The recent admonition to pregnant women to choose the hospital rather than the church for the delivery of their babes should not be dismissed with a wave of the hand as the most religious ones among them would want to do.
Giving the warning, the Head of Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Prof.
Orji Ernest, said the practice could lead to serious complications such as obstetric fistula and death from excessive bleeding.
He noted that some pregnant women would register for ante-natal in the hospital to enable them qualify for maternity leave only to end up delivering in the church for fear of Caesarian Section (CS).
Prof. Ernest further advised pregnant women to register for their ante-natal early so that the growth of the babies and personal health conditions of the mothers could be monitored by trained nurses, midwives and other medical personnel.
In the same vein, the Country Project Manager, Fistula Care Plus Project, Chief Iyeme Efe, asked pregnant women to differentiate between delivery and deliverance.
“Let there be separation of labour; let churches do the deliverance (spiritual) and allow hospitals to do the delivery (medical)”, he stressed.
Delivery in wrong places is commonplace in this country.
Besides those who settle for the church to deliver their babies in the belief that there is a guarantee of safe delivery, many patronise local birth attendants whose bills are affordable for them to settle.
In most cases, things do not go as anticipated.
In the event of any complications, the victims are either abandoned to their own devices or are rushed to health centres when it is too late.
It is this mentality that is largely responsible for the high maternal mortality rate in the country.
According to available statistics, Nigeria loses an average of 40,000 women annually to maternal health challenges.
The breakdown shows on the average that 3,333 women die every month, 769 die every week, 109 die every day and five die every hour, leaving between 800,000 and 1.2m others with permanent disabilities.
Experts have also argued that some of the pregnancies are unwanted.
In some cultural environments, women are unable to use modern contraceptives because of non-availability and inaccessibility, and the situation is worsened by a male dominated society not approving legal abortion services because of restrictive abortion laws and sheer hypocrisy.
Even when the pregnancy is intended and wanted, health facilities across the country are mal-distributed, poorly equipped and understaffed to take care of them.
Eventually in the process of delivery, thousands die which in itself is a tragedy as most of the deaths are avoidable.
Maternal mortality rate in Nigeria has remained high and worrisome in the face of the advancement of modern medical science which those charged with the country’s health management have failed to tap into owing to poor policy programme and implementation across the board.
Also, the healthcare policy of the government at all levels is not citizen-friendly and does not favour the average Nigerian woman who depends on the public hospitals and clinics to access medicare.
But owing to congestion in public healthcare destinations, deplorable service delivery and high charges, many have surrendered their fate to patent medicine dealers, hospital/clinic attendants masquerading as midwives in their neighbourhoods as well as quack healthcare givers.
However, the spiritual dimension to maternal mortality rate needs to be addressed with all the seriousness it deserves.
Government at all levels and other relevant stakeholders should sensitise pregnant women to the imperative of embracing the right practice of not only attending regular ante-natal regime but also delivering their babies in hospitals.
Religious leaders especially should be enjoined to desist from putting the lives of their pregnant members at risk by usurping the responsibility of medical workers in this regard.
Many women have thrown their lives away while exercising their faith on the orders of their pastors for natural delivery when it is obvious that a caesarian section would be the best option.
Pregnant women should be reassured that when going under the knife becomes necessary as an option, they should exercise their faith by confessing that both mother and child will come out of the theatre alive.
There are even a few instances where pregnant women went under the knife in defiance of their pastors’ warnings that they would lose their lives and they eventually came out alive. Those ones should be emulated.
