Hi John

Last year, my colleague Jessica visited our project in Guatemala. I wanted to share with you one of the stories she brought back from her trip.

'One foot in the grave’ It’s not the first expression that springs to mind when you find out that you are expecting a baby. But for the world’s poorest women, this phrase is common, because being pregnant and being in danger are one and the same.

For indigenous women, the risk of pregnancy is combined with another obstacle: discrimination.

María was from an indigenous community in Guatemala, three hours’ drive from the nearest hospital. When she became pregnant she could only afford the transport to the hospital just once: when she went into labour. María spoke the indigenous language Kiché, and the hospital staff spoke Spanish. So when they performed a Caesarean, she didn’t understand what was happening.

When her baby died, she was sent home, and never told why. After the trauma of her first pregnancy, María was too scared to go for check-ups when she fell pregnant again. Without any healthcare in her community, her second baby was stillborn. By the time a nurse could visit, and refer her to the hospital, it was too late. María died during surgery. Her husband never found out why.

For indigenous communities worldwide, María’s story is all too familiar. In Guatemala, indigenous mothers are three times more likely to die in childbirth. This is not simply due to the lack of hospitals and medicines, but also discrimination from hospital staff who aren't able to communicate with them.

What is Health Poverty Action doing to help?

• We are training Traditional Birth Attendants, who are already trusted by local communities, to spot danger signs in pregnancy, deliver babies safely at home and get mothers to a hospital if necessary.
• We are providing Traditional Birth Attendants with safe birthing kits needed to deliver babies safely at home wherever possible.
• We are bringing indigenous women together with health workers to create translation software, build bridges and improve healthcare so that no mother suffers the neglect and fear María did.
• The 620 women trained in Guatemala have already supported 4,400 mothers to give birth safely.

Sorsha Roberts
Communications Officer

Find out more about our perspective on the health of indigenous populations

Read about the work of Traditional Birth Attendant, Adela, in Guatemala