By MELUSE KAPATAMOYO
In most African societies, pregnancies are rarely planned, and as a result it takes women a few months before they can make that all important first trip to a health institution for Ante-natal care (ANC).
In most African societies, pregnancies are rarely planned, and as a result it takes women a few months before they can make that all important first trip to a health institution for Ante-natal care (ANC).
However, while the woman waits to come to terms with being pregnant, she may be putting her life and that of her unborn child at risk.
Effective ANC which includes a minimum of four visits to a health care centre, has been cited as an effective way of reducing mortality in mothers and children.
Dr Mulindi Mwanahamuntu, a gynaecology consultant at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) said the four visit minimum requirement as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is enough for a clinician to identify at least 80 percent of problems that occur in a pregnancy.
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| A pregnant woman attending ante-natal/ Photo by UNICEF |
Dr Mulindi Mwanahamuntu, a gynaecology consultant at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) said the four visit minimum requirement as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is enough for a clinician to identify at least 80 percent of problems that occur in a pregnancy.
“This recommendation is a compromise from having a woman coming every other week to burden the health-system. Sometimes the clinician will ask the woman to be coming to the clinic every other week depending on the problem she may have. But a minimum of four visits has been shown and proven to reduce maternal and child deaths,” he said.
“Opportunities for Africa’s Newborns”, a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) states that to achieve the full life-saving potential that ANC promises for women and babies, four visits providing essential evidence-based interventions should be adhered to.
The essential elements of ANC include identification and management of obstetric complications such as pre-eclampsia, tetanus toxoid immunisation, intermittent, preventive treatment for malaria during pregnancy (IPTp), and identification and management of infections including HIV, syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
“ANC is also an opportunity to promote healthy behaviours such as breast feeding, early postnatal care, and planning for optimal pregnancy spacing,” says the report.
Zambia is among countries in Southern Africa battling maternal and child mortality, caused by lack of commitment by pregnant women to attend ante-natal where diseases such as malaria, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV can be screened early.
WHO estimates that 900,000 babies die as stillbirths during the last twelve weeks of pregnancy. And babies, who die before the onset of labour, or antepartum (bleeding) stillbirths, account for two-thirds of all stillbirths in countries where the mortality rate is greater than 22, per 1,000 births-accounting for nearly all African countries.
In addition, maternal mortality remains equally high in many countries too. In Zambia, the UN organisation estimates 830 maternal deaths per 100, 000 live births accounting for one in every 120 pregnant women.
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| Four ante-natal visits could save the life of your unborn child |
And according to Dr Mwanahamuntu, in Zambia, despite 94 percent of women especially those in urban areas attending ante-natal, less than 75 percent of them deliver in some form of health institution.
“In this case, the whole purpose of the earlier ante-natal visits is defeated. For rural areas where visits drop to almost zero, simple conditions that can be picked up by clinicians are missed. If we are to win this battle and succeed, we must emphasise on institutional delivery of babies. Child birth is a physiological undertaking and women should not die from something that should be normal.” said Dr Mwanahamuntu. PYM
