Midwife calls for more attention on maternal mortality

(2nd left) Mrs Racheal Hesse Matey with speakers during the health conference

The Best Practicing Midwife for Greater Accra Regon, Racheal Hesse Matey, together with panellists discussing diseases and health issues among women in their sexual reproductive age, has stressed the need to tackle maternal mortality in the country.

That, she believes, is dependent on intensified education of mothers, youth and even fathers on preconception care, fibroids, menstrual disorders, among other reproductive health issues.

She made the call during a ‘Health Conference’ organised by her, in collaboration with the International Palace Church (The Palace) over the weekend. Dr Ekow Amponsah Dadzie and Dr Emmanuel Kponor, all in the O & G Department Ridge Hospital, were speakers for the event.

The Best Practicing Midwife for Greater Accra Regon said one main objective of a good health delivery system is the ability to prevent or reduce deaths to the barest minimum.

Maternal sentiments

She bemoaned that the country currently finds itself in an awkward situation where there is a gradual rise in the cases of maternal deaths.

“So, I decided to organise a health talk in collaboration with my church. I believe in the fact that, if the mothers are well informed about certain issues regarding maternal health, they are able to take the right decisions. However, because they don’t get the accurate information, they rather resort to medications that give them complications and then they end up coming to the hospital for treatment and guidance. With proper education of our mothers, all of these will be nipped in the bud,” she stressed.

Mrs Hesse Matey noted that reproductive health issues are essential for sustainable development because of their links to gender equality, impact on adolescent health and their roles in shaping future economic development and environmental sustainability.

“To the youth, which we targeted for this programme, what we have realised is menstural disorders have taken centre stage in their lives… now the infertility cases being reported is high because they have failed to pay attention to their irregular menstrual cycle,” she stated.

“With this, how can we, as a country, achieve the Sustainable Development Goal target 3.1, which requires that by 2030, about seven years from now, the global maternal mortality ratio should be less than 70 per 100,000 live births?,” she quizzed.

Child birth

She said bringing a child into the world is a beautiful way of contributing to nature, stressing “to achieve this, fertility is very crucial to prospective parents”.

According to the midwife, even though the deed required to create a child is well known, not all acts lead to pregnancy and it could be attributed to certain challenges.

Mrs Hesse Matey also called for more focus on the pre-conception and inter-conception stages of maternal care.

She said paying attention to maternal health issues can help in early identification of health conditions in babies and even fetuses that can prevent death or disability and help babies reach their full abilities and potential.

CS stigma

The midwife further stressed the need for stigmatisation on Caeseriean Section (CS) to be stopped, noting that “refusal of CS has the tendency of causing maternal or neonatal deaths or both”.

She explained that CS is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the pregnant mother’s abdomen through the abdominal wall (laparotomy) and the uterine wall (hysterotomy).

She indicated that CS is often performed because normal or spontaneous vaginal delivery is likely to put the unborn baby mother or both at risk.

She called on the media to prioritise issues of sexual reproductive health and rights so as to address challenges of maternal mortality in Ghana.