As the country’s humanitarian crisis deepens, Venezuela’s healthcare system has been under immense strain. Grand plans to aid pregnant women in poverty have come to nothing, leaving them ever more vulnerable.
Shortages of essential goods and services has hit maternal health in Venezuela hard, resulting in dangerously low birth weights of newborns. Rather than tackle the problem, the authorities barely admit its existence.
In Caucaguita, a 24-year old pregnant woman starves to death
A proud mother lives in the shanty town of El Guarataro; Imberly is managing to feed her three children. But only just.
At 49, she’s already a grandmother. And while she often goes to bed hungry, Damarys is expecting another child.
A poor mother carrying her sixth child is aware of her right to a healthy pregnancy, but doesn’t know how to demand it.
For a 15 year old pregnant girl in Venezuela, stigma and poverty go hand in hand.
In Negro Primero, a pregnant mother skips meals so her three children can eat.
Mariluz gets little help from doctors save for advice: She has to be well-nourished during her pregnancy. “And how do I do that?” she laughs.
In the slum of Petare, Wensy’s daughters faced hunger and infection. “By the grace of God,” one of them survived her first 28 days.
