Candida lives in the community of El Cedro, 2.5 hours away from the community clinic, and 12 hours away from the health center in El Ayote, the closest town.
Her family raises and sells a few hens and pigs. This is the only income in the house.
In 2017, Candida was 33 years old and the mother of seven children.
Agustin Malueños, Health Promoter in El Cedro, had been visiting Candida at her house after he learned she was pregnant with her 8th child. “I went to check up on her condition, make sure she was taking prenatal vitamins, and talked to her about a plan to go to the nearest health center to give birth.”
However, Candida did not seem convinced to go outside of her community to give birth to her baby.
Agustin knew he couldn’t give up. Thanks to the trainings with AMOS that you have made possible, he knows that in an emergency the distance and time it takes to get a pregnant woman to a health center can seriously affect the outcomes, putting her and the baby’s lives at risk.
Agustin says:“So, I kept on visiting Candida, and during a gathering of women with the volunteer mothers I asked one of the mothers, Lilliam Torres, to share her story of how she almost died in the community because she had refused to go to the health center.” She asked Candida to please learn from her experience and act on time to prevent the worst outcome. Candida promised to think about it.
On May 1st, Candida’s due date was approaching, Agustin and Lilliam went once again to visit her to try and convince her to give birth in a safe place. Agustin talked to Candida’s husband, and explained why his wife needed to leave for the health center, and how her and the baby’s lives were at stake. This time she accepted to go to the health center.
“Candida’s husband understood the urgency and was grateful to us for taking the time to visit his wife and for showing how much we truly care for her. I gave her a reference so that the staff at the health center would know she needed to be seen right away.”
Candida went to the health center the following day, when she was about 2 weeks away from her due date.
Candida gave birth to a baby boy at the health center of El Tortuguero, the closest one to her community.
She didn’t have any complications during labor and thanks to Agustin and the El Cedro health committee, she received the care she needed from medical professionals at the health unit.
Both, mom and her son, continue to be healthy and doing well in their home in El Cedro.
Thank you for everything you do to improve health and save lives in Nicaragua!