Dr Sylvia Deganus, Head of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Tema General Hospital, has said women should be proactive and observe safe ante-natal practices. By so doing, she said, they would have safe delivery. Dr Deganus said this at a day�s forum on Maternal Health at Tema on the theme: �Maternal Health in Ghana; the case of Tema�.
It was jointly organised by the Christian Council of Ghana, the Ghana Health Service, the Global Call for Action Programme Campaign Coalition, the Ghana Millennium Development Goals Coalition and the Tema Metropolitan Assembly. Dr Deganus expressed worry about the increasing rate of maternal mortality in the metropolis and said out of 7,800 deliveries at the Hospital in 2007, 30 died through complications.
She said last year the figure dropped slightly to 28 maternal deaths out of a total of 8000 births at the facility. Dr Deganus said one out of every six new babies born at the hospital was through caesarean operation. She attributed maternal mortality in the Metropolis to excessive bleeding, hypertension, anaemia and ectopic pregnancy.
She said most of the deaths were caused by delay in decision-making, referrals and delays on the part of health personnel at hospitals.
Ignorance on the part of some pregnant women and lack of adequate facilities at the hospitals also other causes of maternal deaths in the metropolis, she said.
Dr Ernestina Mensah Quainoo, Tema Metro Director of Health Services, was of the view that early ante-natal care for expectant mothers was �sine qua non� to safe delivery. Hajia Hajara Ali, Member of the Council of State, said in spite of operational challenges and hazards in the health sector, health workers were duty bound to provide better services.
Reverend Albert Kwabi, Director of the Millennium Development Goals and Global Call for Action Programme Secretariat of the Christian Council of Ghana, appealed to health providers to do more to ensure that the fifth objective of the Millennium Development Goals, that is, the reduction of maternal deaths by 75 per cent in the country would be feasible by the year 2015.
Mrs Peace Delali Nyasor a Senior Nursing Officer, in a presentation, said one of the major effects of maternal mortality was the loss of human resource to the family and the nation. She stressed the need for total community involvement to address maternal mortality problems in the metropolis and the country at large.
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