The Washington Post
MATERNAL MORTALITY CRISIS
Bintu Kamara, 28, waits in the labor ward of Princess Christian Maternity Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone on Sept. 18, 2008. She survived an emergency C-section but her baby was stillborn. They sometimes must wait for the family to buy surgical gloves before surgery can begin. "We are the last resort; if we fail, there is nowhere else," said Ibrahim D. Thorlie, Director of PCMH. Sierra Leone has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the world where 1 in 8 women die in childbirth. Factors including povery, traditional influences and lack of supplies and transport contribute to women arriving at hospitals too late.
