More pregnant women are dying in Congo as they avoid hospitals over Ebola
Maternal mortality rates in Congo's Ituri province have doubled as pregnant women avoid hospitals due to fears surrounding the ongoing Ebola outbreak. Misinformation and safety concerns have led to a significant drop in prenatal care, creating a secondary health crisis.
Why it matters
Public health emergencies often trigger secondary crises where fear of contagion prevents patients from seeking essential medical care, exacerbating existing mortality rates.
BUNIA, Congo -- Esther Lutula stopped going for prenatal checkups shortly after the current Ebola outbreak was declared in eastern Congo. Midway into her pregnancy, the 26-year-old feared being put into isolation simply for having a fever, a common misconception.
“That’s why I’m waiting until the disease is no longer widespread,” she told The Associated Press from her home in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province and epicenter of the outbreak declared on May 15.
Maternal mortality across Ituri soon doubled as news of the outbreak spread, with an average of about six women dying per week due to childbirth complication, according to Noemi Dalmonte, deputy country representative of the United Nations Population Fund in Congo.
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