Socioeconomic Status of Women in Venezuela
In the Childbirth in Venezuela, Where Women’s Deaths Are a State Secret article, Julie Turkewitz and Isayen Herrera take their readers through horrific experiences that Venezuelian mothers have to go through in their pursuit to give birth. The economic situation in the country is having its toll on the country’s health care system, and aspiring mothers are bearing the greatest brunt. The country’s hospitals have been run down from the effects of political sanctions imposed on the country. Getting essential services to aid in childbirth is like a dream when in Venezuela.
The reality of the Venezuelan health care system is a startling one. In just one year, the country has recorded a 65% and 30% increased in maternal deaths and child mortality respectively. These are indicators that the country is doing very poorly socioeconomically. The situation is further worsened by the lack of medics who are leaving the country in droves to search for greener pastures. Indeed, this is the worst moment to give birth in the country as doing so exposes the mother and child to the several risks including death.
Social Values at Play
The biting levels of poverty and unemployment being witnessed in Venezuela affects women more. Biologically, women are the child bearers. Socially, they are tasked with the responsibility of raising up their children by providing them with basic commodities. However, in a country where women’s rights to employment and education are not taken seriously, Venezuelan mothers have to confront harsh realities of raising up children without much support. In addition, they are the ones to experience the deplorable health care system that define their country’s hospitals.
Women are also the greatest victims of sexual exploitation and domestic violence in the country. Cases of rape have been rampant lately in the country. Interestingly, if the women get pregnant during rape ordeals, they are forced to go through the torturous experience of childbirth that define the country’s health care system. Unfortunately, the stereotype against Venezuelan women is systematic and embedded in the country’s education system.
Political Factors
The poor health care system in Venezuela is attributed to politics. After the last general election, the incumbent President Maduro who was believed to have lost, refused to leave power despite pressure from the international community. As a result, his government was slapped with economic sanctions, which have severely affected its operations. However, these sanctions could not have prevented the government from soliciting for delivery of essential services and equipment from non-governmental organizations operating within Venezuela such as Action for Solidarity. President Maduro, being a politically calculative individual, nonetheless, opted to prioritize fool and oil imports instead of medical supplies. His reasoning is that hungry people will revolt and threaten the stability of his government. Sick people and pregnant women do not have the capability to protest, hence they are ignored.
Hardships Shaping the Health Care System
Giving birth in Venezuela is a grueling process that is characterized by unbearable pain and sometimes death of either the infant, or the mother, or both. One has to take torturous journeys traveling for miles along bumpy roads before reaching a hospital. However, most hospitals do not have the necessary equipment to aid child birth. Thus, chances of being turned away from a couple of hospitals are high. It is not unusual for Venezuelan mothers to give birth in the streets or along hospital pavements without the care of a physician. There are very few doctors available in the country as more than half have left to seek greener pastures across the boarders. Those who are left behind are seriously demotivated owing to huge work load and poor renumerations
Reference
Turkewitz, J., & Herrera, I. (2020). Childbirth in Venezuela, where women’s deaths are a state secret. The New York Times.