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The rate of maternal death is becoming worrisome and this had prompted the doctors practicing across Nigeria to call on government and their health agencies to provide top quality antenatal care facilities so as to reduce the mortality rate among pregnant women across the country, especially in the rural areas. The doctors stated that the fight against high mortality rate concerns government at every level of the government, be it local, state or federal level. The doctors stated that such top quality antenatal health care facilities must be provided at the primary, secondary and tertiary health institutions across Nigeria if the battle against high mortality rate is to be won.

The medical doctors bared their minds on this at a public forum tagged maternity Health Accountability that held in Lagos, Nigeria, with journalists in attendance. The doctors stated that most of the pregnant women, out of ignorance and poverty, prefer to deliver their babies at traditional centers. They claimed that if the adequate health facilities had been provided at considerably cheap rate, these women would not have had cause to visit such traditional centers in the first place.

Another big problem faced by such women is the lack of adequate training by the Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) and this has its debilitating effect on the health of the mother and the baby prenatally and postnatally. When complications arise in the course of the delivery, the TBAs would panic, since they are not trained to handle such complications and this may cost the mother and the child their lives.    

Many of the women however visit the modern hospitals during the prenatal stages for antenatal care, but they almost always prefer to deliver at traditional birth places and this is increasing the rate of maternal mortality. They declared that things would be better if government agencies take time to sensitize the populace to the dangers of giving birth at these traditional birth places. They believed reduction in the cost of health care too will force the women patronizing the traditional birth places to have a change of heart and start patronizing proper hospitals for their antenatal care and delivery.     

The doctors in attendance at the public forum were Yinka Abosede, the Former Chairman, Lagos State Primary Health Care Board (LSPHCB) and Dr. Yinka Omobolu, the Representative of Women Advocate Research and Documentation Center (WARDC). Aside the issue of poverty and lack of proper orientation, Dr. Omobolu also pointed out the unprofessional conduct of some of the health care works as one of the many factors that prompted many pregnant women to opt for the traditional birthing places instead of the hospitals. Some health workers tend to be rude to their patients and this put the patients off.

The doctor also stated that some hospitals are in the habit of charging the pregnant women something extra aside the actual delivery fees and this also contributes to the women choosing the traditional birthing places ahead of the hospitals. Some women are also detained by the hospital authorities if they are unable to pay the hospital charges.

Written by: Anthony Olawale Ojo