Postnatal care can reduce the high maternal deaths
Oct 10, 2006
Uganda’s worst-performing human development indicator is the maternal mortality ratio, which has stagnated at 505 per 100,000 live births for over a decade. This means an average of 16 women are dying from pregnancy-related complications daily.
By Catherine Biira
Uganda’s worst-performing human development indicator is the maternal mortality ratio, which has stagnated at 505 per 100,000 live births for over a decade. This means an average of 16 women are dying from pregnancy-related complications daily.
Maternal mortality is closely linked to infant mortality because the health of a mother impacts on the health of her baby. A baby who is born to an unhealthy mother, or one who loses its mother at birth, is vulnerable to ill-health and death. Therefore, all women need proper maternity care. This includes antenatal care, clean and safe delivery, family planning and postnatal care.
Postnatal care
This refers to the care given to a mother from the point of delivery up to a period of six weeks after delivery. It is probably the most undervalued maternity service by Ugandan mothers. Some of the reasons why mothers do not seek postnatal care include the belief that after one has given birth successfully, they are out of danger. This is coupled with lack of information on the importance of postnatal care.
Other reasons include cultural/traditional beliefs that restrict women from seeking health care, lack of money and unavailability of services in some health centres even when mothers visit them during the post partum period. Since most maternal deaths occur within the post natal period, postnatal care can play a pivotal role in saving mothers from death.
Postnatal care is closely related to access to other maternity care services, especially skilled attendance at birth. Unfortunately, statistics indicate that only 38% of Ugandan mothers deliver under-skilled attendance. This is regrettable because most maternal deaths are attributed to conditions that can be ably managed by skilled health workers who take urgent decisions or can make early referrals when they detect problems with the mother’s health before or after delivery.
Such conditions include haemorrhage (excessive bleeding) after delivery, sepsis, (infection attributed to poor hygiene practices during or after delivery) and also eclampsia, (high blood pressure), which occurs in some women during pregnancy, but can become worse after birth.
The care mothers need
Basic postnatal care services include vitamin A supplementation, family planning information and services, as well as advice on feeding for the mother and baby.
Health workers also do a general examination to see whether the mother is healing properly, especially if she has had stitches resulting from an episiotomy or caesarean section. At six weeks, the baby receives shots of immunisation and a pap smear to check whether the mother has cancerous cells in her cervix is done. This ensures early detection and treatment of cervical cancer, which is on the rise in Uganda.
Make it compulsory
Given its potential in reducing maternal and infant mortality, postnatal care needs to be promoted by all stakeholders. Health workers should use every antenatal visit as an opportunity to sensitise mothers on the danger signs during pregnancy and the postnatal period, especially the first week. There is need to ensure that mothers deliver in health centres or under the supervision of a skilled health worker, because then, it is easy to observe the mother for problems that could occur immediately after delivery. There is also need to promote at least three postnatal visits.
The writer is a National
Programme Officer
Population Secretariat
Uganda’s worst-performing human development indicator is the maternal mortality ratio, which has stagnated at 505 per 100,000 live births for over a decade. This means an average of 16 women are dying from pregnancy-related complications daily.
Maternal mortality is closely linked to infant mortality because the health of a mother impacts on the health of her baby. A baby who is born to an unhealthy mother, or one who loses its mother at birth, is vulnerable to ill-health and death. Therefore, all women need proper maternity care. This includes antenatal care, clean and safe delivery, family planning and postnatal care.
Postnatal care
This refers to the care given to a mother from the point of delivery up to a period of six weeks after delivery. It is probably the most undervalued maternity service by Ugandan mothers. Some of the reasons why mothers do not seek postnatal care include the belief that after one has given birth successfully, they are out of danger. This is coupled with lack of information on the importance of postnatal care.
Other reasons include cultural/traditional beliefs that restrict women from seeking health care, lack of money and unavailability of services in some health centres even when mothers visit them during the post partum period. Since most maternal deaths occur within the post natal period, postnatal care can play a pivotal role in saving mothers from death.
Postnatal care is closely related to access to other maternity care services, especially skilled attendance at birth. Unfortunately, statistics indicate that only 38% of Ugandan mothers deliver under-skilled attendance. This is regrettable because most maternal deaths are attributed to conditions that can be ably managed by skilled health workers who take urgent decisions or can make early referrals when they detect problems with the mother’s health before or after delivery.
Such conditions include haemorrhage (excessive bleeding) after delivery, sepsis, (infection attributed to poor hygiene practices during or after delivery) and also eclampsia, (high blood pressure), which occurs in some women during pregnancy, but can become worse after birth.
The care mothers need
Basic postnatal care services include vitamin A supplementation, family planning information and services, as well as advice on feeding for the mother and baby.
Health workers also do a general examination to see whether the mother is healing properly, especially if she has had stitches resulting from an episiotomy or caesarean section. At six weeks, the baby receives shots of immunisation and a pap smear to check whether the mother has cancerous cells in her cervix is done. This ensures early detection and treatment of cervical cancer, which is on the rise in Uganda.
Make it compulsory
Given its potential in reducing maternal and infant mortality, postnatal care needs to be promoted by all stakeholders. Health workers should use every antenatal visit as an opportunity to sensitise mothers on the danger signs during pregnancy and the postnatal period, especially the first week. There is need to ensure that mothers deliver in health centres or under the supervision of a skilled health worker, because then, it is easy to observe the mother for problems that could occur immediately after delivery. There is also need to promote at least three postnatal visits.
The writer is a National
Programme Officer
Population Secretariat