Every child deserves a healthy start: Inside SOS maternal and infant hospitals

But what about the millions of mothers living in poverty around the world—mothers who don’t have access to professional health care?  

For these mothers, pregnancy transforms from a joyful celebration to one of the most dangerous situations of their lives. 

This is why maternal and infant care are so important—and why SOS Children’s Villages maternal and infant hospitals and partnerships are working to give every mother the comprehensive care she needs to ensure her child has a healthy start in life. 

The global need: Why maternal and infant care matters 

The consequences of inadequate maternal care are staggering.  

Tragically, 700 women worldwide die every day from preventable pregnancy and childbirth-related causes. Women in sub-Saharan Africa face a disproportionate risk, with more than two-thirds of all maternal mortality deaths occurring in the region.  

But birth is dangerous for the child, too. The World Health Organization reports that 75% of newborn deaths related to premature birth complications are entirely preventable with the right medical care, tools and support. Yet for mothers and babies in vulnerable communities, this care remains out of reach.  

The repercussions of losing a mother at birth can echo through a family for generations. In addition to the heartbreaking grief, a mother’s death during or shortly after childbirth can impact her child and family’s short and long-term health:  

— Some studies note that children whose mother died in the neonatal period (the first four weeks of life) were approximately eight times more likely to die themselves.

— Losing a mother often leads to the loss of a primary caregiver and a family’s economic support, which can result in deepened cycles of poverty and an increased risk of unnecessary child-family separation—compounding trauma for a family who has already lost a loved one. 

But there is hope.  

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 80% of these pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. One of the most effective ways to prevent maternal mortality is through comprehensive and skilled care before, during and after birth.  

SOS maternal and infant hospitals and implementing partners deliver healthcare to decrease maternal and infant mortality, including reproductive health services like:  

— Pap smears and mammograms to screen for cervical and breast cancer 

— Preconception care, like health screenings for high-risk pregnancies, gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and nutritional deficiencies 

— Infertility services and counseling for families struggling to conceive 

— Sexual health testing to identify and address infections or diseases, like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) 

— Prenatal care, like routine checkups, prenatal testing, access to crucial vitamins and education services to prepare for labor 

— Labor, delivery and postpartum care  

Through SOS Children’s Villages maternal and infant hospitals and partnerships, we’re working to close this care gap—one mother, one baby and one family at a time. 

Read more about how professional health care keeps families together. 

More than a hospital: SOS maternal and infant care 

Every child has the right to a healthy start in life. 

With SOS maternal and infant hospitals and our network of partnerships, more mothers and newborns have access to comprehensive, compassionate care in some of the world's most vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities—like rural Somalia and Ethiopia, which have some of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates. 

For mothers like Tsege*, maternal and infant hospitals are lifelines.   

After two stillbirths and three miscarriages, Tsege felt both deep hope and deep fear when she discovered she was pregnant again. Only 26 weeks into her pregnancy, Tsege went into labor. In Ethiopia, where Tsege lives, many communities don’t have access to neonatal intensive care units or resources. Meaning: premature births—births before 28 weeks—are often fatal, with a near-zero chance of the child’s survival.   

But thanks to the Bushulo Mother, Newborn and Child Health Specialty Center in Hawassa, Ethiopia, an implementing partner with SOS, this wasn’t the story for Tsege and her baby.   

With an established Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), expert medical care professionals and cutting-edge healthcare tools—like incubators and ventilators—the specialty center is equipped to deliver the life-saving care mothers and babies need.  

For Tsege’s son, this meant 72 days in the NICU where he received expert care for serious complications like anemia, apnea and lung disease.  

“Miracle—that is the name I gave my son. He was born at just 26 weeks, and [at that age] survival here is impossible,” Tsege said. “But Bushulo’s skilled and devoted team made our miracle possible and saved his life.”   

With a 94% survival rate in the NICU, the Bushulo Mother, Newborn and Child Health Specialty Center is life-saving for newborns like Miracle, who went home and continues to grow into a happy, healthy baby boy.   

From reproductive health services—like gynecology appointments, preconception care and sexual health testing—and prenatal checkups to skilled delivery care and postnatal recovery, to newborn health monitoring and even trained, established state-of-the-art NICUs, SOS hospitals are equipped to walk alongside mothers—like Hani—at every stage of pregnancy, delivery and postpartum care. 

Hani’s story:

When Hani* discovered she was pregnant, she was terrified.  

Five years of devastating drought in Somalia has driven more than three million children and families—like Hani—from their homes. 

Living in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, parents struggle to access medical care essential to staying healthy so they can care for their children or find facilities that provide their children with the health services they need to learn, grow and thrive. 

For pregnant women like Hani*, these barriers to medical facilities are especially dangerous. 

Hani feared she wouldn’t survive the birth of her baby, leaving her child alone in the world.  

But with the SOS Mother and Child Hospital, mothers like Hani can access the life-saving, professional medical care they need for healthy, safe births! 

“I had no family by my side,” Hani said. “But the team at SOS Children’s Villages was there to care for me and save my life. I was treated with such respect.”  

Hani received an emergency cesarean section and comprehensive postpartum care—like nutritious food, holistic neonatal care, parenting guidance and counseling services, so Hani can heal and provide her son with the emotional support and love he needs to thrive. 

With the support of generous SOS supporters, the SOS Mother and Child Hospital help nearly 500 mothers safely deliver their babies each month.  

But birth is only the beginning.  

SOS hospitals are deeply connected to the organization's broader family strengthening model and community centers, ensuring that mothers who give birth in SOS facilities are also connected to the support, resources and guidance they need to raise healthy, thriving children long after they leave the hospital.

Birth and beyond: How you can help deliver life-saving care 

Welcoming a child into the world should be a moment of joy, safety, possibility and hope for the future.  

With SOS Children’s Villages maternal and infant hospitals, we can ensure mothers and babies have the safety, support and specialized care they need for a joyful, healthy birth.  

And you can help deliver the life-saving care a mother and child need today. 

With your generous health care gift from our Love, Delivered gift shop, you can send the professional medical care a mother, child and family needs—for a healthy start in life and the promise of a brighter future.   

*Names changed to protect privacy.    

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