Miss Ruth Lafleur is a registered Haitian nurse (infirmière diplômée et licenciée) who graduated from Midwives for Haiti with a certificate in advanced obstetric care in 2019. She was hired by Hispañola Health Partners in late February, 2020, to work in our partner clinic, Centre de Santé de Union de Grand-Gosier (CSUG). While we continue to work toward creating a birth center annex to CSUG, Ruth is our liaison to hundreds of expecting moms in the region. Out in the countryside as well as inside our clinic, Ruth educates, examines, counsels and preps women throughout their entire perinatal experience. She supports them in labor, catches their babies and helps them get going with breastfeeding. She also provides family planning when the time is right.
With over 90% of births happening in the home, Ruth is training traditional birth attendants or Matwon in the region with a curriculum that covers everything from hygiene to hemorrhage (excessive bleeding after birth). In Haiti traditional birth attendants are usually respected elders and other village members, both women and men (see above photo).
In this era of Covid-19, Ruth incorporates into every patient visit education about how to keep themselves and their families safe from infection. We are very pleased to have her as a part of our team. To learn more or make a tax-deductible donation for Matwon training: https://hispanolahealthpartners.org
Thanks to Louise Lindenmeyr, Family Medicine Nurse Practitioner and Executive Director of Hispañola Health Partners (southeast Haiti) for this guest blog; https://hispanolahealthpartners.org/
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