What can you buy for USD17? Maybe a shirt, a pair of jeans, two meal deals at McDonald’s. That’s the question I asked myself as I read the latest report from the new maternity clinic in Lvea Em, Cambodia.  For USD17 in Lvea Em an expectant mother can give birth to a child in a safe environment and stay for one week following the birth to make sure everything is well before going home.  

One year ago Asian Outreach Cambodia, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, opened one of the only maternity clinics in all of rural Cambodia. That’s hard to believe, but it’s true!  By the time we dedicated the clinic there were already three new babies in the cribs. One year later 159 babies have been born in the Lvea Em Maternity Clinic.  

So why is this important? Well, I remember sitting next to a government official during the dedication. Speeches were going on in the background by many officials and medical leaders. This official leaned over to me and said, “Do you know why this clinic is so important?” I had ideas but I wanted to hear what he had to say. He went on to explain that most mothers in rural Cambodia give birth to their children at home with the help of Traditional Birth Assistants. The conditions in most of these homes are far from sanitary.  No medicine or emergency medical care for mother and child is available if complications arise. This has led to Cambodia having a very high infant mortality rate—some say as high as 83 deaths in 1000 births.  

On the day of the dedication we sat with the mother of the first child to be born there. As she nursed her newborn, her mother and grandmother watched. It was the first child in this family born in a maternity ward. We asked the new mother why she chose to have this baby at the clinic. Her response, “I just wanted to feel safe.”