Maternal mortality which includes deaths related to pregnancy, delivery, and 42 days after delivery is an issue of concern to be addressed this day. From the 2017 Maternal Health Survey, 21.6% of births in the region are not assisted by skilled providers. They are rather assisted by persons like TBAs, relatives or friends and to some extend no one”.
“Again, 22.6% of births in the region are delivered outside a health facility, that is, 1 in 5 births occur outside health facilities” these are words of Mr. Kwasi Obeng, Acting Eastern Regional Population Officer as part of World Population Day held over the weekend in Koforidua by the National Population Council Secretariat.
He has however attributed the current figures to the proximity of health facilities, transportation problems, financial challenges, and babies coming earlier than expected.
On the issue of family planning, Mr. Kwasi Obeng emphasized that 35.1% of married women in the region want to space childbearing but are not using any method to meet their desire, and therefore calls for comprehensive education on family planning and service provision to meet their demands.
Mrs. Ellen D. Asare from the Regional Health Directorate also advised women to seek the directions of health professionals in selecting a family planning method to make well-informed decisions on which one to choose.
She insisted there is nothing wrong for parents to assist their female teenage girls to do family planning if only it is done by skilled professionals as it is not against the law.
She was of the view most young girls nowadays are sexually active, therefore the need to protect them from unwanted pregnancies that could negatively affect their education.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Kwabena Nyarko Abronoma
