First Lady urges women to adopt safe motherhood practices

The First Lady, Dr Ernestina Naadu Mills, has called on mothers to adopt safe motherhood practices, to reduce anaemia among mothers and infants and to reduce maternal and infant mortality.

She explained that efforts of Government to ensure a better nation would come to naught if it continued to lose mothers and infants to preventable situations, or robbed mothers of the needed health to carry out their economic, social and political activities.

First Lady Mills, gave the advice on Wednesday when she witnessed the presentation of assorted items, estimated Ghc7,000 by the Ghana Zonta Anaemia Prevention Programme, to the Prampram Health Facility at Prampram in the Dangme West District of the Greater Accra Region.

The items procured with the support of the First Lady and a number of companies, included food items, birth kits, plastic containers (Polytanks), feeding bottles medicines, soap and mosquitoes nets among other things.

Anaemia and infant and maternal mortality have been identified as prevalent in the area, and the donation is part of the annual community service of the Zonta Club, an international club dedicated to philanthropic service.

Dr Naadu Mills commended the Zonta women for providing the items to help improve upon health in the area.

She asked mothers to eat well-balanced diets, keep their environments clean, observe proper hygiene and ensure that they and their children wash their hands with soap whenever necessary.

Dr Mills appealed to mothers to sleep under mosquito nets to prevent malaria and deworm periodically.

Madam Norkar Duah, the Project Co-ordinator, urged expectant mothers to take their antenatal and post-antenatal care very serious.

She announced that the Ghana Zonta Anaemia Prevention Programme would add two more consulting rooms to the only one for pregnant women at the facility.

Madam Duah said the Programme would also as from this year provide 3000 birth kits to the facility on an annual basis.

Dr Florence Nyantakyi, the Medical Officer in Charge of the Facility, thanked members of the club for their kind gesture.

The Club after the ceremony announced that it was adopting a set of twin boys: Akwetey and Akuetteh, who lost their mother at birth.

The decision was taken after their father absconded, and the grandmother, who was taking care of them also passed away leaving them in the care of their grandaunt.**