Pro-Life MaterCare International: A Champion For Maternal Health

MaterCare International was founded to reduce maternal mortality worldwide through a global network of like-minded medical professionals. MaterCare operates on the goodwill of its private donors and volunteers with no government or church funding. MaterCare currently works on a mobile model of providing emergency obstetric care in rural areas of West Africa.  The organization trains traditional midwives to identify at-risk mothers and refer them to hospitals and clinics before complications occur, focusing on the 80% of life threatening conditions in pregnancy that can be identified before delivery.

P>NEW YORK, NY (C-FAM) - One night in Nigeria, a sick pregnant woman stumbled into a clinic on the verge of death. A young English doctor on his first medical trip to Africa rushed to help her.  Robert Walley started an IV while another doctor grabbed a stethoscope to listen for the baby's heartbeat. The woman died just as Walley was setting up the IV. He was holding her hand.

Without any equipment to perform an emergency C-section, both doctors watched for five frustrating minutes until the baby's movement stopped. The deceased woman's husband was distraught, and Walley felt distressed knowing that the outcome would have been different in a well-equipped English hospital.  His colleague, a weathered professional with years of experience working in the hardships of Africa, broke down and cried.

That emotional night in Nigeria inspired Walley's mission to save at-risk pregnant women, one mother at a time.  Walley is now the head, heart, and soul of MaterCare International, which he founded to reduce maternal mortality worldwide through a global network of like-minded medical professionals. "Saving mothers happens at the bedside," Walley says.

MaterCare operates on the goodwill of its private donors and volunteers with no government or church funding. Despite its humble budget, MaterCare has made impressive contributions to emergency maternal healthcare.

MaterCare currently works on a mobile model of providing emergency obstetric care in rural areas of West Africa.  The organization trains traditional midwives to identify at-risk mothers and refer them to hospitals and clinics before complications occur, focusing on the 80% of life threatening conditions in pregnancy that can be identified before delivery. MaterCare has received awards for research in post-partum hemorrhages and has funded the construction of a specialized obstetric hospital to treat West African patients suffering from fistula.

Walley displays a spiritual compassion for maternal healthcare as great as its need, along with humility. "I haven't done anything, everything one does comes from Divine inspiration," he says.

While Walley began his career in the UK, eventually he left because he could not bring himself to perform state-required abortions. The obstetrician moved with his family to Canada rather than change his medical specialty.  The distance between Walley's parents and their grandchildren has been a sacrifice, but he believes providence gave him a new opportunity to help the world.

Walley believes that helping the world means also challenging the current systems of delivering maternal healthcare. Through MaterCare, Walley has prodded the United Nations and charitable organizations in developing countries to work more efficiently.

Most recently, responding to a call from Mother Teresa's order of sisters, Walley headed up several missions to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake hit. MaterCare arrived to treat mothers who, while often suffering from earthquake injuries, could not delay birth when the disaster took place.

In the long run, Walley envisions a Marshall Plan that would amply fund better maternal and child care, he explained at a recent UN side event on maternal mortality.  For now, he goes about recruiting doctors, volunteers, and desperately needed funds.

He finds encouragement where he can, including a surprise letter from Rome covered with seals and written in Latin. Then came a meeting at the Vatican, where he drew more inspiration from a conversation with Pope John Paul II. "I understand the difficulties you have, but the Church needs you now more than ever; it's the whole Church's responsibility to support you," the pope said.

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'This author writes for C-FAM. This article first appeared in the Friday Fax, an internet report published weekly by C-FAM (Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute), a New York and Washington DC-based research institute (www.c-fam.org). This article appears with permission."