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Traditional birth attendant on the run after death of mother
A Traditional Birth Attendant (TBA) attends to expectant mothers in a rural setting. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
- Safina Nagguja, a 34-year-old mother of four died after bleeding severely shortly after delivering the baby.
- According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) key indicators report for the sixth Demographic and Health Survey 2016, up to 336 mothers die per 100,000 live births.
Police in Luweero are hunting for traditional birth attendant suspected to have led to the death of a mother through negligence after aiding her to deliver a baby at her home.
Safina Nagguja, a 34-year-old mother of four died after bleeding severely shortly after delivering the baby at Nalongo Village, Butuntumula Sub County in Luweero District at the home of Ms Hasifa Nabakooza, a traditional birth attendant where she had been rushed by her husband on Sunday evening.
“We are trying to truck down the traditional birth attendant who is on the run after the unfortunate incident where a mother lost her life due to severe bleeding,” Mr Paul Kangave, the Savana Region Police spokesperson told the Daily Monitor on Monday.
Police say three of Nagguja babies had been delivered through C-section.
“We believe there was negligence because the deceased had medical records indicating that she had been delivering by caesarean section,” Mr Kangave added.
Nabakooza and Nagguja’s husband, who is also on the run, reportedly tried to seek medical help from a Clinic yet to be identified but the bleeding intensified.
“It is unfortunate that this very mother had been referred to a major health facility on May 27 this year for better management of her case but the husband decided to seek services of a traditional birth attendant despite her pat child delivery record indicating C-section. We advise our people to seek medical help from professionals for better management of cases,” Mr Kangave noted.
Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) have been a strong force in many parts of rural Uganda for decades.
However, time and again concerns have been raised about the quality of care they provide and whether or not they put women's lives at risk.
Despite these concerns, the TBAs remain the first option for most women upcountry.
When faced with complications related to pregnancy or delivery, many upcountry women continue to choose high risk options like delivering at home or with the assistance of traditional birth attendants.
According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) key indicators report for the sixth Demographic and Health Survey 2016, up to 336 mothers die per 100,000 live births. Although it is a marked decline from 438 deaths per 100,000 live births registered in the 2011, the numbers of mothers dying remains too high.
