Invest in health of mothers and children

Saturday, October 9, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 11)

By Rebecca Kwei
Recently at a forum dubbed “Stand Up and Take Action Against Maternal Deaths in Ghana”, Mrs Elizabeth Vaah, the Executive Director of Nyilale Vaah Junior Foundation, in a presentation on maternal health in Ghana provided the ‘faces behind the figures’ of people who had been victims of maternal mortality in Ghana.
The stories of how these mothers and or babies were lost and the pictures provided by the presenter brought home the seriousness of maternal health .
When we hear the figures that maternal mortality rate in Ghana is 451 deaths at 100,000 live births, it is like an abstract; very far from us but in reality it is very near. It could happen to anyone.
The forum was organised on the heels of the 2008 Ghana Millennium Development Goals Report which said that “Maternal mortality rate at 451 deaths at 100,000 live births is high and Ghana is unlikely to attain the target of reducing by three quarters, the maternal mortality ratio between 1990 and 2015, even though maternal health care has improved over the past 20 years.”
Statistics indicate that women in sub-Saharan Africa have a one in 22 chance of dying in childbirth, compared to only one in 4,800 for women in the United States.
The big question is why do women and children in Africa die? The causes are many and varied. Ranging from hypertensive disorders, obstructed labour, bleeding, infections, unsafe abortion, lack of access to skilled care, late arrival at health facilities and sub-standard care at health facilities.
Although there are many reasons for the high rate of maternal deaths, lack of access to good health facilities and sub-standard care at the facilities is an enormous bane in many developing countries. The lack of skilled health care workers, clinics and equipment means that many women and children do not have access to basic health services.
According to statistics if women had access to basic maternal health services, 80 per cent of maternal deaths could be prevented.
However, the picture of Ghana’s maternal mortality rate is not all that gloomy as a report dubbed ‘Tracking Health MDGs: Beneficiary Perspectives- Ghana Civil Society MDGs Campaign indicated that more women were participating in ante-natal care, while the fact that women recognised the importance of formal facilities in the event of obstetric emergencies was also encouraging.
Also, there have been improvements in the maternal mortality rate in some regions and districts of the country.
Of more importance is the need for intensive education on key danger signs in pregnancy and also to counter constraining beliefs shrouding the experience of pregnancy.
“Considering that most women who had lost infants and other young children did not know the medical causes, proactive counselling services are recommended as a way of removing obstructive beliefs and promoting better hygiene and health in poor communities. Without such services, women are left to believe that the causes are purely spiritual.
Investing in the health of mothers and children would have a lasting positive impact on Ghana’s maternal mortality rate.
As Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, the Regional Programme Manager of Abantu for Development put “it is unacceptable for a woman to be pregnant for nine months and then lose the baby or her life. Zero tolerance for maternal deaths should be our target”.