The president of the Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Dr. Roberto Nina says the lack of prenatal checkups by Haitian women who enter the Dominican Republic to give birth is the
main obstacle to providing them with optimal health services. Dr. Nina says this situation increases the maternal and child mortality rates in the Dominican Republic.
“Normally, they arrive late in their labor process; they take advantage of the last moment to seek medical assistance when they are already in pain. They only come to give birth at hospitals or any center,” said the doctor in conversation with Diario Libre.
The specialist explained that the minimum number of checkups during pregnancy should be five and that many times, the foreigners do not have a single analysis, sonography or prior medical checkup.
According to Dr. Nina, this lack of checkups “leads to greater morbidity and mortality in the baby, which can ruin the life of the newborn and complications that can occur in pregnant women.”
According to the National Health Service (SNS) data, in 2023, 107,721 births were carried out in the Dominican Republic, of which 64% (68,942 births) corresponded to Dominican women and 36% (38,779 cases) to patients of Haitian origin.
Of the births to Haitian nationals, 52.24% were vaginal, this being the preferred method in more than 60% in all age ranges of Haitian nationals. This compares to Dominican nationals, who gave birth by cesarean section 57.2% of the time.
Births to Haitians at Dominican public hospitals are free of charge to the Haitians and low income Dominicans.
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Diario Libre
6 February 2024