Births to Haitian mothers in Dominican hospitals fall from 37% to 24%, health official says

The national director of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health at the Dominican National Health Service (SNS), Dr. Martín Ortiz, said births to Haitian mothers in the country's hospitals fell from 37% to 24% of all births as a result of migration-control measures, according to hoy.com.do and eldia.com.do. Speaking to journalist Federico Méndez on the program 'Esferas de Poder,' broadcast Sundays on RNN Canal 27, Ortiz said there were 16,500 fewer births to Haitian foreign nationals last year. He said that in 2024, 37 of every 100 births in the country were to Haitian mothers, but that after migration controls began around March-April of last year, the figure dropped to 24%. Ortiz said large maternity hospitals such as Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia and San Lorenzo de los Minas previously saw heavy attendance by Haitian mothers, while Dominican women are now attending in significant numbers. He noted the SNS continues to provide care to Haitian nationals as part of its mission to attend everyone who arrives. Ortiz also reported that infant mortality tied to Haitian foreign nationals fell from 56% in 2024 to 52% last year and currently stands around 33%. He separately said adolescent births dropped more than 50%, and cited a national fertility rate of 2.1 versus 8 in Haiti.