A senior Community Nurse with Bonkrom Community Health Planning Service(CHPS) in the Kwahu Afram Plains South District, Jordan Yunbow Michael, was an angel when he saved a 20-year-old Pregnant Woman and her baby in an emergency delivery at a roadside in Dome.
The Community Health Nurse was on his way to Dome, a remote community in the area to attend to a meeting with opinion leaders in the community when he spotted the Pregnant woman in labour and struggling. Apparently, she was on her way from Nsugyaso village to Sekyere Afram Plains in Ashanti region border to deliver.
The Nurse stopped and attended to the fully dilated Pregnant woman to help her spontaneously deliver her baby on a polythene at the roadside using a black Polythene bag as gloves.
“I was going to have a meeting with the chiefs and Elders so i saw a private car parked at where they sell their Patrol thinking may be they,wanted to buy patrol and go ahead.A 19 close to 20 year old girl came out and wanted to urinate not knowing the whole thing(labor) had started so i went closer and they told me she was in labour. So i have to take their mackintosh(rubber) put it on the floor and helped her deliver”.
After the safe delivery, the Nurse Jordan Yunbow cut the umblical cord with a blade, dried off the baby boy wrapped her with cloth handed him to his mother.
According to the Nurse,the baby and Mother were both healthy but he refereed them to a health center for further care.
Meanwhile, Edmund Duodu, Chief Executive Officer of Devine Mother and Child Foundation(DMAC) a childhealth and Maternal NGO in the Region, has disclosed many CHPS facilities in the Affram Plains enclave are not in the best shape-lack space,logistics and personnel to attend to emergency delivery hence many pregnant women had to travel long distance which some had to cross travel as far as Sekyere Afram Plains in Ashanti region to seek delivery as a result many give birth on their way while others with complications lose their lives.
Available statistics by Ghana Health Service indicates a total of thirty (30) institutional maternal deaths were recorded in the Eastern Region from January to May this year with the number currently hovering around 100.
In 2017,a total of 109 maternal deaths were recorded in the region which was analysed that at least 9 pregnant women died every month in the Region.
The Eastern Regional Coordinator of CHPS, Augustina Nartey ,had bemoaned worsening challenges facing Community Health Service delivery in the region with a call for urgent redress hence calling on Stakeholders particularly Members of Parliaments to use components of their common fund assigned for health to invest in primary health care for their people to help reduce incidents of maternal mortality.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/Kojo Ansah
