Saving Mothers is launching its POWHER program (Providing Outreach in Women's Health and Educational Resources) in rural Guatemala. Teams consisting of physicians, residents and students have been traveling to Guatemala to provide obstetric and gynecologic care, education, training and medical resources.

POWHER is a comprehensive and sustainable global women's health program that includes both public health initiatives as well as providing obstetric and gynecological clinical and surgical care. The public health outreach consists of distributing birthing kits as well as training and building relationships with the traditional birth attendants and midwives who currently provide obstetric care in rural areas.

In addition, Saving Mothers' teams are providing basic obstetric and gynecological services such as cesearean sections and prental care. Our gynecologic surgical care includes prolapse surgery, hysterectomies and more. This comprehensive approach will help to educate and train the local health care providers to better provide for the women in rural Guatemala. At the same time, the program will teach our team of medical student, residents and faculty physicians about the challenges of health care delivery in resource-poor settings.

Overall, the program hopes to contribute to the local health care system by leaving the providers there with training as well as resources.

Situated just south of Mexico in Central America, Guatemala has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Latin America. While the reported numbers indicate that there are 130 deaths per 100,000 live births, UNICEF has adjusted this ratio for under-reporting and misclassification to 290 deaths. These rates are significantly higher than the average maternal mortality rate in Latin America at 94.7 per 100,000 live births.

While 75% of the births in urban Guatemala are attended by a medical professional, only 25% of births in the rural areas receive such care. Instead, Mayan traditional birth attendants called comadronas provide delivery care to these expectant mothers in rural settings. These birth attendants are typically untrained, respected women in the community who speak the local regional language, give emotional support to the pregnant woman, and attend births at the women's homes.

In order to effectively implement this program in Guatemala, Saving Mothers is gathering much-needed resources and supplies. Your contribution will go towards both our medical and public health efforts.

A donation from you, no matter how small, will greatly improve the lives of women in Guatemala. (Remember, just $5 can cover the cost of one birthing kit).

Are you an obstetrician-gynecologist? We are looking for obgyns who are interested in being a part of our volunteer team on the ground. If you are interested in working with Saving Mothers in Guatemala, please contact Dr. Taraneh Shirazian at tshirazian@savingmothers.org.

If you are interested in making an in-kind donation or becoming a corporate sponsor for this high-impact global women's health program, please contact Julie O'Such at josuch@savingmothers.org.