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Story Publication logo February 21, 2014

A Look Inside Guinea's Maternity Care

Country:

Guinea

Author:

Brandice Camara
2013 Reporting Fellow

English

In Guinea, routine prenatal care is the exception, not the rule. As a result, it has some of the...

Brandice Camara
2013 Reporting Fellow

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Entrance to Donka National Hospital in the capital city, Conakry, the largest government hospital in Guinea. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2013.

Private birthing room in maternity ward at Donka. The room contains an exam table for the mother to deliver and a small, padded table to observe the newborn. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2013.

Midwife quarters at Donka. Sixteen midwives rotate work shifts and share a room in the maternity ward. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2013.

Main sink at Donka's maternity ward. Because running water is not always available, basins of water and chlorine are often used for sanitizing. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2013.

Surgery room in maternity ward at Donka. The equipment does not always work and the windows provide the main source of light. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2013.

Observation room at Donka's maternity ward. Women with conditions such as eclampsia are monitored here while in labor. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2013.

Official birth registry for maternity ward at Donka. There are no computers in the maternity ward, so all records are kept in large log books. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2013.

Initial observation room at Donka's neonatal unit. Three newborns lie on a table that has been retrofitted with oxygen tubes and heat lamps. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2013.

Doctors, nurses and interns consult about two newborns in the center of a small observation room at Donka's neonatal unit. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2013.

The smaller of two treatment rooms in the neonatal unit at Donka. Newborns in critical condition share incubators, but the machines are not always operational. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2013.

The larger of two treatment rooms in neonatal unit at Donka. Ten newborns in stable condition lie in bassinets covered in mosquito netting. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2013.

Nutrition center at Donka. Children come from all over the country for vaccines and malnutrition treatment. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2013.

Dormitory at Donka's neonatal unit. Mothers with children undergoing treatment stay overnight in two dormitories. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2013.

Registration and consultation area at Donka's neonatal unit. Families wait to be seen by doctors in this outdoor area. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2013.

Lab in the neonatal unit at Donka. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2013.

Lab technicians in the neonatal unit at Donka. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2013.

Entrance to the clinic located in the capital city of Conakry. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2014.

Pharmacy at a private clinic. The prescription medications are provided by Guinea Medical Supply, which is run by the government. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2014.

Birthing room at a private clinic. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2014.

Surgery room at a private clinic. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2014.

The Guinean government commits only 4.7 percent of its total budget to health. Hospitals and clinics operate without electricity or water, and there is a shortage of qualified medical professionals, especially in rural areas. There is only one children's hospital in the country.

Inadequate infrastructure, limited resources, poor sanitation and access barriers all contribute to the nation's high maternal and infant mortality rates. Guinea has designed a plan for the development of health and sanitation but government instability impedes progress.