Childbirth is joyful news to all parents in general but how far does this joy last? In Ghana our Primary Care system does not provide for free maternity care for the poor who need the services most. Most parents prepare for their childbirth in style, which is what every woman would wish for. Sadly, one only has to read our newspapers and the story unfolds. There are many mothers in hospitals currently unable to go home because of unpaid maternity bills. Mothers? inability to pay for their hospital bills even adds more to the bill and even being labelled or stigmatised because of their poverty.
On the other hand, in the well-developed countries with adequate welfare system mothers are helped right from the onset of their pregnancy till birth and even beyond. Why are there such inequalities when it comes to maternity care? Ghana and other underdeveloped countries need such help more than anything does. Some poor mothers are often abandon by their partners. The irony is that not only does the birth of their child bring an added stress but also the emotional abuse and domestic violence some women go through with.
In addition to these problems, mothers would are also thinking of having to feed their children, pay rent and the last thing on poor new mother?s mind to pay bills. Our Government should address this health inequality as a priority when it comes to planning for our National Primary Health Care System.
Perhaps Professor Akosa and the Minister for Health should be flagging this issue of concerns to the Government.
Compared to what new mothers enjoy in the developed countries African mothers have a raw deal. It could be argued that motherhood is like a punishment in the underdeveloped countries rather than the joy it brings. Any one in the medical profession whose responsibility are with children and families in the U.K would feel rather sorry for mothers in Africa experiencing raw deal during their most vulnerable stage in their lives.
Who helps our mothers?
Is the Government seeing this as an area of grave concerns? It is obvious that women are at their very lowest state, physically and psychologically after childbirth anyway. Yet some have to think of where the family next meal is coming from? We read in our newspapers that the hospital authorities in Ghana detain mothers for failing to pay their hospital bills. Is this what we call ?equity of care?? Does the African Union have any policy on this particular issue as our European counterparts with their excellent welfare system for all their citizens?
Are there been any quarterly monitoring, reviews and evaluations of the maternity delivery of services by the Government at all? Or perhaps any reviews in partnership with parents, the maternity management as to how this critical situation could be tackled in the most effective and efficient way.
Since the 1960?s Ghana Maternity Care delivery of services has gone down hill. It is about time that, the Ghana Government makes maternity care adequately acceptable for vulnerable mothers in Ghana and Africa as a whole. Furthermore the health of the population is crucial to the economic development of any country hence the significance of this article.
The introduction of the NHIS has come too late however would help to start a sort of free antenatal care or even free maternity care and free health care to all under 18years one hopes.
It is totally wrong to detain such vulnerable mothers when it is clearly obvious that they would not be able to pay their maternity bills. This is exactly how situation in Britain was once upon a time, until the introduction of the National Health Service (NHS) in the 1950?s. Why can?t we emulate the benefits of the NHS has offered Britain?
Some mothers, who go through such hard life, most likely have no good earning husbands to make them feel special for bearing their child. There is no reward for these mothers from the state let alone their husbands. Our system is actually failing these vulnerable mothers. We have no child protection policy or do we, No welfare package for the most vulnerable? It is not surprising that most of such mothers go through postnatal depression but yet again our system has no services to help the postnatal depressed mothers.
Ghanaians in Diaspora are actively helping in certain key areas of concerns, however, the bus stop with the Government. Maybe the Minister of Health could perhaps help us with these grave concerns!
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