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CARE'S EFFORTS TO REDUCE MATERNAL AND CHILD MORTALITY

Support CARE's Work to Ensure Safe Delivery and Child Birth for Millions

In Ayacucho, Peru, CARE worked with community leaders, local women and health workers to cut the maternal mortality rate in half. Donate now to help CARE reach its goal to improve access to safe pregnancy and delivery services for 30 million women by 2015.

Gardenia's Story

Gardenia Rosas de la Cruz lives in a two-mile-high town in the saddle of the Peruvian Andes. At the age of 40, pregnant with her fifth child, Gardenia visited several times with the obstetrician at the Quimbiri health center. Together, they developed a birth plan and reviewed the warning signs of potential obstetric emergencies.

Armed with this knowledge and a clean bill of health, Gardenia felt confident she would have a safe delivery. On the afternoon of January 31, 2008 she arrived at the health center in labor, and at 10 p.m., gave birth standing up (Quechua women traditionally deliver vertically) to a baby girl they named Luz.

But there were complications. Gardenia's placenta failed to detach from her uterus and she started bleeding profusely, suffering a post-partum hemorrhage. The obstetrician and nurse couldn't get the bleeding to stop. This rural health center simply was not equipped to handle this emergency, but fortunately had a referral process in place to efficiently transfer her to Ayacucho's Regional Hospital, some eight hours away, for treatment.

Because Quimbiri health workers called in the emergency by radio, when Gardenia arrived early the next morning, the Ayacucho Regional Hospital staff were standing by, ready to rush her in to surgery. Thanks to a dedicated and well-trained team of doctors, obstetricians, nurses and community volunteers, and having had a referral and transportation system in place, Gardenia survived from becoming another tragic statistic to emerging as a leader in her community.

Today, Gardenia is alive and well and able to see her two oldest children complete secondary school. She remains a trusted advocate for the women in Quimbiri and a powerful role model.