Maternal health project makes positive impact in Sagnerigu
Some years ago, expectant mothers in the Sagnerigu District in the Northern Region resorted to the use of a herbal substance called ‘Kaligutim’.The substance was believed to facilitate easy delivery.
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The “Kaligutim,” was the local name for the mixture of some special leaves prepared and given to pregnant women to insert in their genitals with the notion that it would facilitate safe delivery.
Sometimes, it was mixed with porridge, tea or soup and given to a pregnant woman who was in her third trimester to hasten delivery.
Zangbalum- Bomahe Naa Alhassan Issahaku Amadu, Regional Director of the National Population Council, told the Ghana News Agency in Tamale that in the past, the expectant women in the area used the medicine with the expectation that it would aid the opening of the cervix to facilitate smooth delivery.
Midwifery services
“It was used in the olden days when midwifery services were not common. Now that medicine has outlived its usefulness because there are various drugs and services at the disposal of expectant mothers in the health facilities,” he said.
According to Zangbalum-Bomahe Amadu, most women in those days refused their husbands sex during pregnancy. This usually led to the tightening of their cervix, adding that the “Kaligutim” was administered to the women to open the birth channel for the easy passage of the baby when their time was due.
“Now, women don’t need to use such a method again due to its abuse and the danger it poses to the fetus. Once the cervix was opened, any substance and bacteria can enter and disturb the unborn baby. The baby could be born with a serious deformity, as well as a mental disorder,” he explained.
He said “The powerful nature of the medicine could cause wear and tear that often resulted in internal bleeding and the woman could die,” he said.
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Due to its strong nature, he said the medicine was often prepared in the farm because just inhalation of its scent by a pregnant woman in her first trimester could lead to a miscarriage.
Caution to women
Zangbalum-Bomahe Amadu also cautioned women to stop using the substance to terminate pregnancies.
Madam Safiatu Amina Abdulla, 32, a resident of the Shigu community in the Sagnerigu District and mother of five who shared her experiences with the GNA during a visit, said she always felt uncomfortable and pain anytime she took the medicine.
“Anytime I took the medicine, I felt severe pain, especially when I was due to deliver, but due to the education by the health officials, I did not feel such a pain when I gave birth to my last baby two months ago,” she said.
Hajia Ayishatu Adjei, a public health nurse, said through the support of the Northern Sector Action on Awareness (NORSAAC), officials of the local health centre had initiated action, resulting in the formation of a group of men and women who held weekly community durbars to discuss issues related to maternal health and the need for women to visit the health facility to access antenatal care whenever they got pregnant.
The group, she said, discussed other issues such as traditional practices that hindered the promotion of safe maternal health, adding that at the various meetings, members were free to ask questions.
She said as a result of the continuous education, many old cultural practices were being altered.
For instance, in 2012 at the Nyangbaayabala community, there were a total delivery of 17, of which 10 were at home while seven deliveries were recorded at the health facility.
Increase facility-based delivery
Mr Allhassan M. Awal, Executive Director of the NORSAAC, said the Star-Ghana initiative sought not only to empower women groups to increase facility-based delivery and post-natal services in the communities but to also strengthen community structures to improve maternal health outcomes and sustained partnerships among the district assembly, Ghana Health Service and community health teams.
He said key strategies adopted by the project included male maternal champions (MMC), community health teams (CHTs) and pregnancy support groups (PSGs), and that the measures played critical roles in influencing antenatal services, facility-based delivery and postnatal services to ensure that the goals of the project were achieved.
• The writer is with the Ghana News Agency