Pregnant and cornered: Haiti’s capital maternal healthcare crisis puts lives at risk

Editor’s note: The names used for the two pregnant women interviewed are pseudonyms. Their real names are not disclosed as they live in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Carrefour, an area controlled by gangs.

PORT-AU-PRINCE —Minouche, 27, is expecting her second child. Four months into her pregnancy, she’s already starting to worry —not just about giving birth but about surviving the ordeal. The collapse of Haiti’s capital healthcare system has made pregnancy a life-or-death challenge, jeopardizing the welfare of mothers and newborns alike.

The rise in gang violence since the beginning of the year has had devastating consequences across all sectors, and healthcare is among the hardest hit. At least 30 hospitals have ceased operations in Port-au-Prince alone, with maternity centers bearing the brunt. Today, only three public maternity hospitals remain operational in the metropolitan area, leaving expectant mothers like Minouche in fear.

“The biggest doubt I have is where I will give birth because all the hospitals have almost been destroyed,” said Minouche to The Haitian Times. “I leave it in God’s hands, I can’t change anything about it. I just pray that God changes the situation before I give birth.”

Minouche’s story reflects the growing fears of thousands of pregnant women in Port-au-Prince as insecurity and hospital closures threaten not only their lives but also the future of their unborn children. The absence of reliable maternal care increases the likelihood of fatal complications for both mothers and babies, from preventable infections to stillbirths and maternal death.

“The biggest doubt I have is where I will give birth because all the hospitals have almost been destroyed,” said Minouche to The Haitian Times. “I leave it in God’s hands, I can’t change anything about it. I just pray that God changes the situation before I give birth.”

Minouche’s story reflects the growing fears of thousands of pregnant women in Port-au-Prince as insecurity and hospital closures threaten not only their lives but also the future of their unborn children. The absence of reliable maternal care increases the likelihood of fatal complications for both mothers and babies, from preventable infections to stillbirths and maternal death.

Hospital Chancerelles’ closure: A major setback to pregnant women

Concerns over maternal care deepened in February 2024, when Haiti’s largest public maternity hospital, Centre Obstétrico-Gynécologique Isaie Jeanty – Léon Audain, also known as Hôpital Maternité de Chancerelles, closed its doors. Located in Cité Soleil, one of the most gang-ravaged neighborhoods, the hospital fell victim to targeted gang attacks that forced its shutdown.

As Haiti’s oldest maternity hospital, specializing in emergency and at-risk deliveries,  Chancerelles was a critical safety net for low-income and no-income women serving as a beacon of hope amid a collapsing system. Before its closure, the facility handled an average of 25 to 35 deliveries per day—providing prenatal care, and life-saving interventions for high-risk pregnancies. 

Doctor Chantal Sauveur Junior Datus, Director General of the Hospital, described the closure of the hospital as having a devastating impact on maternal health.

“It deeply affected me, especially as a gynecologist to see pregnant women lose Chancerelles Hospital due to insecurity,” Dr. Datus said. “It violates the rights of Haitians, especially women who give life, to have access to proper healthcare.”

Chancerelles Hospital was a critical lifeline not only for prenatal care but for many Haitians, despite the ongoing challenges, particularly insecurity. It served an average of 200 women daily, including both pregnant and non-pregnant patients, with 96 beds available for care. The hospital also offered free medical services to the public, the hospital’s general director said.

Despite offering free medical care to Haiti’s poorest women, Chancerelles relied on modest contributions—between 5,000 and 10,000 gourdes ($38 and $76 USD)—to support operations. Dr. Datus emphasized that financial limitations never barred patients from receiving care.

“You can’t come to Chancerelles and not receive the necessary care due to a lack of money. This was never a problem, whether for childbirth or other medical procedures. We are a reference.”

Chancerelles’ closure came on the heels of gang attacks that also targeted Port-au-Prince’s University Hospital of Haiti (HUEH), leaving women across Haiti’s capital with fewer and fewer options.

Healthcare System in Crisis: pressure on remaining hospitals

The collapse of Haiti’s major hospitals has placed immense pressure on those still operational, creating untenable conditions for medical staff and patients. Doctors are increasingly sounding the alarm, warning that the country’s healthcare system cannot withstand the current crisis.

Among the severely impacted institutions are:

• University Hospital of Haiti (HUEH), also known as the General Hospital
• Sanatorium Hospital (specialized in tuberculosis treatment)
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) health centers
• Chancerelles Maternity Hospital
• The Aurore du Bel-air Health Center
• The Beudet Community Hospital
• The Croix-des-Bouquets Health Center
• The Saint-Martin Health Center 1
• Mars & Klein hospital 
• Saint-François de Sales Hospital
• The French Hospital of Haiti
• The Development of Health Activities in Haiti (DASH) network centers

Dr. Ronald LaRoche, founder of the DASH network and president of the Association of Private Hospitals in Haiti, emphasized the urgent need for systemic reforms:

“The healthcare situation has become even more dire with the insecurity. More than half of the hospitals have been destroyed or vandalized. I have lost four hospitals,” Dr. LaRoche said. “Patients arriving at medical centers are completely caught off guard because they can’t find the means to save their lives.”

For pregnant women, the risks are mounting. Living under constant threat of gang attacks, expectant mothers like Minouche face the terrifying reality of having no safe place to deliver their babies.

“They’ve always said they’ll come to my area, which prevents me from sleeping well, and I’m very stressed,” Minouche shared. “I hope for a change in the country before the time comes for me to give birth to my child.”

For others, like Michelle, 29, who is seven months pregnant, the anxiety is overwhelming:

“I’m scared because at 7 months pregnant, I don’t know when the other hospitals that are still functioning will close their doors. There are no safe areas,” said Michelle, a former retail shopkeeper from downtown Port-au-Prince.

 “The biggest doubt I have is where I will give birth because all the hospitals have almost been destroyed. I leave it in God’s hands; I just pray that God changes the situation before I give birth.”

Minouche, 27, who is expecting her second child. 

“Sometimes I go to see the doctor when the situation allows me, but there are also times when I can’t go.”

Pregnant women across Port-au-Prince cling to hope, but as gang violence spreads, healthcare access continues to slip further away.

Overburdened hospitals, rising risks

At the University Hospital of Peace (HUP) in the capital’s Delmas neighborhood, the crowd spills out into courtyards as overwhelmed staff struggle to meet the soaring demand for care. As the only public hospital in the metropolitan area still offering most specialties, HUP has become a crucial lifeline after months of gang violence shuttered other facilities.

“We’ve seen a 200% increase in patient intake across all departments since 2023,” said Dr. Jean Philippe Lerebourg, the hospital’s medical director, speaking on a local radio. 

HUP now handles around 300 patients daily, including 85 childbirths per week. Emergency services are stretched thin, and from Nov. 11 to Nov. 22, the hospital admitted 71 gunshot victims.

“If nothing is done, the HUP will collapse under this pressure,” Lerebourg said. “Other hospitals must reopen to share the burden.”

The hospital’s challenges are compounded by staff shortages, with 27% of its medical personnel lost to insecurity or fleeing the country. 

Private-sector hospitals like Saint-Damien Hospital and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) clinics continue to provide care, though their capacities remain severely limited. For example, Saint-Damien hospital recorded 3,101 deliveries in 2022, a marginal drop from 2021, while MSF of Turgeau handled only 11 emergency childbirth cases in 2023.

LaRoche, founder of DASH hospitals, said that reliable data on total deliveries in Haiti doesn’t exist.

“Even DASH has not conducted studies on its internal operations despite all the existing data,” says LaRoche. “The situation is so dire that all the energy we have has been focused on providing treatments to the people who come to our healthcare centers.”

Statistics reveal the toll on maternal care

The Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), latest report about the health sector from April 2024, confirms the extent of the crisis. Institutional births dropped sharply in early 2024. Between January and March, only 14,974 institutional births and 8,854 non-institutional or home births were recorded. This marks a significant decline for the same period in 2023, which saw 22,727 institutional births and 10,588 home births.

Dr. Datus, emphasizes that the decline does not mean that women are giving birth less often. Instead, this trend highlights how insecurity forces women to give birth at home, often with no trained assistance and without proper care. 

Dr. Datus, a key figure in maternal healthcare, points out the escalating risks for women. 

“The full scope of maternal and infant deaths remains hidden. These hospital closures will have generational consequences,” Datus said to The Haïtain Times. 

“From an epidemiological and statistical perspective, we cannot know the exact number of new births or maternal and infant deaths.” 

He warned that hospital closures will have generational consequences for Haïti.

Haiti’s collapsing health care system continues to devastate the most vulnerable, with immediate action needed to reopen hospitals and restore essential services to prevent a generational public health disaster. Medical professionals and organizations call for immediate steps to reopen hospitals, reinstate healthcare services, and provide safety for healthcare workers and patients alike.

Dr. LaRoche’s plea for systemic reforms resonates louder than ever.

“The country needs a national healthcare system where the state takes responsibility for establishing a social security system accessible to the Haitian people.” 

The post Pregnant and cornered: Haiti’s capital maternal healthcare crisis puts lives at risk appeared first on The Haitian Times.

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Pregnant and cornered: Haiti’s capital maternal healthcare crisis puts lives at risk was first posted on December 10, 2024 at 11:44 am.