More pregnant women are dying in Congo as they avoid hospitals over Ebola

BUNIA, Congo -- Esther Lutula stopped going for prenatal checkups shortly after the current Ebola outbreak 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.“That’s why I’m waiting until the disease is no longer widespread,” she told The Associated Press from her home in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province and epicenter of the outbreak declared on May 15.But that could be a deadly mistake.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.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.___This is part of a series on maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, which has the world’s fastest-growing population and accounts for 70% of global maternal deaths. Arou...