When Alejandra went into labor in one of the most remote villages of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, she had good reason to be afraid.

Postpartum hemorrhage — severe bleeding after childbirth — remains the leading cause of maternal death in Guatemala, where maternal mortality rates were once among the highest in the world. Thankfully, Alejandra had options. She set out on foot through the night for the Impact Global Health Alliance’s Casa Materna. She chose it because she trusted the people inside. The staff speak her language. The rooms feel like a home, not a hospital. The care she receives is low cost and free of fear and anxiety which keeps so many Indigenous Mayan women from seeking medical help at all.