Moves underway to reduce maternal, Neonatal deaths in Region Nine

May 01, 2018 News

Minister Lawrence distributing care packages to mothers and their babies in Region Nine.

The existing maternity waiting home at the Lethem Regional Hospital, Region Nine, is slated for expansion and upgrades. The home currently houses mothers from far-flung communities until they go into labour.
According to Director of Primary Health Care (Maternal and Child Health) services, Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Ertensia Hamilton, the project is being made possible through a US$8M loan from the Inter-American Development Bank.
“It has long been recognised that our better-equipped facilities that are manned by specialists are usually not located in areas where these pregnant mothers may have relatives. That is why we have a maternity waiting home in this region; it is a home away from home. So (the mothers) have everything available as they wait to deliver their babies.” Dr. Hamilton explained.
The details of the upgrades will be provided as the Ministry disaggregates the loan for improvement to maternal and child health in the region.
In creating access to these services, Dr. Hamilton said, “We want our mothers to be able to have family planning, have all reproductive health services available and when they do get pregnant, we want their deliveries to be safe. If there are high-risk pregnancies, these should be recognised and referred early. So, we want a safe delivery of the baby and throughout the post-natal period that they are healthy.”
The government, since 2015, has been working to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths especially, in Region Nine. The loan, which took effect in 2017, ensures that women in areas such as Region Nine and across the country have equal access to reproductive health care.

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