or Fredelyne’s journey to becoming our Clinic Administrator, or when staff came together to save a fellow nurse’s life when her own postpartum bleeding threatened her life.
In early March, we discussed the idea of closing for a time when commercial airlines suspended flights to Port-au-Prince and the area where the Maternity Center is located became more volatile. The Clinic Administrator quickly rejected the idea. “We have adjusted staff schedules to limit travel and the team has been incredibly flexible and thoughtful in their response to the crisis. This week, we were pleasantly surprised by the participation rate in the prenatal class,” she said.
Her boldness, resolve, and commitment to the clients was courageous. The entire staff exhibited courage, deciding together that if everyone agreed to work an exceptionally long shift, it would mean each staff member would only need to risk traveling to and from work once every five days.
About a month later, on the first Tuesday night of April, things became significantly more dangerous. Opposing gangs brought a battle directly in front of the Maternity Center. The four staff midwives that were in the building that night waited until dawn to escape the neighborhood during a lull in the fighting.
The staff worked together all day Wednesday to call each and every pregnant client, and each and every client with a baby six months of age and younger to let them know that the Maternity Center is temporarily closed and their standing weekly class, meal, fellowship and community time, and consultation has been paused due to the risks of getting to the Center. The midwives made sure each woman close to her delivery date knew she could call with questions and for support over the phone when she started having contractions.
Within the week, a client named Coralie called to say she was in active labor, Fredelyne coached her as best she could and eventually suggested that she had heard that one area government hospital was open.
After her delivery Coralie left the following voicemail message for Fredelyne:
“I thank God for every single nurse at Heartline and every single consultation you gave me. You never stopped caring for me, and even when the gangs stopped us from getting to the Maternity Center you stayed connected with me and cared for me like a sister. This is the reason you cannot stop your work. You know my name and you care for me. The hospital I delivered at, yes, it kept me alive. My baby is alive. I am grateful, I thank God for that. But it was not the same as the care I receive when I am with you all. You must know how important your work is to us.”
While we are temporarily in a holding pattern, the staff has remained in frequent communication with the clients. Because of the commitment of Heartline donors, we continue to pay every single staff member their regular wages.
The courage that carried the midwives and the pregnant mothers through the long hours and stressful commutes to and from the maternity center and also through the difficult night in early April continues to be exhibited each day.
The courage of each client inspires the Midwives. The courage of the staff is meaningful and noticed by each client.
Collectively, these are the women who inspire us.
Is there a woman in your life whose courage inspires you? When you give to the Heartline Maternity Center this Mother’s Day, we are asking you to tell us about her. When you do, we’ll recognize her on our Honor Wall – a live monument to the women who are models to the rest of us.
Thank you for not giving up on Haiti. Thank you for caring for the staff and for seeing their desire to serve, even at significant risk to themselves. In times like these your commitment to keep looking ahead with hope is also courageous.
When better times return, when we reopen the Maternity Center, we hope you will celebrate with us.
About the Author
Tara Livesay
Tara Livesay is originally from Minnesota. She is a Certified Professional Midwife and a Licensed Midwife in the State of Texas. Tara is the director of the Heartline Maternity Center, located in Port au Prince, Haiti. Tara and her husband, Troy, along with their seven children, moved to Haiti in January of 2006, where they lived and worked for fourteen years. In addition to overseeing The Heartline Maternity Center, Tara is the co-founder of The Starting Place, a center for maternal healthcare and education in Central Texas. She’s also a co-author of The Starting Place Curriculum, which equips healthcare providers to provide holistic midwifery care in low-resource settings.
