Pre-eclampsia is the most common of the serious complications of pregnancy. It is caused by a defect in the placenta, which joins mother and baby and supplies the baby with nutrients and oxygen from the mother's blood. Pre-eclampsia is symptom-less in the early stages and is detectable only by regular antenatal checks on the mother's blood pressure and urine.
Medical attention was sought when it became very late for obvious reasons bordering on poverty, low level of education and attitude to issues of maternal and child health especially in a rural setting. The death of the woman and subsequently her unborn child is one story that has become a common feature of the Nigerian health situation for some time now. Year in year out, the statistics keeps coming and reminding us of the grim nature of the problem which appears to be abetting at a low pace in some areas while alarmingly increasing in some others.Over time, Nigerian government and its health authorities have vowed to reduce drastically the high incidence of morbidity especially in pregnant women and infants.
And Nigeria being the most populous country in the continent presents more of these deaths.For instance, maternal mortality ratio in the country in 1999 and 2003 stood at 704 deaths for every 100,000 live births and 800 deaths for every 100,000 live births respectively. Infant mortality rate was reportedly 90 for every 1,000 births in 2003. The death of children under five years of age rose from 168 for every 1,000 births in 1999 to 201 for every 1,000 live births in 2003.The grim picture of infant mortality is higher in the troubled oil bearing region of South-South and the three geo-political zones in the north. The reasons for this are largely due to high level of illiteracy of women in these areas and unavailability of basic health facilities and skilled health officials that attend to these women especially during child delivery.
In most cases, these women deliver their babies at home at the mercy of the local unskilled birth attendants.The situation in the South-West and South-East, which recorded low number, was traceable to the fact that more women here attend schools and as such are well informed about caring for their health and that of their unborn children. The case of the South-South is not helped by the upheavals and restiveness in the region occasioned by the festering militancy. The activities of the militants have invariably led to wanton destruction of health facilities which has made it virtually difficult and sometimes impossible for families to seek urgent medical attention. The hostilities in the region have driven away health workers and sort of put a stop to any health intervention programme either by Nigerians or donor agencies.
Presently, Nigeria is the second largest contributor to maternal mortality rate globally. About 52,900 Nigerian women die annually due to pregnancy related causes.Over one million children under five years of age will die this year. Daily, 145 women and 2,300 under–five children die, about 30 per cent being new born. Nigeria bears 13.5 per cent of the global burden of HIV in pregnant women yet access to antiretroviral drug is still very low.Causes of maternal deaths include hemorrhage (23%), Infection (17%), Toxemia/Eclampsia (11%), Unsafe abortion (11%), Obstructed Labour (11%), Malaria (11%), Anemia (11%) and others (5%).This is the time our various tiers of government should act in concert to stop this carnage on women and children. The resources to achieve this are available.
- an extract from a recently published article (credits as above)
