Tragic dangers of home delivery

Her husband Mal Garba who is a farmer ran to the traditional birth attendant in the village. The attendant helped Saudatu to deliver the child safely but suddenly Saudatu began to bleed profusely.  Saudatu lost pints of blood and was already gasping for breath when husband arrived with a taxi to take her to the […]

Her husband Mal Garba who is a farmer ran to the traditional birth attendant in the village. The attendant helped Saudatu to deliver the child safely but suddenly Saudatu began to bleed profusely.  Saudatu lost pints of blood and was already gasping for breath when husband arrived with a taxi to take her to the nearby clinic. Before Saudatu got to the hospital, she died. The doctor who confirmed her dead says Saudatu dead as a result of Post motum hemorrhage. Though her child survived, she did not leave to see her.  This is one out of the many women who die while from child delivery in Nigeria.
The real danger in women delivering babies at home is when she is alone with her partner to help her out. In this part of the world, it is a common thing to find women putting to birth at home especially in remote villages. In some clime, there is a traditional and fetish attitude attached to child birth at home. It is also to be observed that even with the availability of hospitals; traditional birth attendants still hold sway in some areas.
There are even extreme cases where you find some women delivering themselves – not once, not twice, not thrice, but severally. There is a known case of a woman who has delivered herself of all her seven children alone in the home. The woman is dead not of child complications, though. But women in this category still could be found around in the communities nowadays. Honestly, they are few. The question is with that, is it okay for women who are in labour to remain at home to deliver their babies? The answer is capital NO!
Have we ever heard of maternal mortality? Of course, it is a cliché when we talk of reproductive health matters. Women who fall under this situation had an alarming statistics in the overall figure of maternal mortality rate.
It is to be understood that Nigeria’s health care delivery services are not anything to write home about, invariably if anything we have gone down beyond the profile of a mere consulting clinic.
Also, poverty is rampant and man would not stop doing ‘this thing’. All these put together are not enough reasons for any woman in labour to stay at home to have her baby.  Child delivery at home cannot be more vulnerable foe both the mother and the child. The invaluable assistance of nurses and gyneacologists cannot be wished away. And, there is always the slight possibility of a previously normal low risk pregnancy can become high risk in just a few minutes. Having the skills to know when you’re dealing with an emergency situation is crucial for a successful home birth experience.
Dr. Nathaniel Adewole is a Consultant Gynecologist at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital. He explains problems that could arise from home deliveries.
“During the process of delivery if the pelvis is not monitored by skilled professional, the woman may not be fully dilated before taking delivery. In other words, the woman is asked to ‘push’ when it is not yet time. This could lead to excessive bleeding which can cause her death.
“Again, the unskilled attendant cannot monitor the heart beat of the child properly. That is knowing if the baby is in danger or not, because the baby may be doing well but could suddenly develop any problem which could lead to the death of the baby in the womb. If a woman delivers in the hospital, she is likely to be in the hands of skilled midwives to ensure the delivery of her child without ant hitch.
“Again, when the baby is delivered, what are they going to use to clamp the cords? If an unsterilized instrument is used then the mother and the child are likely to be infected.  One of the major causes of neonatal death is infection of the child at birth.”
Dr. Adewole advised that women should insist on giving birth in the hospital rather than taking the risk of delivering at home.   Women should know that they should deliver in a hospital or maternity home under the supervision of skilled birth attendant. Delivery at home causes danger to the mother as well as the child.