| In 2014 it was estimated that 214 women would give birth in our clinic's catchment area. Only 40 of those women ended up delivering at the clinic with a skilled nurse. While emergency procedures necessitating in town deliveries account for some of the missing mothers, the vast majority of births were home deliveries. Delivering at home without a trained professional significantly increases the risk of maternal and child death. Zambia has one of the highest rates of maternal death in the world.
When asked why they delivered at home, women said that they have no place to stay around the clinic before or after delivery and once labor begins it is very difficult to get transport to the clinic. Those that do make it to the clinic are expected to return home sometimes within ten minutes of giving birth in the dark. This is not a safe or desirable situation for the new mothers.
To solve this problem and give mothers the time they need to rest, the community is committed to building a maternity ward for which we already have bricks and a trained nurse. Furthermore community volunteers are being trained in maternal health to help encourage mothers to make use of this coming resource and have safe pregnancy. | 
