Queen mothers promote safe motherhood and child health

Queen mothers in Upper-Manya Krobo District have initiated a programme to educate pregnant women on the need to attend ante-natal clinic and the importance of breastfeeding to help reduce maternal mortality and improve child health in the area.

The Queen mothers engaged pregnant women in their catchment areas and educated them to augment the role of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), which also use similar approaches to encourage ante-natal attendance and institutional delivery.

It would be recalled that The Ghana News Agency (GNA) Media Auditing and Tracking of Development Project team being sponsored by STAR -Ghana published an article about the low attendance of ante-natal clinics by pregnant women in the area due to myths and stereotypes some few months ago.

Some of the myths were that, women who delivered at health facilities were not strong and attending ante-natal clinics exposes a pregnant woman to spiritual attacks.

As such, most of the pregnant women in the area attended prayer camps and herbal centres for their maternal care needs.

Following the publication, some Queen mothers in the area decided to step up their role by engaging pregnant women to demystify the age-long myths and stereotypes to improve maternal health in the area.

Manye Adwo Gladys, one of the Queen mothers in Asesewa told the GNA that, with their traditional background, pregnant women in the area have confidence in them and therefore listens to them.

Maku Tetteh, a beneficiary of the Queen mothers programme in an interview with GNA, said, she has three children and the first two were delivered at home with several complications but with the third one, she heeded the advice from the Queen mothers and attended ante-natal clinic and delivered at the health facility.

She said the problems she encountered during her previous pregnancies, which she was told were spiritual, were identified and managed at the clinic and she delivered safely without the usual complications.

Miss Maku said she also breastfed the last baby extensively because of the advice from both the clinic and the Queen mothers and her baby is healthier, compared to the other two, who were given water and porridge at very early stages.