Birthing Centres

Welcoming a baby into the world should be celebratory, however, in Liberia conditions can be appalling. Elizabeth Hunter, a Mercy Ships crewmember who trains midwives, worked alongside community members in Bomi County to build six birthing centers during the field service. She trained traditional birth attendants to work in the centers. Even small children from the various communities in which Hunter worked contributed to the effort.

Unsure of how funding would come in as the project started, Hunter prayed and wrote supporters. As the ship prepared to leave Liberia, furniture was being delivered to the birthing centers, and finishing touches being made to cement-walled, zinc-roofed structures. They’re painted white inside with three windows, to keep the rooms as light as possible. The completion of the project gives this county a place where a newborn’s entry in to the world can now be a celebratory—in a clean, secure and attended environment—giving mother and child a better chance at a safe delivery.