LAGOS – A consultant gynaecologist, Dr Oliver Ezechi, said that lack of obstetrics care facilities and the lackadaisical attitude of health workers could force expectant mothers to patronise traditional birth attendants more.
Ezechi, who works with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba, Lagos, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday.
According to him, the high patronage of traditional birth attendants could increase the rate of maternal and infant deaths because the attendants lack the necessary expertise. [eap_ad_2] “Most of the deaths among pregnant women are caused by three things – bleeding, infection, and hypertension in pregnancy. The Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) cannot manage any of them.
“But, the major problem we have now is that the pregnant women are not there at the hospitals. A lot of them are with the TBAs.
“When you go to TBAs, you will see a lot of these women. Two things, the first one might be the attitude of health workers, the second might also be that the facilities needed are not there.
“But, what actually do you need for maternal healthcare? A properly trained health worker, a midwife, a nurse or a doctor.
“So, even if they come to your facility and you do not have those facilities the government is supposed to provide, you can refer them to a centre where those facilities are available.
“But, we don’t do that, instead we prefer to keep them.
“I think there is the need to for a re-orientation, both the governments, on need to fund health and even Nigerians on need to seek care in appropriate places.
“And then, health workers need to change their attitudes. We need to see pregnant women as our sisters, as our mothers because it could be you.“ (NAN)[eap_ad_3]
