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Child birth picture is not a rosy one
2006-04-02 07:52:44
By Pacifique Nkeshimana
More than half of the births in Tanzania occur at home, a situation that contributes to increase of maternal deaths, child mortality and other related complications such as fistula among mothers, the Sunday Observer has learnt.
Subila Hilda Mwambingu, the Women’s Dignity Programme (WDP) Principal Officer told this paper that of all pregnant women only 46 per cent are assisted during childbirth by a doctor, clinical officer, nurse or a midwife.
She said that another 19 per cent of mothers have a traditional birth attendant while another 26 per cent deliver with the help of a family member.
’’Though the postnatal care helps in the prevention of complications after child delivery, 83 per cent of women who deliver at home do not have post-natal check-up,’’ Mwambingu said, adding that only 13 per cent has a check-up within two days of delivery as recommended.
Mwambingu said lack of enough health care centres in most remote areas could be one of the factors that hinder pregnant mothers to be attended by qualified medical officers.
She also said most women in rural areas lack information on the significance of giving birth in hospitals and health centres, and thus stay at home to be attended by their relatives or traditional birth attendants.
However, Mwambingu said there is a lack of sufficient number of qualified gynaecologists and obstetricians in the regions who can assist women who are giving birth, a situation that sometimes affects mothers.
’’There are many mothers who lack qualified medical officers to attend them due to insufficiency of the professionals. Some medical officers abuse their professional code of ethics by seeking bribes before they attend the mothers,’’ she said, adding that this may lead to maternal deaths and destruction of mother’s delivery canal.
Meanwhile, the Tanzania 2004-05 Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS) Key findings said that more than 90 per cent of women receive some antenatal care from a medical professional health officer.
’’In 2004-05 only 14 per cent of women had an ante-natal care visit by their fourth month of pregnancy as recommended,’’ the review read in part, adding that although most of all women receive some antenatal care, they may not be receiving all the recommended care.
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