Having a Baby in Honduras

Honduras is not the best place in the world to deliver babies, but for the locals, it’s all a way of life.

In Honduras, more than half of women give birth outside the hospital with only traditional birth attendants by their side. There are hospitals and maternity centers, but the quality of maternity services is not good. Doctors rarely prescribe painkillers, hence, women are always left to suffer physical pains of childbirth. Sanitation is also not good, both for the mother and child.

Private health insurance in Honduras is an option for women, but the public health system is deemed enough by most local families. This scheme provides coverage for up to 66% of the woman's insured earnings for the last three months. This amount is paid in staggered amounts within six weeks prior to childbirth and six weeks after the date the woman is expected to give birth. The law provides that all employers allow women to take maternity leave to women who are not enlisted under the government's social health insurance scheme.

Another challenge women in Honduras face when becoming pregnant is the rapid growth of vaginal yeast infections. Although pregnant women are always prone to these infections, the warm and moist climate in the country makes the situation worse. Wearing loose-fitting clothes is the simplest way to manage the problem.

Although there are volunteer health workers being dispatched to Honduras, most pregnant expats opt to take out international health insurance in Honduras and give birth either in their home country or in any other country in the region such as in Mexico where quality of maternity care is higher.