Haiti: Mother and newborn reunite amid insecurity
Armed violence separated Sterline from her newborn daughter just days after birth.
For weeks, escalating violence between armed groups in Cité Soleil, an area of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, has forced thousands of people to flee their neighbourhoods and disrupted local health services. People’s ability to access essential medical care — including patient referrals — has been sharply restricted.
Sterline, a resident of Cité Soleil, is among the people whose lives have been profoundly affected by the persistent insecurity.
Throughout her pregnancy, she received care at the Isaïe Jeanty maternity hospital, which is supported by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). On May 4, Sterline arrived at the maternity ward in early labour. Medical teams quickly identified complications: a high-risk delivery requiring a cesarean section, as well as specialized care for a premature baby. She was quickly referred to Fontaine hospital centre, a hospital within MSF’s referral network and one of the few facilities in Port-au-Prince able to provide neonatal care for preterm infants.
“When the shooting got closer, everyone started running and evacuating. In the panic and crowds, she [Sterline’s grandmother] couldn’t reach the neonatal unit to get my baby.”
Sterline, MSF patient
“A few days later, I was discharged, but my daughter remained hospitalized in the neonatal unit,” Sterline says. “Between my mother, my grandmother and me, we took turns visiting her every day.”
Six days later, violent clashes erupted in Cité Soleil, in the immediate vicinity of the hospital. As gunfire intensified, residents were forced to flee.
“That day, my grandmother was visiting the hospital,” Sterline says. “When the shooting got closer, everyone started running and evacuating. In the panic and crowds, she couldn’t reach the neonatal unit to get my baby*.”
Faced with the intensity of the violence, Fontaine hospital centre temporarily suspended its activities, as did an MSF hospital nearby. To keep people safe while the hospital was caught in crossfire, 32 patients, including newborns like Sterline’s baby, were evacuated to another facility for their safety, without relatives present.
“When I heard the news, I panicked,” says Sterline. “We tried to go back to the hospital, but it was impossible because of the gunfire. I tried calling but could not get through. So, we came here, to Chancerelles [Isaïe Jeanty maternity hospital], to ask for help.”
“I just want to get my daughter back as soon as possible and hold her in my arms,” Sterline told the MSF team at Isaïe Jeanty.
Insecurity has severely disrupted movement and referral pathways in the area. In this context, MSF teams were still able to trace the newborn’s whereabouts and re‑establish contact between health facilities.
While Sterline learned the location of her baby, she was unable to hold or even see her yet due to restrictions related to the evacuation. The newborn remained under close medical monitoring in the neonatal unit.
After five days of anguish, and with the support of MSF teams coordinating between facilities, mother and newborn were finally reunited and Sterline was able to hold her daughter again. The baby remains hospitalized, as her condition is still fragile.
Cité Soleil is one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods in Port‑au‑Prince. Around 300,000 people live in this small area with limited access to essential services, including healthcare. Supported by MSF, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Isaïe Jeanty maternity hospital remains one of the few functioning health facilities in the neighbourhood, serving as vital point of care for thousands of women.
Since Sterline was reunited with her daughter, armed violence in Cite Soleil continues to disrupt daily life and restrict people’s access to healthcare.
*The separation happened so soon after birth, Sterline did not yet have time to give her daughter a name before the ordeal began.
