Midwives advised to make women in labour comfortable

Programmes Officer of Send-Ghana, Mr. John Nkaw has advised health professionals, particularly, midwives to exhibit professional ethics and make maternity wards ‘patient-friendly’ towards minimizing infant and maternal mortality across the country. He stated that it is important to stop tasking pregnant women for additional logistics before attending to them before, during or even after labour. Mr. Nkaw gave the advice in Tamale at a workshop organized by SEND-Ghana, a non-governmental organization (NGO) to sensitive Midwives on Respectful Maternal Health. The workshop was aimed at educating them on measures that would help address infant and maternal mortality, especially in the rural areas of the Northern Region. There have been issues of abuse and unnecessary charges of women in labour in some facilities across the country which sometimes discourages pregnant women from going to the hospitals for delivery The Programmes Officer of Send-Ghana complained about the high levels of maternal and infant mortality rates, and said a holistic approach is needed to address the problem. He, therefore, suggested the training of more Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), especially, in the hard to reach districts, to save lives. Mr. Nkaw commended midwives who accepted postings to serve in very remote areas to save lives, and appealed to the government and stakeholders in health to identify such nurses to offer them the necessary rewards to motivate them to work. Madam Margaret Nmini, Deputy Director of Nursing Service at the Northern Regional Health Directorate, said it is important for expectant mothers and couples to seek professional advice on family planning, pre-conception, prenatal, and postnatal care to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. Madam Nmini commended SEND-Ghana for its initiative to help save the lives of women and children.


Source: GNA