Background
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), 47 percent of children in Guatemala suffer from chronic malnutrition, which is the highest rate in all of Latin America and the Caribbean and one of the highest rates in the world. Maternal mortality in Guatemala is estimated to be about 100 or more deaths per 100,000 live births. Infant mortality is approximately 40 per 1,000 live births. Home births are performed by traditional midwives to 90 percent of rural indigenous women
Based on data from the midwives by HF, most traditional midwives lack basic equipment, such as stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, fetoscopes, gloves, measuring tapes, scales, and more. Supporting traditional midwives by providing basic equipment, discussing the latest evidence on best preventing postpartum infections, through mutual educational sessions, and teaching proactive techniques to control postpartum hemorrhage are methods that can directly impact maternal-child outcomes in Guatemala.
Objectives
1. To initially provide or maintain prenatal and birth kits for the midwives/traditional birth attendants (TBAs), also known locally as comadronas.
2. Lateral Midwives Save Lives fundraising will go towards the costs of safe births at home and Nasir Hospital.
3. To form and strengthen positive relationships with the midwife ambassadors who have access to the gynecological and maternal-child health female indigenous population.
4. To empower midwives by providing education and training needed to better maternal-child health outcomes. 5. To collaborate with the comadronas to be our distributors, data collectors, and maintainers of the maternal-child nutrition sponsorship program.
About Humanity First
To give a brief background, Humanity First is an international, non-profit organization that is registered in over 50 countries in the last 20 years. Over 93% of funds are spent directly on their projects and many people working for administrative purposes are also volunteers. HF focuses on human development and disaster relief globally. Humanity First does not advertise or promote any religious, cultural, or political view. The goal is human development, relief, and protection of human dignity.
