Men Urged To Help Their Wives During Times Of Pregnancy.

Following key interventions prioritized by the Government of Uganda through the ministry of health to improve maternal health, men have been asked to consider participation in safe motherhood.

This was revealed by the state minister for Primary Health Care, Dr. Joyce Moriku Kaducu on Tuesday in a press conference hosted at the Uganda Media Center as she updated the public on maternal health during Covid-19 pandemic.

“Men are important in maternal health care not only as women’s partners, but also as individuals with significant reproductive impact on women’s and children’s health. Their involvement gives them an opportunity to acquire health education and access to health services which is crucial in preventing transmission of diseases to their partners as well as the unborn children,” Kaducu asserted.

In time to come, Kaducu noted that the Health ministry will look into and engage in debates on what more can be done to encourage men to accompany their pregnant wives for Antenatal care since their current participation in safe motherhood is still inadequate and low.

Kaducu is optimistic that with the interventions put in place to improve the maternal and newborn health, the maternal mortality statistics shall come down as compared to the previous years in a survey expected to be conducted this year.

“With the interventions put on ground, there has been reduction in maternal mortality from 448 of 100,000 Live births to 336 of 100,000 Live births according to the Uganda Demographic Health Survey (UDHS) of 2011 and 2016 respectively. We hope the results will be better in this year’s survey,” the minister said.

The ministry has also registered improvement in the number of women attending the first Antenatal care to 95% but those completing at least four Antenatal visits remains as low as 42%.

Despite the fact that the attendance of these Antenatal care visits by pregnant women is still low, the ministry is planning to introduce more two visits hopefully to minimize the number of mortalities registered. “The two visits added are going to help curb down the level of mortalities registered now. If we raise a bit, some of the risk factors might be noticed at early stages and found remedies for,” Kaducu said.

According to the Annual Health sector performance report of the 2019/2020 FY that assessed only  21 health facilities minus Mulago and Kiruddu referral hospitals, 496 maternal deaths were recorded as compared to the 2018/2019 FY where 424 maternal deaths were recorded.

“This means that maternal deaths slightly went up in the last financial year. The highest number of maternal mortalities was registered in Kawempe National referral hospital, high numbers also in Masaka and Fort portal and other regional referral hospitals,” Kaducu further revealed.