Pay critical attention to women during childbirth — Rev. Eastwood Anaba

The President of Eastwood Anaba Ministries (EAM), Reverend Eastwood Anaba, has underscored the need for health care professionals to give critical attention to women during childbirth.

That, he said, was the surest way towards addressing maternal deaths in the country, and that every step during the delivery process was essential in saving the life of the expectant mother.

He quoted the Bible as promising the safety of women during childbirth, and therefore, entreated health workers, especially those in the labour wards, to do their utmost best to save the lives of pregnant women and babies during delivery.

Performance review

Rev. Anaba was speaking during the 2024 annual performance review meeting of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in the Upper East Region, on the theme: “Using network of Practice of Practice (NoP) to drive universal access to quality maternal health care”.

In 2021, the region recorded 43 deaths, it reduced to 27 in 2022, then it increased to 33 deaths in 2023 and further increased to 40 deaths in 2024, bringing the total maternal deaths in four years to 143.

Labour ward

He indicated that labour wards should continue to be birth places and not as battle fields, saying “relatives of expectant mothers should not be in doubt whether the pregnant women would come out alive or not after delivery”.

He said such a perception continued to create anxiety among relations of pregnant women during delivery, and added that the healthcare professionals must discharge their duties as required to reduce maternal mortality to the barest minimum.

Additionally, he advised pregnant women to avoid certain lifestyles that had the tendency to put their lives at risk during delivery, saying “pregnant women must avoid drinking excessive alcohol as it will endanger their lives”.

Begin at home

Rev. Anaba, who is a trained pharmacist, said the provision of maternal care must begin at home and not in the health facilities, and stated that sometimes before the pregnant women got to the health facility, her life would already be in danger due to emotional challenges.

“Husbands and family members of pregnant women must offer the necessary support to them in the home at all times before going to health facilities to access additional care” he pointed out, saying “a weakened state of an expectant mother affects maternal healthcare”.

He advocated  the provision of first-class medical facilities with the needed equipment and personnel which was crucial towards eliminating maternal deaths, and further called on all stakeholders to work towards achieving it.

Additionally, he appealed to religious and traditional rulers to be bold and ruthless in their bid to revolutionise societies by eradicating traditions and superstitions that endangered the lives of women.

Safe environment

For his part, the Director, Institutional Care Division, GHS, Dr Lawrence Ofori-Boadu, welcomed the assertion that activities in the delivery room were key to dealing with maternal deaths.

He expressed concern that the absence of a safe working environment would make it very difficult for quality healthcare to be provided  to residents in the region, and therefore pleaded with key stakeholders to make every corner safe for health workers.

He said “if the region is safe, no health staff will be willing to seek transfer to another region to work”.

Writer’s email: gilbert.agbey@graphic.com.gh