Coexistence Project
How COHI Helps: Refugees in our Existing COHI Project Sites

Teresa (in red hat), the subject of the story

A personal message from Rita in Israel:
For the past few years, our shelter outside of Haifa, Israel, has opened its doors to women who have fled violence and war in their own countries and have risked their lives to make the dangerous journey across the border into Israel from Egypt. We receive these women from the prisons, from the streets—broken, hurting, in desperate situations.  A number of them come to us pregnant and needing immediate medical attention.  The insurance companies will not give coverage for pre-existing conditions (which includes pregnancy!) and the government refuses to provide even the minimum of pre-natal care.  When Gomer, the Israeli coordinator, first came to speak with me about the project in March, I could not believe that such a group existed!  To have experienced midwives come to our shelter, personally examine each pregnant woman and actually be committed to “walk” with them (and us) both throughout and after the birth, was something I could not have imagined possible.  Prior to meeting COHI, we felt very much alone in our interaction with the medical establishment and in dealing with the many challenges the women faced.  One particular story stands out to me as an example of how the COHI team has dramatically impacted the life of one of our women.
 
Teresa, a Sudanese woman from the Dinka tribe, was sent to our shelter from Ketsiot prison where she and her two year old child had spent a number of months.  She was thin for someone who was already in her seventh month and seemed very much under stress as she was worried that her husband was not being released from prison.  Soon after she arrived, Gomer, Mindy and Maya (COHI volunteers) began their visits to the shelter.  Teresa was examined and they detected some minor swelling in her ankles—a sign of possible edema.  A few days later, Teresa complained that she was not feeling well.  After taking her blood pressure which was extremely high, I called Gomer who, after hearing what her blood pressure was, said to take her immediately to the hospital.  Without Gomer’s counsel, we probably would have waited a bit longer until she began to go into labor.  Clearly her advice may have saved Teresa’s life as she was experiencing preeclampsia and the doctors said that had she arrived any later, her condition would have been critical. 
 
The doctors agreed to give her the opportunity to have a natural birth.  Unfortunately, as Teresa was brought into the labor room, I needed to leave and had no one on our staff to replace me.  Again, Gomer came to the rescue as she was able to find a former professor of hers to sit with Teresa during the labor.  Amazingly the contractions began to speed up and she dilated quickly.  When I returned a few hours later, I had the joy of seeing little Jackson born!  What an incredible experience it was. 
 
Several more babies have been born since that time and we have been more than grateful that COHI has expanded its services for us—supplying doulas at birth, finding gynecologists to assist in pre-natal care, walking through a multitude of needs specific to each woman, providing counselors to help with breastfeeding.  The level of compassion and concern displayed by the COHI team is tremendous.  Recently, we had a heartbreaking situation where the husband of one of the refugees died in her arms while crossing the desert.  Gomer and Mindy identified some very deep problems in this woman and we were able to act accordingly.  Truly they give more than just medical expertise; COHI as exemplified by your team here in Israel give fully of themselves to this work and to the women they serve.  A HUGE thank you to all who make this possible.

COHI Summit: Bridges: Women's Health Care As An Agent of Change
Call for Poster Submissions

Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, Friday, June 4, 2010

We are looking for poster submissions from groups or individuals that do work related to women's health and maternity care. This is a great opportunity to raise awareness of your work, and learn from others in the field. Posters should feature work, research, initiatives or programming that is in some way related to the aims of the summit. Submissions are due by March 8^th, 2010 Learn more about presenting your poster here (doc).

Keep your eye on COHI's conference info page (cohintl.org/summit2010) for forthcoming details and to sign up for conference-specific electronic newsletters.

V-Day 2010
V-Day 2010 Events

There’s still time to start a V-Day event in your community! Help COHI increase awareness about women and violence, particularly how it affects women everywhere.

V-Day and COHI help you by providing tools to complete one of these tasks:

Perform:

• The Vagina Monologues
• A Memory, a Monologue, a Rand and a Prayer: Writings to End Violence Against Women and Girls
• Any One of Us

Show:

• Until the Violence Stops
• What I Want my Words to Do to You

Present:

• Congo Teach-in
• VMen

Please contact info[at]cohintl.org to learn more about this opportunity, or to join a COHI & V-Day event in your area!

Board of Directors
COHI Board Member Receives Sapling Award

Sharon Craig Economides

Congrats to COHI’s Board of Directors member, Sharon Craig Economides! Sharon was recently given (scroll to midway down the page) the 2009 Sapling Award (given to a young midwife who’s a leader in the community) by the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA).

Thanks Sharon, for leading the way for midwives worldwide.