"I am not one of those who in expressing opinions confine themselves to facts" Mark Twain

Helen and I have recieved some very interesting "facts" about the healthcare in Bahamas, the eye opening realities that affect women and children and the realism that we will encounter while we are volunteering.
The following are a few harsh truths:

• Pregnant women are mandated to birth in a hospital. At 32 weeks, they move to Nassau or Freeport for the remainder of their pregnancy.
• 75% of first time moms  in The Bahamas are single...the Bahamian culture is macho in orientation.
• Issues of rape, child abuse and sexual assault are ignored.
• 2 out of 3 of the world's poor are women and their children.
• Poverty  is due to lack of child support, depression in healthcare, education, social and financial support, means by which to earn a living, disempowerment, abuse of all kinds....physical, sexual, emotional.
• The Bahamas has the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS in the English speaking Caribbean
• This is the leading cause of death for 15 to 44 years olds and 1 of 2 leading causes of death in 1 to 4 year olds.
• 20% of females aged 15-16 are overweight.
• 70% of overweight children become obese adults ....therefore they experience hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, cardiac issues and poor pregnancy outcomes.
• Bahamian men prefer larger women.

We are fully aware of some of the challenges that face us however we can only offer what we are capable of and that is the very thing we do best....present ourselves in a generous, kind-hearted and considerate manner with a smile and warm heart.....stay tuned for much more !!!

"Women's strongest feelings (in terms of their birthings), positive and negative, focus on the way they were treated by their caregivers". Penny Simkin and Annie Kennedy

This quote is the reason why we want to go to The Bahamas and describes what we want to achieve while we are there. It is our hope to make a difference one woman at a time, while understanding that we cannot change the system during our short stay. We go there to simply offer the best of what we do.

At this point we have plans to travel there towards the end of November for 4 weeks. We have had many emails and conversations with our friend and host Mary Delashmutt, and feel like we are already firm friends. The plan is this... we attend births together at the hospital in Freeport in the role of doula extraordinaire (Jen) and senior student midwife extraordinaire (Helen). We do our best to provide the women we support with safe, compassionate and empowering care with the assistance of the maternity staff. Jennifer also has plans to help Mary teach prenatal classes to the local women, while Helen will gain more valuable experience "catching" babies as she prepares to graduate in June 2011.

Every now and then we might have to debrief on the beach... and/or share our passion with our lovely host and her husband (poor man).

It is our hope to raise funds so that we can leave the hospital with more than just fond memories of us, and that we can bring back a new appreciation of how lucky we are in Canada.

Watch for another post in the coming days about some of the pressing public health issues that affect maternity care in The Bahamas.