AS part of its efforts to achieve zero maternal deaths across the country, the Ministry of Health took another step on Tuesday by commissioning a maternal waiting home at Mabaruma, Region One.
The newly-constructed building, which cost some $46 million, will cater to expectant mothers in far-flung, remote, and riverine areas to ensure a safe delivery.
During the commissioning ceremony, Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony said that the new home will address several issues in relation to maternal and post-natal deaths, providing mothers from those areas with the care and support they need prior to and in some cases immediately after birth.

A common problem, he said, is expectant mothers not visiting the clinic; this could cause complications prior to the birth of their children.
Dr. Anthony related: “That is something that we are endeavouring to correct, and with the network of facilities, we want to ensure that we continue to provide good quality maternal care. So, I want to appeal to everyone, please utilise the services we are offering.”

Utilising these services could minimise the complications that may arise during pregnancy, the Health Minister said.
He related that they’d piloted the waiting home project before, and recognised that it is a useful tool.

The Health Minister said: “Because, instead of when people are going into labour they’re trying to hustle and get into the hospital, and they are 50 miles away more than likely before they get to the hospital, they will deliver along the way.”
With the building of these homes, mothers, before birth, could visit, stay, and when they go into labour, will be taken seamlessly to the hospital. Upon delivery and they are taken care of, they will return to the waiting home before returning to their communities.

“We have seen how this has worked, and this also has helped us to reduce maternal mortality,” he said.
Dr. Anthony said: “The investments that we make many times in health, they are very strategic investments.”

He added that this reflects the very nature of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, which is a pro-people government with policies aimed at improving the lives of the people of the country.
Regional Health Officer Dr. Steven Cheefoon, during the commissioning ceremony, provided further details, noting that mothers from far-flung areas will be brought out to the Home at the 34-week stage of their pregnancy, and by 36 to 40 weeks, they will be able to deliver in a safe hospital environment, as recommended by international standards.

It was noted that this is the eighth such maternal waiting home in the country, and the second in Region One