African women face numerous challenges in the process of being mothers. Apart from family related problems associated with poverty to some of them…health care and service provision is another major problem.
African women face numerous challenges in the process of being mothers. Apart from family related problems associated with poverty to some of them…health care and service provision is another major problem.
It was until recently that maternal deaths shot up when women started receiving special attention as far as maternal and neonatal healthcare is concerned.
Ms Rose Mlay, a National Coordinator of the Alliance of White Ribbon in Tanzania told this reporter that despite the effort put in place to encourage women to use health centres, many are still not using them because some of the health facilities do not offer the desired services.
She urges the fifth phase government to bridge the gaps that exist in maternal health and take care of them because she believes it is possible.
In Kenya for example, provision of free maternal service has motivated more women to use health centres and thus despite some challenges more women are attended by trained health workers during child birth and thus saves more lives. We will now take you through basic pregnant kits of different women to highlight the gaps that exist in maternal care.
Pregnant kit (bag)
It is a bag that expectant mothers usually prepare and use when she goes to labour. It contains items of necessity during delivery.
What is in the bag?
Recently the Daily Mail online ran a story on pregnant mothers around the world and showed how mothers from Europe, Asia and Africa including Tanzania have diverse sets of pregnant kit essentials.
In Africa especially in the rural areas such essentials include a razor to cut the umbilical cord and a sheet of black plastic sheet to give birth on; while those in London or New York have kits which look rather the same as what urban Tanzanian women carry with them to maternity wards in upmarket hospitals, for them, it’s more about massage oils and iPads.
The diversity showed the privilege and challenges facing mothers to be in the world.
Depending on many factors including culture, income, among others, expectant mothers are supposed to carry with them a bag full of essentials during their last trimester. This is for any emergency to enable them to be rushed to the nearest hospital.
The tools include a pair of clothes, pads, cotton, razor blade, some cash, torch, power bank, etc with each having a specific use. Others might have Ipads, pain killers, book, pillow etc.
Where that woman lives, how wealthy she is….and which hospital she goes to for the service would determine what she should carry in the bag.
Some hospitals here in Tanzania don’t allow one to carry anything other than the clothes you would use when discharged. While for others including public, mission, private health centres one is required to carry things that would assist during labour.
Mwajuma Shaban (34) who lives is Sanje-Kilombero District for example, says her pregnant kit in 2013 contained an ante natal card, a basin, gloves, razor blade, plastic mat, pieces of kanga, soap, torch, and a thermos to buy tea from a food vendor.
They are required to carry such things because hospital/health centres in those areas run short of them.
The basin for example, will be used to collect all the clothes to be used during birth and given to her or her guardian to wash.
“Nowadays you either wash on your own or your relative might help, this is because birth attendants say they are trying to avoid getting infected! So…so after birth you are given some hours to relax…if you don’t have someone to help you, you either wash the clothes at the hospital or carry them home with you,” she says.
She has to buy these things each trimester given her low income. “And the time you enter the health centre reception area…the midwife inspects you…if you miss a thing you will be required to buy,” she adds.
Johari Shaban of Mbagala Kizuiani in Dar es Salaam, went to a mission dispensary in Kizuiani in 2012 and was supposed to carry materials such as a bucket, basin, gloves and clothes.
“They tell us we must have them in advance so that when we start experiencing labour pains, we will be equipped for any eventuality even when the hospital runs short of them,” she says.
On the contrary, those who give birth in major private hospitals in the country may be required to carry only few things since all the others are provided at the hospitals.
Cherry Mushi had her fourth baby three months ago, she gave birth in one of the private hospitals in Dar es Salaam.
She only carried her clothes and those that the baby wore when they were discharged.
All the delivery essentials were provided by the hospital including food for the days spent in the wards, and everything she used was included in the bill.
“ I remember carrying pairs of baby clothes and mine, breast pads, mobile phone and power-bank, liquid dettol, baby wet wipes, some few kangas and emergency cash,” she says.
