29 expectant mothers died during child birth in first six months of 2023

Twenty-nine expectant mothers in the Central Region died during childbirth from January to June this year.

The deaths were mostly caused, among others, by excessive bleeding after birth (Postpartum haemorrhage) and high blood pressure disorders during pregnancy, and Sepsis.

Dr Agnes Achiamaa Anane, the Deputy Director of Clinical Care at the Central Regional Health Directorate, gave the hint when presenting the health situation of the Region at a Regional Coordinating Council (CRCC) meeting in Cape Coast.

For the whole of 2022, she said 69 mothers died while 79 and 75 died in 2021 and 2020 respectively.

She, therefore, called for the establishment of a regional blood bank to take care of critical situations when they came up to help reduce the figure further.

“The Cape Coast Teaching Hospital has a blood bank but we all know it is not working as it should and so if you could help to renovate it to a befitting standard, we will be glad,” she said.

Dr. Anane also indicated that children who died at birth (institutional stillbirth) stood at the ratio of 11.1 in 2022 which was an improvement from the 12.7 and 13.3 recorded in 2021 and 2020 respectively.

In the same vein, she said the rate of deaths of newborn babies stood at 4.8 in 2022, as against the 6.9 seen in 2021 and 6.6 per 100,000 live births in 2020.

She noted that these deaths were mostly caused by jaundice in the babies, and therefore, urged mothers to take their babies to the nearest health center once they noticed abnormal changes in them.

On the incidence of teen pregnancy in the Region, she indicated that it continued in a downward trajectory in 2022 with a record of 9,748 cases.

The figure is 539 shy of the 10,287 cases recorded in 2021, making it the fifth consecutive reduction in five years.

In 2018, the region had 11,350 incidents on record but the figure plummeted to 10,914 in 2019 before dropping further to 10,300 in 2020.

Dr Anane further told the council that the Gomoa Central District recorded the highest number of cases while Effutu recorded the lowest.

She explained that the 9,748 teen expectant mothers were among 86,106 people who reported for Antenatal Care in 2022.

In spite of the improvement, she urged traditional leaders, district assemblies, the Ghana Education Service, the Ghana Health Service, and all other relevant stakeholders to help champion further reductions in the scourge.

Mrs Justina Marigold Assan, the Central Regional Minister, who considered the incidence of teenage pregnancy still very high, urged the assemblies to design strategic ways to curb it completely.

“The story is not too good. Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) should push for programmes with your gender departments.

“Organise girl programmes which will champion the cause of bringing teenage pregnancy down drastically because it is becoming scary. Let's do all we can to keep our girls in school,” she said.

Mrs Assan also urged stakeholders to target boys in the educational campaign because many of them were impregnating their mates.