Visit clinics and hospitals as soon as you get pregnant-Appah

Nkawie (Ash), Feb. 10, GNA - Mrs Beatrice Appah, Atwima District Director of Health Services, had advised pregnant women to start attending clinics and hospitals as soon as they realised they were pregnant.

She said health centres were could effectively check their health status and that of the unborn baby to ensure that they were healthy and also prescribe drugs that would prevent them from getting anaemic. Speaking to the GNA on the prevention of anaemia among pregnant women in the district on Monday, Mrs Appah said anaemia was one of the dangerous killers of pregnant women and should be avoided.

She said if a woman had anaemia during pregnancy, delivery could be difficult and might result in death while the baby was likely to be small, unhealthy or stillborn.

Mrs Appah said when adolescents become anaemic, they did not grow well and did not perform well in school, while adults were unable to work well due to early tiredness and weakness.

She, therefore, urged mothers to give babies only breast milk from birth up to about six months and asked them to also ensure that their children slept under insecticide treated mosquito nets and treat them promptly for malaria.

Mrs Appah advised that adults must not walk on the bare feet, swim in worm infested water bodies and must also refrain from eating with dirty hands, which could lead to worm infestation that could cause anaemia.