Kamuli urges pregnant women to seek better care
The IDI Uganda coordinator in Kamuli District, Mr James Eyatu, hands over assorted items to support teenage mothers at Namwendwa Health Centre IV on Monday. PHOTO / SAM CALEB OPIO
What you need to know:
- Dr Lyagoba said mothers opted to remain at home or find cheaper but unsafe alternatives, leading to increase in mortality and morbidity rates.
Health workers in Kamuli District have been urged to encourage pregnant women to seek qualified health and maternal care services instead of traditional birth attendants (TBAs) and clinics.
Speaking on Monday ahead of the International Nurses’ Day celebrations scheduled for May 12, Dr Moses Lyagoba, the assistant district health officer in-charge of maternal and child health, said the Covid-19 pandemic reduced the turn-up at facilities due to fear of contracting the virus and hardship in accessing services.
Dr Lyagoba said mothers opted to remain at home or find cheaper but unsafe alternatives, leading to increase in mortality and morbidity rates.
“We are disturbed by the mothers’ preferences for TBAs, unplanned/unwanted pregnancies through defilement, rape and domestic violence, which cause difficulties in referrals; so we need more male involvement, mindset change and outreaches,” he said.
The programme manager in-charge of advocacy at White Ribbon Alliance, an NGO, Ms Judith Hope Kiconco, urged health workers to respect the rights of patients and handle them with equal care irrespective of social-economic status so that they are attracted to professional healthcare.
“Pregnancy and childbirth are momentous events that should empower mothers and uplift their confidence and self-esteem, not make them worried,” Ms Kiconco said.
Mr James Eyatu, the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) Uganda Kamuli programme area coordinator, said attracting mothers to facility-based maternal care services will ensure safe motherhood and childbirth.
“We need to be mindful and supportive of teenage mothers and help them have safe motherhood and delivery; young mothers are a very vulnerable category which needs more attention, early and regular health check-ups, monitoring and education. Most of them did not take the decision [to get pregnant] and come from hard-to-reach places,” he added.
Ms Susan Achom, 20, a student midwife at St Joseph Kamuli School of Midwifery and Nursing, said mothers in stressful situations need emotional readiness, patience and crisis emergency management.
“There is need to address special nutritional needs for pregnant women and minimise the risk of HIV transmission from parents to their unborn babies,” she said.
TEENAGE PREGNANCIES IN KAMULI
Kamuli registered increased numbers of teenage pregnancies among 15–19-year-olds (9,858) in financial years 2019/2020 and 2020/2021, and 85 young girls less than 15 years conceived in the respective financial years. Namwendwa Health Centre IV registered 470 cases of deliveries among teenagers, Nankandulo Health Centre IV registered 259 cases, while Bugulumbya Health Centre III had 269 cases. According to the district health information system II database, Kamuli registered 4,876 cases of child deliveries from mothers between the age group of 15-19 years from FY2019/2020 and 2020/2021.
Records from facilities in Namwendwa Sub-county show that out of 3,183 teenage pregnancies during lockdown, only 1,619 deliveries were registered, and 400 prenatal deaths recorded meaning the rest aborted, miscarried or delivered from unqualified staff.
