Image: Thin Mar, 32, holds her baby at a maternity waiting home in southeastern Myanmar. (Aye Pyae Sone/CPI)
Access to safe childbirth remains a major global health challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In 2023, 92% of maternal deaths occurred in LMICs, and most were preventable.
In Myanmar, about 70% of the population lives in rural areas. According to the Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) 2015–2016, fewer than one-third of rural women give birth in health facilities. Many deliver at home without skilled attendants.
Home births carry an increased risk of infection, hemorrhage, and other complications. Limited medical supplies and equipment make these risks even greater.
In fragile settings such as southeastern Myanmar, conflict and displacement create additional barriers to accessing care. Travel to health facilities often involves navigating dangerous roads, military checkpoints, and sudden route closures due to fighting. For pregnant women, what should be a routine journey to receive care can take hours, or even days, making timely, life-saving services difficult to reach.
That is why maternity waiting homes are a lifeline.
One of these homes, operated by a Community Partners International (CPI) partner organization, offers pregnant women from remote communities a safe place to stay during the final weeks of pregnancy. Women receive free accommodation, food, transportation support, and referral costs for hospital care. The facility works closely with a nearby clinic operated by the same organization.
The goal is simple but critical: ensure women can reach skilled care before delivery or in an emergency.
Aye, the nurse who runs the home, has been involved since the beginning.
“When I first set out to establish the maternity waiting home, I doubted how much we could achieve.”
The need for the facility quickly became evident. Maternal deaths had been reported in remote mountainous areas where women could not reach care in time.
“These deaths were caused by difficult transportation routes, a lack of health facilities, and a shortage of skilled health providers. Tragically, some women died from haemorrhage during childbirth.”
The home helps bridge that gap, offering continuous support for expectant mothers.
“Currently, I am the sole staff member responsible for maternal care in the maternity waiting home, providing around-the-clock support.”
Since opening in July 2025, the center has already supported dozens of families.
“We have already successfully delivered 25 babies.”
The organization works closely with community-based networks of trained birth attendants. They provide the first line of maternal health care, helping women during pregnancy, monitoring warning signs, and supporting referrals. They also report on pregnancy complications and maternal deaths.
Many women who arrive at the home come from mountainous or isolated villages. Reaching the town can require long journeys.
“Most of the women we assist live quite far from the town. Pregnant women often have to endure a motorbike ride of three to four hours, and then four or five hours by car. Some women even have to travel by stretcher.”
Travel can also be unpredictable.
“The road is fraught with challenges, including numerous checkpoints.”
Road closures caused by armed clashes may prevent women from reaching hospitals at the moment they need care. Because of this, many women arrive early and stay at the maternity waiting home well before their due date.
“Generally, we accept mothers two weeks before their due date, but some may be accepted earlier based on their circumstances. We can accommodate four or five pregnant women at a time.”
For women who live hours away from hospitals, this time can make the difference between life and death.
Many women arrive at the facility after experiencing severe hardship. Cho Cho, 28, lived through years of domestic violence.
“My husband has physically abused me. For the first year or two after we got married, he tried to be a good husband, but then he began to hit me.”
The family struggled with deep poverty and, when she fell pregnant, the abuse didn’t stop.
“Often, we ate just once a day. The doctor told me that my baby was smaller than expected and that I needed to build my strength. But I had no means of earning money. My husband does not work. Every time I encouraged him to find work, he would beat me. Eventually, my mother-in-law kicked me out, so I had to go and stay with someone else.”
Tragically, Cho Cho lost her baby. She was offered shelter and care at the home.
“When I arrived, I immediately felt safe and free from the pain of the beatings. I have been here for about a week now. The nurse cares for me. She performed an ultrasound and provided medication. She said that I need to see an obstetrician again because I am still experiencing bleeding.”
Her experience highlights how maternal health services often intersect with broader protection needs. Safe spaces for pregnant women can provide not only medical care but also dignity and security.
“I feel comfortable living here. I sleep well and eat properly.”
The maternity waiting home also helps women during natural disasters and emergencies.
Thin Mar, 32, arrived during severe flooding in late 2025. Her village lies along a river. When the waters rose, her home was flooded.
“Being a pregnant mother in those conditions was very challenging.”
She had originally planned for a home birth but the midwife couldn’t reach her and the nearest hospital was cut off by the flood. She could, however, reach the maternity waiting home and the nearby clinic.
“I was worried about having the baby at home alone. So I chose to go to the maternity waiting home for a safe delivery.”
After delivering her baby at the nearby clinic, she stayed at the maternity waiting home until the floodwaters receded and she could safely return home.
“The home provided me with a delivery kit, covered expenses, and offered the necessary maternal care for both my baby and me.”
Some women arriving at the maternity waiting home have never received formal maternal care. Nilar, 40, is more than eight months pregnant with her eleventh child, a girl. She and her husband work as stonecutters, living in tents near a quarry. They earn around $4 per day together, just above the international extreme poverty line of $3 per day. It barely covers food and housing, and they can’t afford to send their children to school.
“I have delivered all my children at home by myself, with only two out of 10 being born with the assistance of a traditional birth attendant.”
This time, health workers discovered serious complications. Nilar was admitted to the home and has been there for a week.
“The doctor said that I am suffering from severe anemia and that the baby is positioned sideways. If the baby’s position doesn’t change, I may need a C-section.”
For women like Nilar, the home offers their first access to professional care.
“My blood pressure is low, and I need to take iron supplements. I often feel dizzy and tired. I want to return home as soon as possible, but I have a follow-up appointment with the doctor, and will only leave if I have the doctor’s approval.”
Despite her need for care, Nilar also has to think about her other children, who are being looked after by neighbors.
“In the past, I managed to work while pregnant, but this time it has been more complicated. Living here is convenient in many ways, and I receive healthcare. But I have children at home who don’t have enough to eat, which worries me. After this delivery, I plan to follow the family planning advice recommended by the doctor.”
Sometimes complications occur suddenly.
In one case, a displaced mother named Hnin discovered she was pregnant with twins only after arriving for care. The twins were delivered during a dramatic nighttime emergency.
“My neighbors helped me deliver the first baby at two o’clock in the morning.”
For the second birth, urgent assistance arrived from the maternity waiting home.
“They sent an assistant nurse and an ambulance, and I gave birth to my second child under their care at half past five.”
Both babies survived thanks to rapid referral and treatment.
“Since the babies shared the same umbilical cord, they transferred me to the hospital where the staff cut it.”
She later required blood transfusions and hospital care.
“I am very grateful to the health providers here. Their assistance was crucial for the healthy birth of my twins.”
Now, Hnin and her babies are doing well.
Mary, 26, came for treatment of an abscess on her breast while pregnant.
“When fighting erupts near our village, we have to hide in the forest. The road to town was closed for seven months but has recently reopened. Fortunately, my abscess happened after the road reopened. Otherwise, I might have needed part of my breast removed.”
After a minor operation at the hospital, she couldn’t afford the cost of follow-up care. Health care in Myanmar’s state hospitals is not free. Out-of-pocket healthcare payments can quickly spiral into catastrophic costs for low-income families like Mary’s.
“It was very costly to stay in the hospital. Room charges and the cost of medicine and food were high.”
She heard about the maternity waiting home and decided to seek care there.
“The staff cleaned my wound properly and applied dressings.”
While at the home, she started feeling dizzy and noticed her baby wasn’t moving. An ultrasound revealed her amniotic fluid was low. The staff referred her for an emergency C-section, and she returned home after the delivery.
After a one-month stay at the home, Mary and her baby are making good progress and her abscess has healed.
“My baby is breastfeeding well from that side. I am producing plenty of milk, and my baby is thriving. I hope to return home if everything is okay. I have pigs at home and worry about them not being fed.”
The maternity waiting home is part of a broader community-based health system run by local organizations – a model that is replicated across Myanmar.
Local organizations operate in areas where formal health systems often cannot reach. They form a locally led mesh network of clinics, community volunteers, and referral partners. This network connects remote communities to essential services.
It also builds trust. Local organizations understand the language, culture, and risks faced by the communities they serve. In fragile environments marked by displacement and fear, trust becomes essential.
Community networks also adapt quickly to changing conditions. When roads close or fighting intensifies, local teams adjust referral pathways and transport plans. These networks, therefore, remain resilient even in unstable settings.
Their work demonstrates how locally led systems can sustain care where centralized systems struggle.
Community Partners International (CPI) nurtures a locally led, decentralized and resilient mesh network health systems in Myanmar, Thailand and Bangladesh, enabling local organizations to lead, cooperate and deliver care even in the most fragile settings. In 2025, these networks reached more than 12 million people with essential health and humanitarian relief services.
Since opening in 2025, the maternity waiting home has already helped prevent maternal deaths and complications.
For mothers traveling from remote villages, it offers more than a bed and a meal.
It offers time, safety, and access to care when it matters most.
“The presence of this home has truly made a difference for pregnant women in remote and hard-to-reach areas, as well as for mothers in need of maternal care.”
Interviews have been edited for clarity, brevity and flow.
Community Partners International (CPI) strengthens, equips and connects local organizations in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Thailand providing health and humanitarian services to conflict- and poverty-affected communities.
Support our work: https://cpintl.org/ways-to-give/give
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