31-year-old mother of one, Iria, is five months pregnant and expecting twins. But what is often one of the happiest times of a woman`s life can also be the scariest for women in Timor-Leste.
According to the government, 42% of all deaths of women in Timor-Leste, aged 15 to 49, are pregnancy related.
“I’ve had some complications during my pregnancy,” says Iria, from her home in Fohorem, in the country’s western mountain region.
“One day I was vomiting and the pain in my stomach was so severe that I fell unconscious. ChildFund volunteers assisted me to go to the health centre,” she says. “Doctors identified that I’m having twins and they were kicking and moving in positions that made me uncomfortable.”
ChildFund Timor-Leste’s extensive maternal and child health program is funded by ChildFund Australia and the Australian Government’s aid program. Part of the program is training Community Health Volunteers (CHVs), like those in Iria’s village, to share important health information with their community.
As well as communicating information about pregnancy and prevention of common illnesses, CHVs encourage parents and pregnant women to use their local government-run health clinics.
“CHVs came to my home and gave me information about how to stay healthy when I’m pregnant. They also referred me to visit the community health centre,” says Iria. “At the health centre I can access more information about pregnancy, get vitamins and [when they have been born] weigh and check up on my babies’ condition to ensure that they are healthy.
“Now in my second pregnancy I visit the health centre much more often to get more and better care,” she adds.
Without preventative pre-natal care and information about how to prevent and treat illness children are also at risk. While the situation has greatly improved since Timor-Leste achieved independence in 2002, the infant mortality rate is still one of the highest in South-East Asia – 44 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Most Timorese have a story about the loss of a child. “Some of my neighbours didn’t seek treatment during their pregnancy and didn’t take any vitamins. That caused some babies to be disabled and even worse, to die,” Iria explains.