Clinic offers quick service to pregnant women and husbands

Tamale Feb. 12, GNA - Pregnant women whose husbands accompany them to antenatal at the Nyohini Clinic, in the Sagnerigu district of the Northern Region are given priority service over women whose husbands refused to do same.Personnel of the health facility said the move was to motivate and encourage other women to emulate the act by also convincing their husbands to accompany them.Madam Rose Akanko, a nurse at the Nyohini clinic explained to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview on Wednesday in Tamale that the involvement of men in maternal issues was one of the surest ways of promoting safe motherhood and reducing incidence of high maternal mortality in the region.Madam Akanko said the personnel used the opportunity to constantly educate the men on their wives' conditions and the baby’s status, including how to cater for a pregnant wife, and what to do at every stage of the pregnancy.Mr Suleman Adams, a leading Member of the Maternal Male Champions, a group of husbands, explained that due to the periodic community durbars instituted in communities including Kpene, with the support of Northern Sector Action on Awareness (NORSAAC), to educate both women and men in the communities, many husbands had appreciated the need to join their expectant wives to antenatal care.Mr Suleman gave the assurance that the communities were ready to collaborate with the health sector and non-governmental organisations especially NORSAAC to help to reduce maternal mortality.Madam Asana Iddrisu, NORSAAC Field Officer for Sagnerigu district said the Star Ghana initiative called, “Live Births: Smiling Mothers Project,” being implemented by her outfit had formed community health teams, and separate women and men support groups in about seven communities, who had been trained to offer assistance and guidance to new mothers on safe delivery.“We have empowered these groups because they play a major role in ensuring increase facility based delivery and post-natal services in communities.Our support has also strengthened community structures to improve maternal health outcomes and sustained partnerships between the District Assembly, Ghana Health Service and Community Health Teams,” she said.GNA Read Full Story