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Dr. Afayo Victor making a presentation in the recent FIGO conference in South Africa By Godwin Abedican Arua city A health specialist in West Nile is calling upon men to offer support to their spouses during pregnancy and antenatal to curb deaths related to pr
Dr. Afayo Victor making a presentation in the recent FIGO conference in South Africa
By Godwin Abedican
Arua city
A health specialist in West Nile is calling upon men to offer support to their spouses during pregnancy and antenatal to curb deaths related to pregnancy and post birth effects that occur due to poor antenatal attendance and care.
Dr. Afoyo Victor, the coordinator for Arua Local Maternity and Newborn System (LMNS) for west Nile says given the high burden of post birth deaths among mothers it is important to have men on board so that they know their roles and understand the need for them to offer the necessary support expectant mothers or their spouses need.
“We know the deaths of these mothers and babies most times start from their homes. Especially the home care, the types of activities these women are doing. The food that they are given, is it the balanced diet? The way we nourish them, those contribute. How much support does the husband give? How much support do the family members give to this mother? The target is that at the end of the day, we want to celebrate a live mother and live baby,” Dr. Afayo said in an interview with Radio Pacis.
Insufficient or late antenatal care (ANC) prevents the early detection and management of severe complications, directly contributing to high maternal and perinatal mortality rates.
Dr. Afoyo has therefore called on the public to ensure pregnancies are planned for to avoid maternal and infant mortalities.
“My appeal to the people is to also join hands with the rest of the world and ensure that our mothers do not die. That therefore encourages us to put a lot of efforts on antenatal care, early antenatal care and pre conception care.”
“That means, people must get babies by choice. It should not be a forceful one it should not be unwanted. All these pregnancies must be wanted and must have very good outcomes. A live baby and a live mother is our priority and it will be a source of or joy.” he added.
Uganda has made substantial progress towards the reduction of maternal mortality ratio from 336/100,000 live births in 2016 to 189 per 100,000 live births by 2022 according to Uganda Demographic and Health Survey.