I will be providing feedback on Angie’s, India’s and Soyeun’s presentation on Maternal Health in Nicaragua. First off, I thought that the topic was really interesting and relevant to Nicaragua’s society since many women lack access to health care and this has become a huge issue for them. I thought that the presentation had a nice flow to it and hit many key points about the topic especially on a community-centered level. For example, the group started off with some statistics which I thought were really helpful in understanding a little bit about the health care system for women in Nicaragua, such as that about a third of the hospital visits in Nicaragua are due to maternal health-related issues. Among these statistics the group mentioned that geography, poverty and a disorganized health system all equate to an inequity of care for women. They also gave us an overview of the current infrastructure of the health care system, mentioning the MINSA as the overarching health care provider for 70% of Nicaragua, while the rest of Nicaragua is prevented from receiving their help simply because of location. I thought that this was very valuable information that reiterated their point that geography contributes to a poor health care system. After giving us a more general overview of health care in Nicaragua, I really like that they moved on to the community-based approach to healthcare. In this section they mentioned the Casa Materna, community health workers and midwives. After hearing their presentation, I really believe that these three resources, which form their own kind of healthcare “system”, have been and still are vital to the rural communities of Nicaragua where they otherwise would have no health care. For example, midwives are essentially doctors for poor rural communities who aid women in all periods of their pregnancies. This got me thinking because while Nicaragua lacks proper healthcare for all of its women, poor communities have found a way to make up for it by having their own midwives and community health workers that are essentially the communities’ health care system. Nevertheless, while these communities have found a way to care for pregnant women, there are many other issues that need to be addressed, like that of proper nutrition. One of my favorite parts of the presentation was the food pyramid. Although many of us in the class already knew the benefits that certain foods can provide us, I thought it was still very essential to their presentation because proper nutrition is not something that is deeply-rooted in Nicaragua’s rural communities. Knowing more about the nutrients in food and ways to transform their diet, even if in small ways, can make a huge impact in the long run.

I think that women’s health is an issue that should continue to be addressed in Nicaragua and I’m really glad that this group chose to present on this topic. I think that their presentation this a nice job in speaking to the class as an audience and also incorporated several aspects that pertain to the Nicaraguan community as an audience. For example, the flyers are important to inform women of precaution measures that they can take and the options that they have when it comes to their health. I thought the presentation was really informative for me, and with the translation of certain slides like the one with the food pyramid, it could also be really beneficial to women in Nicaragua. Although food resources in Nicaragua are limited, I think it would be nice to still let women know about the benefits of certain foods and I think expanding on this food pyramid would help. It could be altered to include foods that are more readily available in Nicaragua for all people. Overall, I really enjoyed the topic and thought it was really well presented.