Bawku hospital records 20 maternal deaths in two years

The Bawku Presbyterian hospital in the Upper East Region has recorded 20 maternal deaths in the past two years.

Statistics from the maternity department of the hospital show that six mothers died in 2014 while ten mothers lost their lives and babies in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

The deaths were the highest figure of maternal deaths in the hospital in recent times.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bawku, Dr Clement Opong, the Medical Director of the hospital attributed the cause of the maternal mortality to poor or non patronage of antenatal care during pregnancy and unsafe abortion.

He urged pregnant women to seek the right medical care and avoid consulting quack doctors as that was dangerous to their health.

He asked mothers to seek early health care when in labour and avoid delay as that had over the years been a major cause of maternal mortality in the area.

“Pregnant women at antenatal services are advised on how to take care of themselves, best foods to eat, exercises, and good hygiene. They are also monitored and treated of any diseases and infections they might get and with all this, unsafe abortions and maternal mortality would be eradicated from the communities”, he said.

However, the hospital witnessed a high number of deliveries where a total number of 2,717 mothers were delivered of 2,744 babies in 2016 as against 2,654 deliveries in 2014 and 2,601 deliveries in 2015.

Out of the 2,744 babies born last year, 1,444 were male while 1,300 were females.

Dr Opong called on the community and other social agents to embark on reproductive health education to protect the reproductive rights of young girls in the area as child-marriage had become rampant and needed urgent attention.

Madam Alima Seidu, Deputy Director of Nursing Services in charge of the maternity ward said the ward was under staffed and had contributed to poor service delivery in the area.

Madam Seidu said the number of midwives at the department was too low and unable to meet the services demanded by the clients and had become a worry to both the service provider and the clients.

She called on government, philanthropist and nongovernmental organizations to help the maternity ward meet its responsibilities.