Women's Clinic

Women’s Clinic

About The Women’s Clinic

Can you imagine, seeing your friend off on a Tuesday to the hospital to have her long awaited for third child because she was in labor? The joy and excitement is almost too much to contain for the little boys who are becoming big brothers! The parents are beside themselves with anticipation then the worst seems to happen. As she waited two days for a necessary c-section because of a narrow pelvis she was in great discomfort and pain. Immediately following the birth of a baby boy on Thursday, your friend sees her baby for just about a minute and the baby is taken away in theory to be checked out by a doctor but what really happens no one knows. Hours later the baby’s father is told that their baby has died. He calls their pastor and Dr. Ana and they come with him to tell the mother that the baby has died. This is what happened to Ana’s friend Delia. She was in labor for two days before she was given a c-section and we were told that the baby was fine until Friday morning when they were told the baby boy had died.

In Honduras hospitals are very different from the United States. The negligence that goes on at hospitals in Honduras is unspeakable, but nothing is ever done about it. The physicians in the public hospitals are unreachable. In the public hospitals, where the poor people of Honduras must go, the doctors have very little compassion or time to for the patients or families of patients. The poor have no recourse as they are unable to take legal action because they literally have no money. With over 50% of the people of Honduras unemployed and many making just a dollar or two a day you can understand that they are unable to change the system. It is very different than in the United States where the doctors come by to see the patient almost daily and there is always a nurse at the press of a button. There is no one who will take responsibility for results of the doctors or nurses actions. Many of the doctors are also employed at private hospitals and their demeanor is quite different with patients that can pay for their services.

On Sunday after the death of Delia’s baby, John and Ana participated in the funeral service for the baby. John, in obedience to God, placed the very small casket in his truck along with the wilted and drying flowers and led the processional to the cemetery near the rural community of Talanga. John and Ana watched the father and two sons ( ages 10 and 8 ) carry the small casket the short distance to the grace site. After a short service, the father let himself into the grave and he gently placed the casket in its final resting place. After a time of crying and much sadness for the life that never will be, they buried the casket. Next, they took a homemade steel cross and slowly painted the child’s name and date of birth and death on it.

This is something we want to prevent in as many patients as we can in our Women’s Clinic. This is a tragedy repeated many times here in Honduras. Please help us to build the Women’s Clinic in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Don’t you want to be part helping to save the lives of women and their babies?