Chima Azubuike
The National Coordinator and Country Director of Rotary Reproductive Maternal and Child programme in Nigeria, Professor Emmanuel Lufadeju, has urged attendants to stop conducting child birth deliveries but refer expectant mothers to accredited medical facilities.
Arewa PUNCH investigations reveal that Lufadeju’s call follows the unabating rise in maternal mortality rate due to compilations stemming from patronage of traditional birth attendants.
The Rotarian also gave this advice while emphasising that Gombe State health care facilities are equipped enough to handle complicated cases that may arise during childbirth.
He explained that unlike the traditional birth attendants who do not have the requisite facilities, this gap deficit, therefore, signals the need to rescue overhead 250,000 women and children from early and premature maternal mortality.
Lufadeju made this disclosure in Gombe State during a community dialogue at Madaki Primary Health Care Centre at the state low-cost.
Arewa PUNCH reports that in spite of the overwhelming sensitisation arrangement, many pregnant women are still subjected to delivering their babies at home, a situation that often leads to complications and maternal deaths.
According to the Rotary leader, “It’s not limited to that place alone. People learn from themselves, and the best education is the one you learn from your peers.
“They tell you that, okay when you are pregnant, don’t deliver at home, please go to the health facility because they have the equipment, the materials to make sure that you have a safe delivery, that was why in my speech I pleaded with traditional birth attendants not to accept delivery at home anymore. I know they have the experience, but they must refer them to the proper health facility.
“My problem with them is that they do not represent the orthodox and well equipped hospital, so there’s no way they can compare themselves
with the hospital standard that has all that are required in case the delivery becomes complicated.
“If you ask me, I will say our target is on the women who are of child-bearing age in Gombe State, but they are the ones we designed this particular programme for.
We are looking at close to 250,000 women of child-bearing age.”
While lauding the state’s management, the Country Director added that community dialogue is a good method of sensitising the community, particularly women of child-bearing age, head of households, young women, elders in the community, village chiefs and religious leaders on the need to reduce maternal and infant mortality resulting from complications of pregnancy and child birth.
“So, this is an information venue where they can get what we are going to do about spacing children, delivering in proper health facilities, having good nutrition, using modern contraceptive to space birth and making sure that they attend the antenatal clinic when they’re pregnant and also hospital clinic after delivery, so it’s a way of making sure that deaths are not recorded either from pregnant mothers or their infants,” he added.
Receiving the items the Gombe State Commissioner for Health, Dr Habu Dahiru, lauded the efforts of the Rotary International, saying, “I want to on behalf of the good people of Gombe State thank you most profoundly on the delivery of hospital equipment ranging from equipment, drugs and consumables in reproductive health, paediatrics, maternal health and the general practice at the lower levels.”
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