Pregnant women in
Bayelsa State have been urged to embrace ante natal services provided to them by different health instructions in order to checkmate maternal mortality which have discovered to be at high rate in the state especially in rural areas.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Ayibatonye Owei who gave the advice in Sagbama while inspecting health institutions in the area regretted that about 145 women lost their lives daily in deaths relating to child birth across the country.
Owei said this is worrisome in view of numerous health institutions establish to check the trend, but for the ignorance of some women especially those living in the remote areas.
According to him, “Nigeria also losses about 2, 300 under-5 years every day from child bearing making Nigeria the second largest contributor to the under-5 (U5MR) and Maternal Mortality rate (MMR) in the world. “World Health Organisation (WHO) have estimated that about 358, 000 women die every year as direct result of child bearing and most of this death occurred in the developing countries.
“The ratio of women dying in Nigeria from pregnancy-related complications are worrisome; this death is highest among teenage mothers and mothers aged between 40-49 years (50-55 per cent respectively),” he said.
Owei said that taking corrective measure by mothers would go a long way in effort to overcome maternal-mortality in Bayelsa and explained that the state government was on course in ensuring that death resulting from child-bearing was curtailed.
“We have embarked on overhaul of health sector to enable the Bayelsa State achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target on child mortality”, adding that
“Parents should imbibe the spirit of accessing health facilities around them during and after pregnancy to avoid such diseases that might cause death.
“On the 2014 maternal, new-born and child health week flagged-off in the state; I must say that the programme is also a step in the right direction,” he said.
“All parents are advised to take their child from 0-59 months to the nearest health facilities to access services like deworming, vitamin A, immunisation, family planning among others,” Owei added.
The Commissioner described adequate anti-natal and immunisation as safe and effective mean to control diseases that likely occur among pregnant mothers and children.