By Lizzy Carr
The officer In-charge of the Maternity Unit of General Hospital Misau in Bauchi State, Eunice Oladeru has stressed the need for male involvement in safe pregnancy and child survival.
Oladeru spoke to members of the Journalists for Public Health and Development Initiative on a visit to the hospital after training on Maternal, Perinatal, and Child Death Surveillance Response (MPCDSR) in Bauchi State organized by USAID IHP.
“Men have an important role to play during pregnancy, delivery, and the survival of the child by supporting their wives to enroll for antenatal care early to avoid pregnancy and childbirth-related complications
Male involvement gives the woman encouragement and feels a sense of belonging,”
Oladeru stressed that the staff of the Maternity is doing its best to provide quality healthcare service delivery to all pregnant women accessing healthcare services at the facility.
“The maternal perinatal and child deaths surveillance response has helped the facility identify causes of maternal and perinatal deaths and has allowed the committee to better handle complicated cases,”
Also speaking, a Staff of the Maternity, Fatima Bashir expressed dismay at the attitude of some men who refuse their wives to visit the health facility during pregnancy and delivery.
“This has made our job difficult because most of the women come into the hospital late and some do die on arrival,”
Bashir said most maternal deaths in the hospital are from outside the local government.
“MPCDRS has made us educate primary health care facilities to refer maternal cases on time to prevent deaths, and am glad we are working as one to see that no women die as a result of pregnancy and childbirth,”
The nurse also lamented that referrals are not done good time by primary healthcare facilities a development that is increasing the fatalities during birth leading to excessive bleeding which will in turn result in the death of the pregnant woman and her unborn child.
Bashir urges Journalists to assist the health sector through their reportage on the need for the make involvement in issues that affect the health of their wives and children.
“The Media is a vital medium to effect social behavioral change among members of the society especially those in the rural areas, we, therefore, solicit your support and cooperation to achieve quality healthcare service delivery,”
She added that most maternal deaths are a result of either anti-partum or postpartum hemorrhage.
The Maternity in-charge of Town maternity misau, Suwaba Garba said the facility has from January to June not recorded any maternal deaths because MPCDRS has enabled them to strengthen the referrals in pregnancy with complications.
