The maternity ward at the Red Cross Red Crescent field hospital in Carrefour is perhaps the busiest in town. Located on a sports field, this hospital of field tents averages around 100 live births each month. Jennifer Duggan, a nurse midwife with the Canadian Red Cross, has been present for most of them. One night this week, Duggan was up for hours helping to bring five newborns into the world. She says that on one recent day they had 18 births. ?It changes every day. Whoever walks in is who we see. We do not deny services to anyone and we accept patients from other hospitals,? says Duggan. Run by the German and Finnish Red Cross, the maternity ward at this field hospital has become the one that women seek in Carrefour. Seven days a week dozens wait their turn for a consultation with the international Red Cross Red Crescent staff or Haitian counterparts they?ve helped teach and train. In addition to giving women more access to maternity care, the hospital has eased the strain on local medical facilities that were stressed before the earthquake, and even more so after.
