An innovative program got Elmanie Joseph, 25, from her remote village to a clinic for vital surgery to remove her baby.
Globe Staff Photo / Dina Rudi
Elmanie showed up on the steps of the Cange women's clinic with a note of reference from a doctor in Boucan Carre. The note was addressed to Dr. Maxi Raymonville, the clinic's chief obstetrician (right).
Globe Staff Photo / Dina Rudick
Lea Jeannis, a nurse and midwife at the Partners in Health clinic in Cange, tells Elmanie that her baby must be delivered by cesarean section.
Globe Staff Photo / Dina Rudick
Dr. Maxi Raymonville (right) and Dr. Saintard Renel preformed Elmanie's surgery.
Globe Staff Photo / Dina Rudick
Elmanie's son, Samuel, born July 31 at 11 p.m., rests under a heat lamp moments after his dramatic entry into the world.
Globe Staff Photo / Dina Rudick
Returning from a checkup at a local clinic in Boucan Carre a few days after delivering her baby, Elmanie collapses. She has not eaten in two days, because her family has no food. "I feel like I am dying," she said as she regained consciousness.
Globe Staff Photo / Dina Rudick
Elmanie ventures outside of her cousin's house for the first time in hours to catch the last sunlight of the day.
Globe Staff Photo / Dina Rudick
Elmanie sits on her cousin's bed holding her infant son, Samuel. Doctors will not be able to determine whether Samuel has contracted HIV from his mother until he is 18 months of age.
Globe Staff Photo / Dina Rudick
Claudette Bauzile prays at the bedsides of women in the Medical Gynecology Ward. Bauzile explains that long ago, seven months after the birth of her first child, she got terribly sick with severe abdominal pains. The doctors said that they could do nothing for her, so she returned home and prayed. She miraculously recovered, she said, and since then has visited the hospital regularly to pray for women she's never met.
Globe Staff Photo / Dina Rudick
Lea Jeannis, the nurse and midwife in charge of the women's clinic, gives a lecture on prenatal care and risk factors to a large group of expectant mothers.
Globe Staff Photo / Dina Rudick
Because Rose-Marie Joseph (no relation to Elmanie) lives near the Partners in Health Cange clinic, she has had regular access to prenatal care. Eight and a half months pregnant, she is in excellent spirits and looking forward to the birth of her first child.
Globe Staff Photo / Dina Rudick
Rose-Marie Joseph's husband is a school teacher and makes very little money. They pay rent (the equivalent of $200 annually) on their tiny home perched at the edge of a ravine.
Globe Staff Photo / Dina Rudick
