‘Encourage women in labour to use clean clothing’

MIDWIVES in the country have been urged to encourage women in labour to use neat clothing and ensure personal hygeine during and after delivery.

The President of the National Association of Registered Midwives, Ghana, Ms Rizwana Hawa Amoako-Agyei, said that was necessary to deal with infections and re-infections in the labour wards.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of the Second Biennial National Midwives Conference and Continuous Professional Development in Kumasi, she said the use of ‘second-hand clothing’ by women during pre and post-natal care period should be discouraged, explaining that a study had shown that 75 per cent of neo-natal deaths were attributable to infection, most of which could be traced to the clothes that are brought to the health centres.

The four-day conference is on the theme “Accelerating the Attainment of the MDG 4, 5 and 6; Midwives: A friend to the Community.” The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) four, five and six, respectively, relate to reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and combating HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

Pre-term babies
She noted that the most infected victims were pre-term babies who spent a long time at the hospitals due to their conditions and pointed out that surprisingly, most women erroneously believed that insects and bacteria could be prevented by disinfecting their clothes with camphor. Unfortunately, camphor is dangerous to the newborn.

She explained that after inhaling camphor for just 15 minutes, the complexion of new-born babies changed to blue and if immediate medical attention was not sought, the babies died.

To attain the MDGs 4,5 and 6, Ms Amoako-Agyei said the association had instituted measures to ensure that the country attained zero per cent in the maternal mortality rates instead of the 75 per cent reduction set in the MDGs.

One of such measures was collaborating with transport owners to help pregnant women during labour and working with traditional leaders to hold community durbars to educate the public on maternal health issues.