{"id":801268,"date":"2026-08-03T14:26:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T14:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/801268\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T14:26:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T14:26:14","slug":"ebola-outbreak-in-congo-poses-deadly-risks-for-pregnant-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/801268\/","title":{"rendered":"Ebola outbreak in Congo poses deadly risks for pregnant women"},"content":{"rendered":"

BUNIA, Congo (AP) \u2014 Esther Lutula stopped going for prenatal checkups shortly after the current Ebola outbreak<\/a> was declared in eastern Congo. Midway into her pregnancy, the 26-year-old feared being put into isolation simply for having a fever, a common misconception.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m waiting until the disease is no longer widespread,\u201d she told The Associated Press from her home in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province and epicenter of the outbreak declared on May 15.<\/p>\n

But that could be a deadly mistake.<\/p>\n

Maternal mortality across Ituri soon doubled as news of the outbreak spread, with an average of about six women dying per week due to childbirth complication, according to Noemi Dalmonte, deputy country representative of the United Nations Population Fund in Congo.<\/p>\n

While there was an average of 3.1 maternal deaths weekly this year before the outbreak, that jumped to 5.8 deaths from May 25 to July 19. Among those, the deaths outside health centers have also jumped from 9.1% to 17.4% within the same period, UNFPA data shows.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

This is part of a series on maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa<\/a>, which has the world\u2019s fastest-growing population and accounts for 70% of global maternal deaths. Around 180,000 pregnancy deaths are recorded every year across the continent.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Esther<\/p>\n

Esther Lutula, a 26-year-old woman who is four months pregnant and a mother of four, sits outside her house in Bunia, northeastern Congo. (AP Photo\/Moses Sawasawa)<\/p>\n

Esther Lutula, a 26-year-old woman who is four months pregnant and a mother of four, sits outside her house in Bunia, northeastern Congo. (AP Photo\/Moses Sawasawa)<\/p>\n

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As Congo battles the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record, with more than 1,600 confirmed deaths, health and aid workers are warning of a shadow crisis as pregnant women avoid hospitals and the country\u2019s already high maternal mortality rate climbs even more.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s common for Africans to avoid health centers during public health emergencies because of safety concerns, \u201cwith Ebola, it is stronger because Ebola has a lot of rumors,\u201d Dalmonte said in an interview.<\/p>\n

With some wary residents questioning whether Ebola even exists, and health workers in one of Congo\u2019s most remote and volatile regions struggling to respond to the outbreak with few supplies, pregnant women have less care than ever.<\/p>\n

Congo is one of the world\u2019s most dangerous places to give birth<\/p>\n

Congo\u2019s has among the world\u2019s highest rates of both childbirths per woman and deaths around childbirth.<\/p>\n

Women in the vast central African nation have almost six children on average. At least 19,000 women died from pregnancy complications in Congo in 2023, according to the latest U.N. data, tied with India and second only to Nigeria globally.<\/p>\n

Now health workers in Ituri say they are seeing a decline in hospital visits as people worry about the risk of infection. This type of Ebola<\/a> has no approved treatment or vaccine.<\/p>\n

Women in need of care also fear being caught up in violence. Ebola treatment centers have been attacked by residents fueled by misinformation or anger over strict outbreak measures.<\/p>\n

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At the B\u00e9n\u00e9dicte Clinic in Bunia, the number of women registered for prenatal care has dropped from 60 each month to around 10, said Dr. Sonny Mwembo, the medical director.<\/p>\n

Even now, weeks into efforts to battle misinformation, some residents hold mistaken views of the outbreak.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, if you feel sick and go to the hospital, they say it\u2019s Ebola and they put you in quarantine right away. That\u2019s what scares people,\u201d said Elodie Yabiri, a Bunia resident who is heavily pregnant.<\/p>\n

Yabiri said she\u2019s avoiding hospitals as much as she can.<\/p>\n

As long as she still feels her unborn child moving, she believes everything is still okay.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Health<\/p>\n

Health workers disinfect an ambulance at an Ebola treatment center at Bunia General Hospital in Ituri Province, Congo. (AP Photo\/Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne)<\/p>\n

Health workers disinfect an ambulance at an Ebola treatment center at Bunia General Hospital in Ituri Province, Congo. (AP Photo\/Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne)<\/p>\n

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Limited health care pivots to Ebola instead<\/p>\n

The outbreak has strained Congo\u2019s already overstretched healthcare system, complicating access for the pregnant women who still come for prenatal care or birth.<\/p>\n

Health facilities in the five affected provinces are redirecting staff and supplies to the response, reducing access to essential maternal care services, according to aid groups.<\/p>\n

At least 44 health infected workers have died. Many other health workers have walked off their jobs, protesting the lack of payment. At least 12 attacks have been recorded against health facilities and teams since the outbreak was declared in mid-May.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are doing everything we can to make the public understand how dangerous this disease is. We are working day and night without being paid,\u201d said Dr. Ghislain Maneba, an epidemiologist and community investigator in Ituri\u2019s Rwampara health zone.<\/p>\n

All women are at higher risk in this outbreak<\/p>\n

Ebola is rare but highly contagious and severe, often fatal. It spreads in the human population through contact with bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen, and with contaminated surfaces and materials such as bedding and clothing.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Esther<\/p>\n

Esther Lutula and one of her children outside their house in Bunia, northeastern Congo. (AP Photo\/Moses Sawasawa)<\/p>\n

Esther Lutula and one of her children outside their house in Bunia, northeastern Congo. (AP Photo\/Moses Sawasawa)<\/p>\n

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Women are usually the primary caregivers<\/a> when a loved one becomes ill. Many are among frontline health workers in this outbreak as well.<\/p>\n

Associated Press journalists covering the outbreak<\/a> have seen pregnant health workers among the responders.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very important that they know how to protect themselves, that they have the right information,\u201d Dalmonte said.<\/p>\n

Pregnant women with Ebola are at an increased risk of problems including miscarriage, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said in its clinical guidance.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, pregnant women who delay care and avoid health facilities \u201ccould die not from Ebola itself but because the care that would have saved them was no longer accessible, trusted or safe,\u201d Dalmonte said.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

For more on Africa and development: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/africa-pulse<\/a><\/p>\n

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s standards<\/a> for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BUNIA, Congo (AP) \u2014 Esther Lutula stopped going for prenatal checkups shortly after the current Ebola outbreak was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":801269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[1926,86521,86525,10698,340102,793,97,340103,14349,340101,4870,965],"class_list":["post-801268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-africa","tag-democratic-republic-of-congo","tag-democratic-republic-of-the-congo","tag-disease-outbreaks","tag-esther-lutula","tag-general-news","tag-health","tag-noemi-dalmonte","tag-pregnancy-and-childbirth","tag-sonny-mwembo","tag-united-nations","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/801269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=801268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=801268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}