Portland Family Seeks Answers After Maternal Death

A Portland family is seeking answers following a maternal and infant death at the Port Antonio Hospital in the parish. According to them, the death of their daughter and newborn was due to delayed action on the part of medical doctors. She believes that the doctors must be held accountable for what transpired.

Globally, every 1-2 minutes, a woman dies in pregnancy or child birth. This is about 1000 women dying each day from pregnancy related causes. According to the Ministry of Health, “Maternal deaths result in some one million children being left motherless each year making them 3 to 10 times more likely to die within two years compared to children who live with both parents. Almost half of the 8 million infant deaths per year result from poor maternal health and inadequate care during delivery.”

According to Duffus, her daughter, who was 6 months pregnant, was suffering from severe head aches and was taken to the hospital. She says after the operation, her daughter needed to be transferred to the emergency section but that process was delayed. Her daughter reportedly died a day later and her child two days after.

The hospital has since responded stating confirming the deaths and have called for an investigation. Cvm Live has been advised that they are still in the process of completing a report on the incident. The incident has brought into question Jamaica’s progress in achieving Millenium Development Goals number 4 which focuses on infant and child mortality rates by two-thirds and Millenium Development Goals number 5 which requires a reduction of 75% in the maternal mortality ratio.