Improving maternal care

AT the end of last year, like many others, reports of several maternal deaths concerned me. In October, two deaths were recorded in quick succession; that occurrence repeated itself in November. So, naturally, concerns were rampant. Even Guyana’s Head of State, Dr. Irfaan Ali, and Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, acknowledged that maternal deaths are a problem in Guyana.

I wanted to understand what was being done, if anything at all, to stop pregnant women from dying. In a recent piece published by the News Room, the efforts being made were published.

One noteworthy focus for me is improving access to healthcare services in Guyana’s hinterland regions. Distant, sometimes sparsely-populated communities mean that pregnant women, like other patients, must travel great distances to access services at a regional hospital. When more specialised services are required, like life-saving operations, the capability may only exist in Georgetown; that means travelling even farther distances to get care.

In a bid to mitigate this challenge, facilities called maternal waiting homes are being constructed in hinterland regions. With these facilities, women who expect to give birth soon could stay in the facility located near a hospital. This allows the woman to readily access medical care once she goes into labour, allowing qualified personnel to manage the birthing process. Because the mother is readily transferred to a hospital, healthcare workers would be better able to treat her if any health complications develop.

The second noteworthy focus, I believe, is assessing the system for gaps and shortcomings in healthcare delivery. I’ve seen the argument made that hundreds of babies are delivered safely, and the mothers remain unharmed, so the few maternal deaths (17 were recorded last year) do not reflect the actual state of maternal care in Guyana. I don’t believe that is a fair argument, especially if these deaths can be outright prevented. And one way, I believe, of reducing maternal deaths is by finding ways to improve the healthcare sector and, more specifically, maternal care.

According to the Health Minister, teams from the United Kingdom and Canada are expected in Guyana to assess the country’s maternal care. If they find gaps and/or shortcomings in healthcare delivery, their recommendations are expected to be acted upon.

Finally, it would be remiss of me to ignore the forthcoming women’s and children’s hospital that promises specialised services. Like the construction of more waiting homes, I think the establishment of this facility provides more pregnant women with the opportunity to access much-needed services. And once they can access those services, I think maternal care can be improved.

In 2000, based on information from the World Bank, Guyana’s maternal mortality ratio stood at 231 deaths per 100,000 live births. In 2005, that number was 223 deaths per 100,000 live births. In 2010, it dropped to 179 deaths per 100,000 live births.

The last available data from the World Bank is for 2017 and according to the data presented by the bank, there were 169 deaths per 100,000 live births. During a recent News Room interview, the CMO said that number, at the end of 2022, dropped to 112 deaths per 100,000 live births.

The amount of maternal deaths in Guyana has been decreasing. But I don’t think anyone would disagree that lowering those numbers should be a priority.

Investing in better infrastructure across the country improves people’s access to care. Investing in trained healthcare professionals allows people to access better, more responsive care. And finally, investing in engaging people on what they should be doing better- in this case, getting more antenatal care- should enable people to use the services available to them.

If you would like to discuss this column or any of my previous writings, please feel free to contact me via email: vish14ragobeer@gmail.com

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