According to Deputy Demostenes Martinez, Chamber of Deputies Justice Committee chairman, an illegal organized structure that he described as a “mafia” is bringing women into the country to give birth in Dominican hospitals. Most are taken to the Cabral y Baez Public Hospital in Santiago.
He quotes hospital director Rolando Baez and the head of Obstetrics as saying that 26% of births in the hospital were to Haitian women. He said that treating the Haitian mothers cost 74% more than Dominican women because they arrived malnourished, with no pre-natal care, no vaccinations and many are suffering from serious health conditions.
Martinez was speaking on the El Poder de la Tarde television program, yesterday, Tuesday 18 November 2014, following the concerns expressed by Public Health Minister Altagracia Guzman Marcelino and the Dominican Medical Association (CMD) president Pedro Sing, who recently commented that something must be done to reduce the flow of thousands of pregnant women who come over from Haiti to give birth in the Dominican Republic.