Pregnant women have been advised to register for ante-natal to prevent maternal and child death. A medical personnel, Doctor Chibuike Amadi in an interview with journalists in Port Harcourt.
Dr. Amadi, who stated that maternal health is a period of pregnancy and after birth, advised women to register for ante-natal the moment pregnancy is confirmed to prevent complications. He explained the process of ante-natal checks to include diabetes checks in pregnant women. “Ante-natal is maternal and fetal-based It focuses on both the mother and child.
When a woman registers for antenatal, there are so many things to be done. Her vital signs are always checked on each visit. Some of the vital signs are as important as any other thing the line is also checked where you can check out whether she has any protein, whether the glucose level is rising in case of material diabetes, and whether she is having a certain level of protein in the urine with elevated blood pressure of up to 160 over 110.
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So if it is found out on time, there would be immediate medical attention”, he said. Dr. Amadi enumerated hardship and lack of awareness as the factors discouraging pregnant women from registering for ante-natal. However, he said insurance companies have stepped in to subsidise the drugs to make them affordable.
“The role of insurance is that it will help to cut cost and provide drugs at a very subsidized rate to the people, and at least the insurance scheme will actually be in a way that it reduces the cost of those coming to the hospital. Then, they will have a reason to go to the hospital without getting scared of how much they are going to pay.
That is where the insurance scheme comes in. It comes in to bridge that gap of financial constraint”, he emphasized. The medical personnel noted that an awareness campaign has been carried out to inform and educate rural dwellers on the need to register for ante-natal.
