Pregnant and a hinterland resident

ANECDOTALLY, women living in Guyana’s hinterland communities are more likely to die from
complications related to pregnancy and giving birth than their colleagues on the country’s coast.
We seek refuge in the anecdotes because, if scientific evidence exists, it is neither available or
accessible.
A 2017 Ministry of Human Services and Social Security study (published when it was called the
government entity was called Ministry of Social Protection) noted that maternal or infant mortality
deaths of indigenous persons are lower than the national rate in three of five categories.
While Guyana’s national neonatal mortality rate (the probability of dying within the first month of
life) is 23, in the indigenous communities it is just 3.
“One factor that can help to explain these numbers is the fact that there are still cases of deaths after
birth that are not being officially reported and this is caused by a large number of deliveries that still
happen at home,” said the authors of the research, ‘Study of Indigenous women and children in
Guyana’.
Rates are also lower for infant mortality and deaths of children under five years old. While the
national rate in the former is 32, among the Amerindians it is 18. For the latter, 39 is the national rate
and 30 among the country’s indigenous peoples.
However, the post-neonatal mortality (PNM) and child mortality rates among the indigenous
populations are higher than the national average.
While for the indigenous inhabitants there are 15 deaths for every 100,000 live births, the national
average is 9.
“This indicates that indigenous boys and girls in Guyana are surviving birth, but are dying between
their first month of life and their fifth birthday, a fact that needs to be further investigated,” the
authors noted.
The nutritional status of pregnant women and children can also lead to maternal and child deaths. It
can also contribute to morbidity (being unhealthy).

“Inadequate nutrition before birth, and in the first years of life, can seriously interfere with brain
development and lead to neurological and behavioural disorders,” the authors noted in the 200-page
document.
“Even when nutrition is not directly responsible for deaths, a deficient nutritional status can
negatively affect the physical and cognitive conditions of boys and girls,” it counselled.