The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Prof. Adetokunbo O. Fabamwo while delivering a lecture at the National Women’s Conference of Committee of Wife of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO) with the theme ‘Unlearn, Learn and Relearn: 21st Century Women’s THEMES Perspectives and Approach’, on Wednesday, 23rd of October, 2019 reiterated that women deserve better reproductive experience.
The Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology while presenting his lecture titled ‘Maternal and Neonatal Mortality’, at the 19th edition of COWLSO, stated that pregnancy bleeding, hypertensive disorders, unsafe abortion, obstructed labour/ruptured uterus and infections are the major causes of maternal mortality.
The CMD lamented that over the 600, 000 maternal deaths are recorded per minute and one out of thirteen women die from pregnancy-related causes, stressing that Nigeria is only second to India in terms of high maternal mortality rate.
He expressed succinctly that women empowerment, women education, nutritional education, advocacy and awareness campaign about available health services and sex education are ways of reducing the rates of maternal and neonatal deaths in Nigeria.
Prof. Fabamwo, however, tasked concerned authorities on continuous training of health workers, supply of drugs and consumables, community education to make early decision to seek care, upgrade of health facility of primary level especially 24 hour services, institutionalize Emergency Obstetric Care in all health facilities, improve referral system, community blood donor associations, community loan schemes, maternity waiting homes, increased healthcare funds, maternal and perinatal death reviews, adoption of PHCs.
He concluded by urging that COWLSO to play such as advocacy, health education and community outreaches because women in Nigeria deserve a better reproductive experience than they are currently having and babies also deserve to live longer in better health.
