Did you know that the concept of safe motherhood not only includes physical health but also encompasses social, emotional, and cultural factors?

Did you also know that approximately 1 in 5 women experience a mental health condition during pregnancy or in the first year after childbirth, according to statistics from the World Health Organization?

We are putting out a poignant reminder of the critical importance of ensuring maternal health and well-being. Safe motherhood underscores the need for accessible, equitable, and quality maternal healthcare services.

Motherhood should ideally be a time of joy and fulfilment for the expecting mother, her family and the community, but for many women, it can be fraught with challenges and risks. From pregnancy complications to postpartum depression, the journey of motherhood can impact both the physical and mental health of women.

Globally, approximately 800 women die every day due to preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. This stark reality highlights the urgent need to prioritize maternal health initiatives, improve healthcare infrastructure, and enhance education around prenatal care.

There are 6 basic pillars of safe motherhood:

Family planning: Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role in family planning decisions include marital situation, career or work considerations, and financial situation. If sexually active, family planning may involve the use of contraception (birth control) and other techniques to control the timing of reproduction. Visit any good healthcare centre for more information.

Antenatal care: Prenatal care, also known as antenatal care, is a type of preventive healthcare. It is provided in the form of medical checkups, consisting of recommendations on managing a healthy lifestyle and the provision of medical information such as maternal physiological changes in pregnancy, biological changes, and prenatal nutrition like prenatal vitamins, which prevents potential health problems throughout the course of the pregnancy and promotes the mother and child's health.

Obstetric care: Obstetrics is the area of medicine that specializes in the care of women during pregnancy and childbirth. If you are expecting a baby, it is an important element of your healthcare to ensure you and your baby stay as healthy as possible during pregnancy and beyond. It is paramount to have a good obstetrician before and after childbirth.

Postnatal care: Aside from taking care of your baby, core care should also be provided to you as a new mum. This includes checking for tears, bleeding, and blood clots; vital signs checks, providing micronutrient supplementation (vitamin A, iron, folic acid, etc.) and mental health support. Maternal mental health is not just an individual concern but has far-reaching implications for the child's emotional, cognitive, and social development. Research has established the interplay between a mother's mental well-being and her ability to provide responsive caregiving.

Post-abortion care: The post-abortion period is the third and final part of the continuum of care for abortion. Post-abortion care includes any or all of the following, as needed or desired: optional follow-up check-up, management of residual side effects or complications, and contraception services.

Control of STI/HIV/AIDS: Taking HIV (or others) medicine and maintaining an undetectable viral load during pregnancy, labour and delivery reduces the chances of transmission through breast/chestfeeding to less than 1%. If your partner has HIV, encourage your partner to get and stay on treatment.

Maternal Health Campaign, This May!

Investing in maternal health not only benefits individual women but also contributes to healthier families, stronger communities, and sustainable development. We are aware of this fact and continue to drive initiatives targeted at supporting women through their perinatal period.

In light of this, on May 25, 2024, Gynix Afrika offers a day-free comprehensive antenatal care outreach and sensitization to pregnant women in Ogo Oluwa LGA in Ogbomosho, Oyo state, Nigeria.

This programme seeks to stall high maternal mortality and low antenatal care uptake through education, medical services and dispelling myths.

One of the objectives of this outreach is to screen at least 200 pregnant women on that day so as to detect and refer any pregnancy-related risks and complications and to also dispense routine drugs, e.g. folic acid, ferrous sulphate etc., to participants at the outreach

Would you love to contribute to safe motherhood in Nigeria? Kindly make a voluntary donation by clicking the donate button on our website. For more questions, clarifications or sponsorship, please send an email to hello@gynixafrika.com or call us at: (+234) 803 351 7346.

Together, we can collaborate towards a world where motherhood is truly safe and celebrated.