By Emelia B. Addae
Koforidua, Aug. 19, GNA – A three-day capacity-building training on safe motherhood has equipped several midwives across the Eastern Region with improved obstetric skills to help reduce maternal deaths and complications.
The training, organised under the Government of Ghana-UNFPA Eighth Country Programme (2023-2027), covered key topics, including antepartum haemorrhage, anaemia in pregnancy, postpartum haemorrhage, use of the partograph, breech delivery and shoulder dystocia.
Madam Edith Asiedua, Public Health Nurse at the Eastern Regional Health Directorate, who led the pregnancy, they can plan, manage and refer discussions in Koforidua, urged the participants to apply the knowledge gained in their daily work.
“Once midwives are able to identify danger signs in appropriately. This will significantly reduce maternal morbidity and mortality,” she said.
Mr Michael Agyeman, the Eastern Regional Programme Focal Person, said the GoG-UNFPA initiative sought to achieve three transformative results: zero preventable maternal deaths, zero unmet need for family planning, and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices.
He said the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council was collaborating with the Eastern Regional Health Directorate, with support from UNFPA, to help reduce maternal deaths and stillbirths in the region.
Dr Samuel Attuah, Gynaecologist at the Eastern Regional Hospital, said the training was particularly important for midwives working in hard-to-reach areas far from district and regional hospitals.
“Although they see a lot of low-risk patients, occasionally they may come across a high-risk patient, and they should know what to do in that instance,” he said.
Dr Attuah said the training also covered critical emergencies, including cord prolapse, premature rupture of membranes, hypertension, retained placenta and placental abruption.
He said midwives at the periphery needed to master the initial life-saving interventions required before referring patients to higher-level facilities, to prevent delays in care for mothers and babies.
Ms Patience Mensah, Midwifery Officer at the Eastern Regional Hospital, urged the participants to become “instruments of change” by promoting empathy, dignity and Respectful Maternity Care during labour and delivery.
She encouraged midwives to treat every pregnant woman the same way they would wish to be treated if they were in labour.
“How you talk, how you touch, how you explain procedures, and how you provide privacy for the clients matters,” she said.
Ms Mensah said high-quality and compassionate care helped reassure the public that health facilities were safe places for mothers and babies.
GNA
Edited by D.I. Laary/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Emelia B. Addae
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