With women in Sierra Leone, West Africa

Kayla previously lived and served as a midwife in Sierra Leone.  She has deep connections to Sierra Leone and continues to travel short term to support organizations training midwives in Sierra Leone. 

Sierra Leone remains one of the countries with the highest maternal mortality rates in the world (UNFPA, n.d.).  Thousands of women in Sierra Leone die every year during pregnancy and childbirth, mostly from preventable causes.  The leading causes of death are hemorrhage, hypertension, obstructed labor and sepsis (UNICEF, n.d.). Many women who survive childbirth are left with complications such as obstetric fistulas, severe anemia, and complications from hypertensive disorders. 

Only 1 in 10 children in Sierra Leone will live past their fifth birthday (UNICEF, n.d.). Again, the majority of childhood deaths in Sierra Leone could be prevented with improved healthcare and increased access to healthcare. 

The most effective and powerful way to improve maternal and child health in Sierra Leone is to train midwives to work within their communities. There is no better way to improve the health outcomes of women and children than to increase the number of and access to well trained midwives.  With this in mind, a portion of the profit from With Women Midwifery funds training of midwives in Sierra Leone.  Because the individual woman is also so important, With Women Midwifery will also provide finances for medical needs of women in Sierra Leone on a case by case basis. 

We are committed to standing with and supporting women to strengthen families and communities in Sierra Leone. 

UNICEF. (n.d.). Maternal neonatal and child health. https://www.unicef.org/sierraleone/maternal-neonatal-and-child-health#:~:text=The%20maternal%20mortality%20rate%20in,per%201%2C000%20live%20births%2C%20respectively.

UNFPA. (n.d.). Maternal health. https://sierraleone.unfpa.org/en/topics/maternal-health-10