AFTER reviewing the level of maternal health in Guyana and the number of problems which the sector has faced, Public Health Minister Dr George Norton pledged to place more emphasis on achieving significant improvements in the public health sector this year.Making institutions baby-friendly and training more midwives and other health professionals are aspects of a new outlook for maternal health, given the cases of maternal and infant mortality that were recorded last year.

Minister Norton disclosed that “quite a lot of work has to be done as it relates to maternal and child health”. He stressed that the main objectives of the maternal and child health/expanded programme on immunisation are to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity; reduce childhood mortality and morbidity; prevent vaccine preventable diseases; provide updated training for health workers on making pregnancy safer; reduce mother-to-child transmission in order to promote survival of the child; and improve the quality of care by implementing new measures to assess the services.

With rising concerns relating to maternal mortality, the minister stands committed towards enhancing the sector and facilities. He declared that the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) Maternity Ward Expansion Project should be completed in April, so the space issue at the hospital would be somewhat mitigated.

Moreover, the Leonora Hospital maternity section has also figuratively been up and running, and therefore overcrowding should be a thing of the past.

The minister disclosed that a grossly unacceptable number of babies died in the public health system last year, and it is his view that as facilities at the healthcare institutions develop, attention must also be paid to the welfare of mothers, “because a lot of babies die from sepsis.” He explained that the development of the hospitals will be beneficial to the Public Health Ministry.

The Ministry is looking to boost maternity leave by six months, given that a mother must breast feed their infant for at least that period of time. And fathers could also look forward to paternal leave in the near future, he disclosed.

Emphasis will be placed also on getting fathers in delivery rooms so they can experience the actual birthing process.

By Navendra Seoraj