koudirou, mother in burkina faso

I’m nine months pregnant, but this pregnancy is harder to manage than the previous ones.

Awaiting the birth of a child should always mean experiencing a moment of joy and happiness in the life of a family. But in Burkina Faso, any complication during this period may have fatal consequences: almost 120,000 women die from complications every year. The risk that Koudirou or her baby may die during the pregnancy or the birth is 75 times higher than it is in Switzerland!

Why is this? The population’s knowledge of maternal and new-born health is deficient and training for health workers is often incomplete. Access to healthcare is also difficult because of the poor condition of roads, the remoteness of health centres and a lack of means of transport. Finally, women are often obliged to carry out demanding household chores.

So, Koudirou, who lives with her family in a modest straw hut, continued throughout her pregnancy to prepare meals, to walk kilometres to go and fetch water, and to work in the fields. Without realising it, she has taken huge risks for herself and her baby.

Thanks to your support, the Enfants du Monde maternal and new-born health programme offers health education lessons to pregnant women and their families. For the first time, and following the advice of the health workers trained by Enfants du Monde, Koudirou went to pre-natal checks.

I’ve been educated about the danger signs, I know them now! And I no longer do the hard housework, as my family helps me.