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Tag: expectant

  • Reekado Banks not expectant

    Contrary to reports that Ayoleyi Solomon Hanniel popularly known as Reekado Banks announced that he was an expectant father, the story is now in the reverse.

    On Tuesday, the singer shared a picture with a lady and captioned it, ‘Our baby is coming cc @de_mure’

    However, @de_mure is the artiste’s sister-in-law (his brother’s wife).

    Many had thought that it was a fresh beginning for the artiste who in the last part of 2017, was said to have quit his relationship with his old girlfriend who was reported to be studying in Houston, Texas.

    Reekado Banks who is currently signed to Mavin Records won ‘The Rookie of the Year’ at The Headies 2014, and won the controversial ‘Next Rated Award’ at The Headies 2015.

    His debut studio album, ‘Spotlight’, was released on September 1, 2016 and was number 10 on the Billboard World Album Music Chart.

  • LSACA trains Tbas on Hiv transmission in expectant mothers

    The Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA) has commenced the training of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) in the five divisions of the state in Ikeja.

    Its Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Oluseyi Temowo, said the aim was to sensitise the birth attendants on the 90-90-90 initiative and Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, Service Linkages and Universal Precautions programmes.

    The agency, he said, would boost its implementation strategies to achieve the initiatives’ objectives to ensure that those tested would access anti-retroviral treatment, thereby reducing the exposure to HIV. As a result, he said, the state would reduce and, ultimately, eradicate the disease by 2030.

    The LSACA added that the TBAs and their clients form part of the key target population that are important to HIV response in the state. He urged them to observe the precautions by washing their hands regularly before and after attending to their clients.

    Specifically, Temowo told them to maintain a cleaner environment where they are attending to clients.

    He said the provision of PMTCT services by care providers outside the hospital would assist in the agency in the HIV response, noting that PMTCT occurs during pregnancy, labour or delivery and breastfeeding.

  • Avoid alcohol, expectant mothers told

    Avoid alcohol, expectant mothers told

    Expectant mothers have been advised to stay away from beer and other alcoholic drinks. This is because its potential negative impact on growing foetus can lead to birth defects.

    According to Prof Tola Atinmo, a  nutritionist at the University of Ibadan, it is better for a woman, especially expectant mothers, to abstain  from alcohol before conception, and throughout pregnancy. This, he explained, is because an  embryo’s liver cannot process alcohol like  an adult’s.

    “If a mother to be’s blood alcohol level is over the limit, so is that of her foetus  and a foetus’s liver isn’t prepared (as a mother’s is) to process that much alcohol. The bottom line is that abstinence is best,” said Prof Atinmo.

    He warned that pregnant women who take alcohol risk giving birth to a child with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).  The conditions, which range from mild to severe, include speech and language delays, learning disabilities, abnormal facial features, and small head size, among many other problems.

    Experts say that women with certain risk factors should be  careful about alcohol while pregnant. You probably should not drink, for example, if you have liver disease, a history of addiction, or are on any medications that may conflict with alcohol, such as anti depressants.

    And if you’re concerned that you are drinking too much and feel that you cannot stop during your pregnancy or at any other time, talk with your doctor. He or she can refer you for counseling or treatment, he said.

    There are still many unanswered questions about the risks of drinking moderate amounts of alcohol during pregnancy, including how much it takes to cause birth defects and why some babies seem to be affected and others are not.

    We know that women who drink heavily during pregnancy have an increased risk of having a child with Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Babies with FAS have a constellation of severe lifelong problems: They’re born smaller, often continue to grow poorly, and have physical abnormalities and learning and behavior problems.

    But full-blown FAS are only the extreme end of the spectrum of what can happen when you drink alcohol during pregnancy. A broader category known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) affects many children whose mothers drank various amounts while pregnant. These children don’t have all of the physical features of FAS but do have learning and behavior problems.

    Prof Atinmo said even researchers don’t know enough about the potential effects of drinking alcohol at particular times during  pregnancy to be able to say that any time is really safe. It’s also difficult to predict the impact of drinking on any given pregnancy because some women have higher levels of the enzyme that breaks down alcohol.

    “If a pregnant woman with low levels of this enzyme drinks, her baby may be more susceptible to harm because the alcohol may circulate in her body for a longer period of time,” he added.

    On a general note, Prof Atinmo said a good percentage of women drink beer. However, many do not know their limitations. It is said that about 75 percent of women over estimate the calorie content of beer. They believe it is beer that gave their husbands the abdominal fat ‘beer belly’, not knowing that it is their over-feeding of the man. Nutritionists have maintained that Beer does not contain fat and, in fact, has lesser calories than wine.

    Prof Atinmo said: “A good number of women who take beer also drink it at social event. Some prefer it as a shandy with sweeter drinks like soft drinks or juices. Because of the resultant sweeter taste, they tend to drink more. In a society such as ours, there are various perceptions about the widely consumed white foamy liquid beer. While some of the perception might have dated back decades it doesn’t necessarily make them true. A recent studies from around the world are presenting arguments to counter the perceptions.

    “For instance, to what extent is beer is responsible for the ‘beer belly’ condition in some men? Research has shown that beer alone cannot be responsible for this occurrence. ‘Beer belly’ is caused by too many calories in an individual’s diet (from over-eating, sugary food and beverages etc) and a sedentary lifestyle. More calories are ingested than what is burned. The excess is stored in the body as fat. Fat is stored more in the belly by men, hence the prevalence of ‘beer belly’ in men.”

    He said this explained why women are not associated with the ‘beer belly’; “it is purely a consequence of fat stored. Women sure do consume the alcoholic beverage almost as much as some men. Research and studies have shown that beer is as suitable for women as much as it is for men. Like so many other alcoholic options, beer if consumed responsibly and in moderation, all the health benefits can be gained. Women, who consume beer in moderation, will benefit from the antioxidants  in beer which serves as protection against many forms of cancer,” said Prof Atinmo.

    For new mothers,  research studies by Koletzko and Lehner (2000) have revealed that moderate beer consumption may help in the initiation and success of breastfeeding (Pregnant women are advised to stay away from beer as no safe level has been established for them.) It seems that a component of beer, perhaps a barley polysaccharide, promotes prolactin secretion.

    The authors further suggest that the relaxing effects of alcohol and hop components might also have a beneficial impact on lactogenesis-the onset of milk secretion.

    Beer has also been proven to enhance a healthy hydration process, as 92 percent of beer is water (though you should never substitute beer for water.) beer relieved stress in women. Research has further shown that there is a low risk of kidney stones in beer drinkers. Although it is imperative to take beer in moderation.

    As a rough guide, The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that 60 grams of alcohol per day should be a maximum. For a beer of five percent alcohol by volume, which equates to approximately four percent alcohol by weight, this means 1.5 litres or two bottles. Two to three units for women a day and three to four units for men a day.

    Former Governor of Cross River State Mr. Donald Duke has emphasised that beer plays a significant role in the sustenance of good health and cultural cohesion.

    Duke who, was the chairman of the Third Nigerian Beer Symposium held in Lagos said not only is beer low in carbohydrates, it is as all-natural as orange juice and milk.

    “You see, beer has no need for preservatives because of the alcohol and hops- both of which are natural preservatives. The only processing beer undergoes is the same as with bread-it is cooked and fermented, filtered and packaged,” he said.

    He maintained that it is most astounding that beer has no fat or cholesterol and when taken in moderation, at can tilt high- density lipoprotein levels (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol rations in the right direction.

    “HDL is the good cholesterols that protect your veins while LDL is the bad cholesterols that build up in your veins. Beer actually flushes the system and can boost the HDL by up to four percent with just a single beer a day,” Duke said.

  • Expectant mother, others injured in tanker accident

    Expectant mother, others injured in tanker accident

    Many people including an expectant mother yesterday sustained injuries after a petrol tanker lost control while descending the Otedola Bridge on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

    The accident occurred at about 11am, bringing traffic flow to a halt on the ever busy highway, as well as the parallel into Jubilee Otedola and Omole Phase two estates.

    It was learnt that the tanker laden with diesel, however remained intact. Two commercial buses and several cars were wrecked.

    The injured were taken to various hospitals by emergency workers and others.

    It was learnt that the tanker was trying to negotiate its way on a narrow road left by motorists queuing at a nearby filling station when it lost control.

    Firemen were immediately deployed to prevent an outbreak of fire.

    The Nation gathered that the expectant mother, who was rushed to the State House Clinic in Alausa, was bleeding profusely.

    Although the number of injured persons could not be ascertained, it was gathered that blood stains were still on the ground as of press time.

    Some motorists who were trapped in the gridlock took to social media to express their frustration.

    One Ayotunde Balogun lamented the recurrence of accidents on the bridge, wondering if that portion of the road was jinxed.

    “The latest accident on Otedola Bridge along Ojodu Berger is frightening. It is one accident too many. Is that portion of the road jinxed or what?” he queried.

    Confirming the accident, the Lagos State Fire Service Director, Rasaq Fadipe said the expectant mother was responding to treatment.

    He confirmed there was no fire adding that the tanker was intact but that the cars were damaged.

    Fadipe, however, said he could not give the exact statistics of injured persons, adding that no one died in the accident.

  • Expectant mum suffers womb rupture in police cell

    Expectant mum suffers womb rupture in police cell

    AN expectant mother, Mrs Tosin Taiwo, is battling to save her unborn baby after allegedly suffering a womb rupture following her collapse in police custody on Tuesday.

    Mrs Taiwo who claimed to have bled for two days in police cell, said she was rushed to Randle General Hospital in Surulere, where it took doctors two hours to revive her.

    She said she spent four days in detention at Surulere Police Station and was denied bail by the Investigating Police Officer (IPO). Mrs Louisa Njoku, who claimed to be acting on “orders from above”.

    Mrs Taiwo, who is in hospital at Agbado Ijaiye, a Lagos suburb, said she was arrested last Saturday at Meiran Market over the N4.2million she is owing Ajibola Abudu, a businessman.

    The woman, who is eight-weeks pregnant, said her scan result shows there is a rupture in her womb. She told The Nation yesterday that she suffered breath seizure in detention.

    Mrs Taiwo said: “I was locked up for four days without bail. I bled on Saturday and Sunday, I also told the policemen that I was not feeling well but nothing was done. I was taken to Randle General Hospital but I left there on Tuesday evening. I am now at a family hospital in my area where I have done scan and they said there is a rupture somewhere in my womb.

    “It must have been caused by my inability to breathe while inside the cell. I could not cope there, I suffered breath seizure. The toilet was dirty and the stench in the cell was unbearable. It was choking. There was even no water to bath or anything. The experience was horrible.”

    She said she borrowed money from the complainant to do business last May but was duped, adding that he rebuffed all her entreaties for a payment plan.

    Abudu, she claimed, insisted that she should pay the money once.

    Her husband Olusola Taiwo said the IPO disobeyed the order of Area C Commander Tajudeen Bakare, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), to release her.

    He said: “She refused to release and did not charge her to court. I told the IPO that my wife was not feeling well but she refused to listen.

    “The IPO said she will not grant her bail due to instruction from above. I believe the complainant gave the instruction. That is why he brought the case to Surulere Police Station where he knows officers.

    “One of the officers, who arrested her at Meiran, boasted that she would rot in jail.

    “He brought police to arrest her on Saturday and detained her at Surulere Police Station. All efforts to secure her bail proved abortive as the IPO told us there was instruction from above not to grant her bail.”

    Taiwo said after he failed to secure his wife’s bail on Sunday and Monday, he went to see Bakare, who called the parties and pleaded with Abudu to accept the payment plan.

    “But the complainant refused insisting on complete payment, otherwise, my wife should be charged to court. When the Area Commander saw that he was not cooperating, he ordered the IPO to release my wife since the case was a civil matter, but his directive was not followed by the IPO who restated there was an ‘order from above’ to detain her.

    “Because of our insistence, the IPO said she would be charged to court on Tuesday morning. We went to the station early in the morning and waited for that to happen. It was in the course of waiting that my wife fainted.

    “We rushed her to Randle General Hospital with the IPO in the vehicle and it took about two hours before she was revived. I was called to come to the station and sign for her bail while she was still at the hospital,” he said.

  • Expectant mother arraigned for alleged burglary

    A 25-year-old pregnant woman, Wunmi Malik, has  been arraigned before an Ogba Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Ikeja, for allegedly breaking into a house.

    Malik, who was accused of unlawfully entering the residence of one Mrs. Florence Adeto Olatosi and carting away jewellery worth N30,000, is facing a two-count charge bordering on burglary and stealing.

    The prosecutor, Inspector Uche Simon, told the court that the accused, who lives in Ogun State, had no relationship with the complainant and committed the offence on September 14, 2015, at 12:45pm at No. 4, Olagoke Street, Oke-Oba, Agege, Lagos.

    He added that the offence was contrary to and punishable under Sections 305(a) and 285 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.

    The accused pleaded not guilty to both charges and trial magistrate, Chief Mrs Y.R. Pinero granted her bail in the sum of N20,000 and one responsible surety in the like sum.

    The matter was adjourned to October 12.

     

     

  • HURIWA: don’t drop expectant women from NYSC

    Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), an NGO, has urged the Federal Government not to stop expectant women and nursing mothers from participating in National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

    The HURIWA National Coordinator, Mr Emmanuel Onwubiko, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja that stopping them from taking part in the programme would be discriminatory.

    He said the action would deny them the opportunity of benefiting from the objectives of the scheme.

    According to Onwubiko, the move could jeopardise harmony in some families as wives, who were due for service, could deny their husbands intimate relationship for fear of being stopped from national service.

    He said the move also contravened Section 42 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

    Onwubiko said the Constitution was clear that “government policy cannot be couched and implemented to primarily discriminate against any group of citizens under any guise.”

    Also speaking, Mr Patrick Odey, an activist, told NAN that it would not be proper to deny women the right to national service on account of pregnancy or nursing of babies.

    He said the move negates the aim of NYSC, which includes encouraging relationship among Nigerian youths.

  • Confession of expectant mothers: The fears that force us to patronise traditional birth attendants

    Confession of expectant mothers: The fears that force us to patronise traditional birth attendants

    THE worshipping community of St. Lawrence Catholic Church along LASU Expressway, a suburb of Lagos State, was thrown into mourning recently when Bukola, a pregnant member of the church, suddenly passed away. She had gone to church and taken active part in the celebration a day before she passed away. Her pregnancy was said to be seven-month when she died.

    The members of the church were dazed by the incident and kept wondering what could have led to her death. They kept asking one question after the other but got no response. Their expectation of seeing Bukola with her baby after putting to bed and dancing to the altar with her family to appreciate God for adding to their number was dashed. She died.

    Loveth, a woman who had married for 10 years without any child, suffered a similar fate when she eventually got pregnant. When she became pregnant after several years of childlessness, the husband was highly elated and wasted no time in getting all the necessary things the hospital asked them to buy in preparation for the baby’s arrival. Towards the period of her delivery, their house wore a new look as they did not want the baby to come into the house the way it was. Because her stomach was extremely protruded, people in her neighbourhood had started calling her mother of twins.

    Unlike Bukola, who did not get to the point of going into labour before she died, Loveth went into labour but did not come out alive, neither did her baby. The joy that came after 10 years of painstaking waiting ended up bringing calamity and trauma to the husband, who could not comprehend what went wrong. He asked the doctors series of questions but their answers were incapable of bringing the wife and baby back to life. The incident brought an end to the life of another woman in the course of giving birth.

    Clement Ade saw the wife put to bed last month but shortly after the news of the birth reached him, the cold hands of death snatched the wife away. The baby survived but the mother ceased to exist from that moment.

    Such worrisome stories are endless in the country. They are instances of maternal mortality cases which Dr. Rotimi Adesanya, a child and public health physician, described as alarming in the country. According to him, “We contribute 13 percent of the world’s maternal mortality rate. It is not just acceptable because we are just after India and Bangladesh. It is still very alarming and we are not yet there.”

    Apparently scared by the incidents, checks showed that the number of pregnant women trooping to spiritual homes and traditional birth attendants has been on the rise.

    Dr Bunmi Omosehindemi, Chairman, Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board explained the reason for this. He said: “Many people are opting for traditional birth attendants because it has to do with the culture of the people and also inadequate medical facilities we have in the nation. We have a poor human resource for health. In Nigeria, we have only 30 doctors to 100, 000 patients. We have about 100 nurses to about 100, 000 patients and about two lab scientists to 100, 000 patients. Based on these facts, people have to look for various ways of taking care of themselves.

    “If you look at the records, only about 30 percent of women who attend ante natal go to hospital to give birth. It also has to do with the attitude of the health workers towards the patients. The factors responsible for this are so many. In some cases, it could be financial reasons, attitude problems and the belief systems of the people that are patronising the traditional birth attendants.

    “A human being is a product of his experience, belief system and his religion. Based on these, the women believe that they get better attention from traditional birth attendants and one thing you should know is that traditional birth attendants are part of the people’s culture.”

    A traditional birth attendant, who gave her name as Alhaja, opines that the reason is beyond that. She said: “Many pregnant women are now coming to us because they are convinced that doing things the natural way is better. During the days of our fathers, did we have these frightening stories of women dying when pregnant or giving birth? All these are happening because civilisation and foreign religions have rubbished the powers we inherited from our fathers.

    “The moment a child is not coming out with his head, doctors will book you for operations immediately. This is what our fathers would only use herbs to reverse within a space of time.  We do all these and save women from going through the knives. Some pregnancy challenges are better handled traditionally because there are words that we speak that alter some nasty problems.  Doctors don’t believe in this. The moment the drugs cannot handle a situation, the next thing is operation. Many women are scared of this, so they prefer to come to us.

    “We also don’t charge much. Our fees are inconsequential compared to what hospitals charge. We render humanitarian services.”

    Abiola Alice, Executive Director of God’s Love Natural Health Clinic and Maternity Home, a faith-based centre, attributed the increasing patronage to the quality of attention they give to pregnant women, adding: “Many pregnant women that have come to me have always complained about the harsh treatment they get in public hospitals. Nurses in public hospitals don’t pamper them the way we do. Besides, there are some that have spiritual problems which could make it difficult for them to be delivered. We do organise prayers for them every Monday and in the course of doing that, some of them will begin to confess different things. Some will say that they will die if they are delivered of the baby in their womb. After praying, they always overcome the problem and end up giving birth successfully.”

    Aside from prayers, she hinted that she has undergone series of training organised by Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board to enhance her skills in child delivery.

    She said: “The training has really built my capacity in caring for pregnant women. Before now, when a baby is sitting down in the womb or coming with leg or hand, we would pray and God will take control.  Now, we have a medicine called Adjust sold to us at the centre. When we use it for such women, the baby will turn and come the right way.

    “If the baby does not adjust after using it, we would refer the patient. I have used it for four people and have never had any disappointment. We also have never recorded any death since we began operations. It is a call from God and we answered it.”

    A pregnant woman, who patronises traditional birth homes, said: “I have had all my children in this place. I prefer traditional birth attendants because they use natural treatment. Here, you don’t have fears of undergoing operations because they have what it takes to correct situations that medical doctors would be quick to use operations to tackle. I don’t think anybody will go through operations and remain the same.

    “We have heard cases of people that they forgot one instrument or the other in their stomach after operations and those that died after they were sedated before operations. I believe that herbs are better. I have the ones that I drink and have a liquid that I rub on my body. It works perfectly for me.”

    Findings also revealed that many churches, especially the pentecostal ones, now organise special prayer sessions for pregnant women. The sessions observed were often attended by a large number of pregnant women with the ministers dishing out thunderous prayer points aimed at destroying all the forces that may be working against the safe delivery of the women.

    One of the attendees told The Nation that she opted for spiritual help when her doctor repeatedly told her that she didn’t have enough fluid in her sack. She said: “Every time I went to the hospital, the doctor will ask me to do a scan. After doing the scan, he would check it and say that the fluid wasn’t enough. It was becoming very scary for me, especially when they asked me to go and register for operation.

    “When I told my mother about it, she brought me here for prayers. I agreed because when doctors told my cousin she would not be able to give birth by herself, my mother brought her here and she was delivered safely. I refuse to be sacrificed on the altar of medical experiment.”

    A cleric, who identified himself as Elijah, said such prayer sessions were important for the pregnant because “There are many evil forces that are out to terminate the life of either the woman or the child and at times, both of them. These are beyond what sciences or medicine can handle. The bible made us to understand that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities in high places. Medical practitioners cannot fight these forces using thermometer. They are battles that can only be fought spiritually.”

    Causes of maternal mortality Medical doctors

    Explaining the factors responsible for rising cases of maternal mortality, however, Dr Eze Godwin, a medical practitioner said: “When a pregnant woman dies much earlier than the time she is supposed to go into labour, like the case of Bukola, it is possible that such woman had an underlining ailment that led to her death after all, she was not in labour.

    “In the advanced society, people will surely ask for a postmortem to know what actually happened. The death may be as a result of the pregnancy and it might not. There might be about 70 to 80 percent chances that the pregnancy might be the cause but the remaining 20 percent may not be. Some women become sick right from the time they become pregnant. That sickness does not leave them until they put to bed. Those kinds of people are supposed to be monitored. If they don’t follow that routine, they may die.

    “Some people’s placenta will not come out after delivery. At times, when the placenta comes out, the uterus will fail to contract. If it doesn’t come out, the woman would bleed and once somebody is losing blood continuously and it gets to a point where she doesn’t have any again, the person may die.”

    On his part, Dr Rotimi Adesanya, began by explaining what maternal mortality is. He said it is the number of female death per a thousand live birth in a country that arises from pregnancy-related condition in a year. That, he said, includes somebody that dies six weeks after putting to bed.

    The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) in the country, according to him, is presently 600 per 100, 000. “This means that out of every 100, 000 women that go into pregnancy, 600 will die. If you want to break it down, out of 1,000 pregnant women, six will die from child birth and it is that bad. In developed countries like UK and US, they have less than one person out of 1,000. Out of 100, 000 that we have 600 cases, they have just 10.”

    He classified the causes into medical and non-medical, saying: “One of the non-medical causes (maternal mortality) is ignorance. A lot of our people are not educated. When you tell them that these are precautions you need to take, they will ignore you because a good number of them believe more in their culture and tradition that have been handed over to them. Some people believe till date that there are some health issues you don’t take to hospitals.

    “The other thing is poverty. At times in public hospital, you will find a man and his wife coming to the hospital with just N100. In Nigeria of today, what can N100 do? When most of them have complications and are asked to do surgery, they cannot afford it. The least you can pay for surgery even in public hospital is N50, 000. An average man on the road, especially in the rural areas, don’t have N50, 000 to cough out for such.

    “The cultural aspect, as I earlier stated, is also a serious factor. Some cultures don’t believe in going to hospital to seek medical help.  I have a client, who told me that a mallam who works for him, took delivery of his six children because he forbids his wife going to hospital. He said the wife never went to the hospital each time she was pregnant. It is all borne out of the religious and cultural practices that forbid their wives to be seen by another man.”

    He noted that people in rural areas are more involved in the problem of maternal mortality because they don’t have good roads, ambulance services and the required expertise there. “When they even get to these hospitals, the attitude of the health workers will discourage some of them and cause them to go elsewhere,” he stated.

    The medical factors, according to him, what is called Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH).

    “Some women’s blood pressure used to go up when they are pregnant. This used to kill a lot of women. In short, there is what we call pre-eclampsia. Here, the BP will be high, you will see protein in their urine and the kidney is affected. After pre-eclamsia, you have what you call eclamsia. When this occurs, the woman will start convulsing because the BP is so high and has affected the brain, the liver and so many organs in the body. When such women are convulsing, a lot of them die and lose their baby.

    “When a woman has eclamsia, a doctor will quickly bring the baby out even; if the baby is a day old, the doctor would have to bring him out once the mother has convulsed.  If you have that in the rural areas, who will help them? Such women would just die like that. Another cause of maternal mortality is post partum haemoharrage. After delivery, some women would just be bleeding for just no reason. The doctor will try all his best and would still not be able to control the blood. Such women may be referred to a gynecologist.

    “Some of such women’s womb may be totally or partially removed by a gynecologist. But most times, the whole womb will be removed. If this is not done, she may bleed to death. When this is done, such a woman may not give birth again.”

    Infections, he added, also lead to maternal mortality. Malaria during pregnancy is part of this. Some women also break their water before delivery. When this happens, it is better for the woman to quickly go to hospital to be given antibiotics to prevent infections because the sac is what is covering the woman from infection. Once the water breaks, the place is open and anything can come in.

    He expatiated: “Some people believe that when you go to hospital, they will tell you that they want to do surgery. We doctors are also part of the problem because if you have to do surgery in western world, a psychologist will have to counsel you for almost an hour to assure you that there is no problem. But here in Nigeria, especially in the public hospital, doctors don’t even have the time because of the number of patients they have. Once the women are rushed there, they will just say madam, you are doing surgery and it is an emergency.

    “In that situation, the woman doesn’t even have the time to think. A lot of women run away from hospital because of this belief that if you go to the hospital, they will ‘cut you’ (do surgery). Many of them now resort to going to traditional birth attendants because of this.

    “Some will tell you that people die in the hospital and would prefer to go to traditional birth attendants. Traditional birth attendants have a role to play and even some governments have absorbed them, but the truth is that in Nigeria, people go beyond their limit.”

    ‘Our worries about traditional birth attendants’

    Though he appreciates the role of traditional birth attendants in the society, Dr. Adesanya has some reservations about their activities. “They are supposed to be handling people that have been having babies before. We call them low risk. But some of them still dabble into handling people that had CS before and people who want to give birth for the first time and that is always a difficult delivery. They are not supposed to go into all that but they still do.

    “Now, thank God for scanning machine. Traditional birth attendants also accept scan but they don’t even have training in scanning. In medicine, if a woman giving birth for the first time has the baby coming out with the leg, she has to go through surgery because it would be very difficult and you may lose the baby or the baby may be deformed. But they still dabble into it. They will say they will turn it round and all that. Such things are not scientifically proven. Some practices like the use of incantation when delivering a woman of a baby is unscientific but they do it and our people still go there. Part of the drugs they give them are concoctions. It is unhygienic. Besides, they don’t do HIV test; they use the same instrument for patients.”

    However, Dr Omosehindemi frowned at any attempt to describe activities of traditional birth attendants as unscientific. “That is the belief of any doctor that tells you that. He is talking from an ignorant point of view. If you have no knowledge about how something is done, it is better you keep quiet about it. It is only an ignorant and arrogant person that condemns what he does not know.

    “If you as a medical doctor have disagreement with anything in traditional medicine practice, put it into scientific discussion and let us debate it. I am a medical doctor too. I don’t believe they are the cause of maternal mortality,” he said.

    “We in Lagos State are training traditional birth attendants. We give them six weeks training at the traditional medicine board. After, they go for another training at the general hospital close to them and give them another round of training at our College of Health Technology so that they can be part of our community. Pregnancy is not a disease. People do deliver without assistance. It is only when people have health challenges that it becomes a problem,” he added.

    Possible solution

    Proferring solution to the menace, Dr Adesanya said: “Female education is important because they are the ones that are concerned. Studies have shown that female education helps to put the women in the right track. The second is that people need to plan their family so that a woman that was just delivered two months ago will not be going through the stress of pregnancy again. The problem in this part of the world is that many women don’t accept family planning because of cultural beliefs. I am a certified family planning provider by USAID but in spite of all the efforts the body has put into family planning, our women don’t want to do it. They have wrong beliefs that it will cause cancer or that it will change their menstrual cycle. Some women even believe in getting pregnant and aborting it. That has a higher risk than using family planning.

    “The government also needs to equip our hospitals and ensure there is at least one gynecologist in every rural area. They also need to fix our roads so that when pregnant women go into labour late in the night, they can have good roads to go to hospital in no time. They should also provide unhindered access to health facility. Nigeria has an alarming rate of maternal mortality.”

  • Expectant mother, nine others burnt to death

    An expectant mother and infants were among the 10 persons burnt to death in Effurun, Delta State yesterday when a government-owned commercial bus caught fire.

    The 14-seater Delta City bus went up in flames on the PTI–Jakpa Junction route. Eyewitnesses and security operatives told our reporter that 10 of the 14 passengers were burnt to death.

    It was learnt that the incident occurred after a passenger entered the bus with a jerry can containing a substance suspected to be petrol.

    Commissioner for Transport Mr. Ben Igbakpa, who visited the scene shortly after the incident, said: “I was told by a survivor that the fire was caused by a woman who entered the bus with fuel in a four-litre jerry can.

    “We will intensify our monitoring. We urge drivers to be cautious. They should not allow passengers to enter buses with petrol. It’s unfortunate.

    “We are mourning. Government is sad that such a tragic incident has happened.”

    The Nation gathered that the driver, conductor and two other persons survived the incident.

    One of the survivors, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the incident occurred about three minutes after the petrol-carrying woman boarded the bus.

    He said: “What we saw was an explosion. I escaped through the booth of the bus. I am short of words. My escape is a miracle.”

    It was learnt that the death toll might have been low had youths allowed the fire fighters and rescuers access to the scene.

    The Delta State Coordinator, Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr. Danie Amromawhe, said: “It was unfortunate that youths restricted the fire service truck. I was told that on arrival, youths chased away the fire fighters, saying they were late. This is not the first time they are doing this.

    “The most painful thing is that the police, who arrived first, were injured. The youth broke one of the officers’ head with a stone. Government should do something.”

  • Six expectant girls rescued from Enugu ‘baby factory’

    Six expectant girls rescued from Enugu ‘baby factory’

    The police have uncovered another ‘baby factory’.

    Six expectant teenage girls kept in a guardian’s home in Enugu were rescued after a raid on the private residence by security operatives.

    Enugu police spokesman Ebere Amaraizu said yesterday that the anti-kidnap unit of the police, acting on a tip-off raided No 7, Anyansi Lane, Ogui Enugu, where they rescued the teenagers.

    The girls, who are said to be 17 years old gave their names as Chioma Eze, Amarachi Okoro, Gloria Okoye, Uzoamaka Lawrence, Nneji Faith and Akpan Juliana.

    Amaraizu told reporters that the teenagers were smuggled out of their guardians’ home and kept in a hideout where they were expected to give birth before the babies sold to bidders.

    Three persons are said to be behind the business.

    Those in custody are Lami Lasu, Isha Musa and Anthony Chigbo, an indigene of Enugu State.

    Amaraizu said investigations into the incident were going.

    The rescued girls were still in the custody of the police as at the time of going to the press.

    Police were yet to establish contact with the parents and guardians of the girls.

    According to Amaraizu, the identity of the owner of the building where the girls were hidden was yet to be established.

    The police spokesman added that investigators were heading to a clue that would lead to the discovery of other enclaves in Enugu.

    “The suspects have made useful statements to the police investigators and more of such enclaves housing pregnant teenagers will soon be discovered,” he said.

    Last week, another ‘baby factory’ was uncovered in Imo State, where 17 teenage girls were rescued.

    Also yesterday, a man, Marcel Agu and his wife Calista, were arrested by the police for stealing a 12-day old male child from the mother, Chika Nwokolo, after delivery in an unnamed maternity home on Ebony Paint Road in Awkunanaw.

    Police spokesman Amaraizu said the arrest of the couple led to the arrest of Mrs Nebo Stella, the supposed proprietor of the maternity home and one Patrick Ugwu in connection with the alleged incident.

    The stolen child, according to the police, was recovered hale and hearty.