VENEZUELA-MOTHERS/SHORTAGES Mother of all battles in scarcity-hit Venezuela: having a baby

Record ID: 149330

  • Title: VENEZUELA-MOTHERS/SHORTAGES Mother of all battles in scarcity-hit Venezuela: having a baby
  • Date: 23rd July 2015
  • Summary: CARACAS, VENEZUELA (RECENT - JULY 21, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FACEBOOK PAGE FOR GROUP CALLED "MAMIS AND BABIES, EXCHANGE," WHERE PARENTS ARE ABLE TO EXCHANGE DIFFERENT BABY ITEMS VARIOUS OF PHOTOS OF DIFFERENT ITEMS AND FOOD ARE BEING EXCHANGED AND USER COMMENTS FACEBOOK USERS, SOME 9,000, WHO FORM PART OF EXCHANGE GROUP
  • Embargoed: 7th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA3BFVVHNZYYD75ZNIYMYDJ3RHC
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Rather than resting at home, peacefully waiting for the birth of their baby, pregnant women in Venezuela are forced to queue during long hours at different drug stores in the sweltering Venezuelan capital of Caracas to stock up on baby essentials, such as diapers.
    Over the course of nine months, the time of mothers-to-be is consumed by searching for vitamins, calcium, diapers and medicines amid widespread shortages in recession-hit Venezuela.
    Currency controls and flailing local production have fuelled worsening scarcities that are now a blight of daily life for many Venezuelans - especially those expecting a child.
    Many in Caracas offset inflation and a depreciating currency by selling price-controlled goods across the border or on the local black market, leaving less on shelves.
    To get by, pregnant women wake up at the crack of dawn to join long store lines, buy diapers in bulk before their baby is born, visit a dozen shops for a single product, tap social media to barter goods, and spend small fortunes on the black market where smugglers jack up prices at the sight of their bellies.
    Amid the long lines, many simply go without.
    "This is like this because of the shortage of diapers, because if you don't leave your house, you can't find anything," said mother of a four-month-old baby, Marta Andrade.
    Many desperate parents have turned to Facebook to look for items.
    A group called "Mamis and Babies exchange," which has 9,000 members, helps parents exchange anything from food to toiletries for baby products.
    Group creator, Lesbia Garcia, said some parents are unable to even participate at all.
    "(People can) share personal hygiene items as well as goods for babies. We started with baby items and today we also have hygiene products for adults such as shampoo, deodorant, anything really. In fact, there are parents who do not even have a shampoo bottle to trade for diapers and therefore they exchange rice, cornmeal. They exchange any type of product, foods, because that is what they have. And many people are unable to buy anything and make trades," said Garcia.
    More worryingly, shortages in the health sector pose an increased risk of complications during pregnancy, according to doctors and rights group.
    Drawing a full picture of the effect of scarcity on pregnancy is tricky due to a lack of up-to-date official data.
    During his 14 years in power before he died in 2013, late socialist president Hugo Chavez tapped an oil bonanza to build thousands of free health centres in poor neighbourhoods, largely staffed by Cuban doctors, and create maternity-focused programmes like the "Baby Jesus Mission."
    Supporters also praise him for implementing an across-the-board six-month maternity leave.
    But many relevant indicators have not been published since shortages worsened, and many Venezuelans say the health sector is in an abysmal state.
    President Nicolas Maduro, Chavez's handpicked successor, blames the shortages on speculators who he says hoard medicines and other goods to stoke anger against his government.
    He also says his government remains committed to social spending despite a recent tumble in oil prices.
    Nevertheless, about 7 in 10 drugs are currently unavailable, estimates the Pharmaceutical Federation of Venezuela.
    Venezuela's Childcare and Pediatrics Society says chickenpox vaccines are scarce, those for polio and hepatitis are intermittently available, and babies are at risk of being born underweight due to lack of vitamins and supplements.
    While many in Venezuela appear resigned to the shortages, small pockets of society are protesting.
    Hopeful shoppers queue outside a pharmacy in the capital city. Shoppers complain that re-sellers grab the first spots in lines and threaten people who argue with them. Given the high rate of single-parent homes, some mothers have little choice but queue with their kids.
    Family days now often revolve around going from store to store, comparing prices in order to buy baby essentials.
    "Our outings as a family revolve around getting what we need, we go to different pharmacies, we check out different shops to see what we can get for the baby, because children cannot wait. As an adult I can somehow put up with shortages, but as a baby you have other requirements and needs that can't wait," said Dayimar Ayala, the mother of a two-year-old.
    Some are indeed putting off having a child, although shortages of birth control options can thwart planning in a country where abortion is illegal unless the woman's life is at risk.
    Some women fall pregnant because they can no longer find contraceptive pills. Condoms are also scarce.
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