Sister Film (2013)
1.) Summary of Film
Sister, a film follows the struggles of women in three global countries as they go through the pregnancy process and begin to care for their new infants. The workers from each country, including Ethiopia, Haiti, and Cambodia, work endlessly to save each woman and child they encounter. The issue of maternal health has been considered a “war against women,” as both women and their babies die every day from inadequate care needed to maintain a healthy pregnancy. While each country sees similar challenges, the mothers and caretakers from each place all have their own unique set of struggles they must work through to ensure a safe delivery. Many issues of global health are brought to light through this documentary, allowing for viewers to gain a better understanding of the true value of proper prenatal care and how the lack of can have immense consequences on both mother and child.
2.) Occurring Issues in Global Maternal Health
One issue seen by healthcare professionals in these countries is that women prefer to give birth at home, rather than with trained doctors. For some women, finding transportation that does not involve walking to health centers is rarely an option. In these cases, women choose to stay home with their families and have a trusted relative or a midwife come to the house to deliver their child. Lack of nutrition is another common problem among women in poor countries. Coinciding with this lack of nutrition is the development of disease that can spread from mother to baby either through pregnancy or by breastfeeding. The number of food resources available for women can be sparse, leading to poor personal and maternal health, especially when either or both mother and infant become infected. A relevant health problem associated with the actual labor of a child is the inability to get rid of the placenta. When women give birth at home, it becomes harder to push out the placenta, which if not delivered within two hours of childbirth can often be fatal to the new mother. The most difficult problem seen in all three of these countries is that not all of these pregnancies are intended. There is a lack of contraceptives, knowledge about family planning, and overall inability for most women to avoid pregnancies that they do not want to have. Numerous women are dying due to maternal causes, often times leaving behind their other young children when they pass.
3.) Maternal Health in Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, a staggering 1 in 27 women dies of childbirth-related causes. It is stated in the film that an estimated 55 mothers die every day due to childbirth and the complications that go along with it. One of the major lingering problems that bring down maternal health in Ethiopian is nutrition of the mothers. As mentioned in the film, women in this country still believe that nutrition is only important for their husbands, or is more important for them. Clinicians work to the best of their ability to educate women on how to maintain a nutritious diet for herself and her unborn baby to increase the survival rate of the child. Another major problem in Ethiopia especially is the lack of access to contraceptives and pregnancy prevention methods. Not all of the children being conceived and attempted to be saved are all planned. Many women in these countries are forced to keep having children because they do not have the resources or knowledge needed to properly family plan. In effect of this, many mothers are dying while giving birth, leaving behind their other children when they die. It seems that implementing more medical centers, as well as bringing in contraceptives and education programs would allow for many of these issues in this country to subside or lessen over time.
4.) Maternal Health in Haiti
In Haiti, 1 in 44 women dies of childbirth-related causes. There are many health-related issues that come up and become prevalent when a woman becomes pregnant and plans to deliver. As in Ethiopia, many women in Haiti are struggling to maintain nutritious diets. Mothers are going through their pregnancies hungry and malnourished, often leading to the fetuses inside them seeing the same result. Even after the babies are born, they are still low in nutrients when their mothers are too hungry to be able to breastfeed them. In relation to breastfeeding, a highly common issue seen in Haitian women is the development and spread of disease. Mothers are getting sick both while pregnant and after delivery when breastfeeding is required, and are passing on their illnesses to their young babies. Once both they and their infants are sick, it becomes very difficult to take care of them as they face the challenges previously stated. The two most effective solutions to preventing these problems linked to infant and mother mortality would be to provide more sources such as food, medicine, medical centers, as well as contraceptives and family planning programs to educate women and their husbands.
5.) Maternal Health in Cambodia
In Cambodia, 1 in 48 women dies from childbirth-related causes. Along with health-related problems in pregnancy, Cambodia faces a unique challenge for women who attempt to travel to health centers. There are numerous mines littered within Cambodia, some placed without warning, on farms right in front of average houses where some women are forced to walk. There is little to no transportation in this country besides by foot, leaving many women struggling to get the care they desperately need. As in all of the countries described in this film, health centers are rare and sparsely spread, forcing women to travel miles just to seek proper care. When problems like this arise, this puts more women at the risk of having to deliver at home, leading to many medical challenges. In order to prevent mortalities of both mother and children in Cambodia and the other countries described in this documentary, it has become clear that the biggest point of action would be to put more medical centers and hospitals in place. This would be the best for women living in any village of their country, and would not allow for lack of transportation to become an issue.
Notes
editDavis, B. (Director). (2013). Sister [Video file]. Collective Eye Films. Retrieved March 3, 2018, from Kanopy.
Smith-Greenaway, E., & Thomas, K. (2014). Exploring Child Mortality Risks Associated with Diverse Patterns of Maternal Migration in Haiti. Population Research and Policy Review, 33(6), 873-895. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/43672145
Wado, Y. D., Afework, M. F., & Hindin, M. J. (2013). Unintended pregnancies and the use of maternal health services in southwestern Ethiopia. BMC International Health and Human Rights, 13(1). Retrieved from http://libraries.state.ma.us/login?gwurl=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A509233039/GIC?u=les_main&xid=688c633f
Gage, A., & Calixte, M. (2006). Effects of the Physical Accessibility of Maternal Health Services on Their Use in Rural Haiti. Population Studies, 60(3), 271-288. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/30040492