A 35-year-old Nurse, Priscilla Baah, has died from postpartum hemorrhage at Newland Hospital, a private health facility in Koforidua.
The nurse who worked at St.Joseph Hospital died Friday, May 28, 2021, few hours after delivering her live baby.
Sources say the Private hospital attempted to manage the condition until it worsened before she was belatedly rushed to the Eastern Regional Hospital.
Postpartum hemorrhage (also called PPH) is when a woman has heavy bleeding after giving birth.
According to health experts, it is a serious but rare condition in developed countries but very common in developing countries like Ghana. It usually happens within 1 day of giving birth, but it can happen up to 12 weeks after having a baby. About 1 in 5 in 100 women who have a baby (1 to 5 percent) have PPH in Western Countries.
However, many pregnant women continue to die due to the negligence and inaction of midwives and doctors.
The death of Priscilla has shocked the Nursing and Midwifery fraternity.
Many Nurses and Midwives in the regional capital have used her photos for their WhatsApp profile expressing their shock at the sudden death of the nurse described by many as affable
According to some Doctors spoken to on the death of Priscilla, the condition could have best managed if she had been referred earlier since the Regional Hospital may have the capacity to better manage the condition.
Priscilla was married. She left behind three children including the new baby
Ghana for the first time recorded its lowest maternal mortality rate in 2018 with 128 deaths per 100,000 live births as against 144 per the same number of deliveries in 2017.
The progress, however, still falls short of global targets for reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (RMNCAH) targets to reach a maternal mortality rate (MMR) of 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030.
The leading cause of maternal deaths in Ghana is Postpartum Hemorrhage (PPH).
The death of Priscilla begs for answers why Ghana’s health system is not safe for pregnant women despite available advanced technology for quality health delivery.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com
