Six months after launching a comprehensive Maternal Health Program at our clinics in Northern Haiti, the program is expanding! Through this initiative, pregnant women can partake in unlimited prenatal visits, as well as receive labs, pharmaceuticals and ultrasounds, all for free. In February, a new OB/GYN, Dr. Jude Marcel Thal, joined our team to lead this program, and to consult with any other patients who might need to see an OB/GYN.

For Dr. Thal, being an OB/GYN has always been his dream. He’s always admired doctors who can help a pregnant woman take care of her baby. After receiving his medical degree from the Latin American School of Medicine, in Cuba, Dr. Thal returned to Haiti to receive his obstetrics training at the Justinien University Hospital in Cap Haitien, located in the Northern Department of Haiti, where C2C operates. He worked as an OB/GYN at two other hospitals prior to joining C2C this year.

Dr. Thal says, “Many women in these communities aren’t seeing an OB/GYN…and things can go wrong [without prenatal care]. Something simple can happen, but if the woman ignores it, it can become a major threat to her and her baby.”

As C2C’s OB/GYN, Dr. Thal rotates between our Camp Coq and Acul du Nord clinics, providing pre and post natal consultations, prescribing diagnostics and pharmaceuticals, and performing ultrasounds, all offered free of charge to the woman.

“C2C’s Maternal Health Program is very good, especially because of the area we’re located in. Women in this area don’t really have the financial means to see an OB/GYN, they often tell me this. They benefit greatly from getting their consultation, medications, and ultrasound for free,” said Dr. Thal.

C2C have served over 600 pregnant women since launching this program, and we hope to double the number of women enrolled in the program by the end of 2016.