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©
UNICEF Afghanistan/2009/Walther |
Mah Gol brought her 22-year-old pregnant granddaughter,
Saliha, to the UNICEF-supported Maternity Waiting Home in |
By
Cornelia Walther
Limited
access to health facilities has been a major obstacle for women in the region.
The cost of public transportation, the risks of travelling while pregnant and
the prevailing security situation all discourage women from seeking proper
prenatal care.
Now,
UNICEF-supported Maternity Waiting Homes are bringing skilled prenatal and
postnatal care to women in remote, difficult-to-reach areas. The pilot
programme aims to save the lives of mothers and newborns, even if complications
occur.
“We
had no other option than to bring her here. This is the best place now,” said
Mah Gol, grandmother of 22-year-old Saliha Haschira, pregnant with her first
child and being cared for in the Maternity Waiting Home of Kandahar.
A pleasant atmosphere
The
17-bed facility is the first of its kind in
The
Maternal Waiting Home has a pleasant atmosphere; the interior is clean and
painted in bright colours and is decorated with posters that explain the basics
of child nutrition. Beds are available for family members to accompany the
expectant mother.
To
conform to local customs, the medical team is exclusively female and composed
of three trained midwives and a matron.
“Families
prefer to keep their wives and daughters at home because they want to avoid the
male doctors in a hospital,” said Fatima Rastgar, who brought her daughter to
the home after she started bleeding uncontrollably. “I can’t count the women who
come here only when it is already too late to save their lives or the one of
their baby.”
At
the home, potential complications are monitored and new mothers are educated on
hygiene and child nutrition, among other things.
The foundation of care
The Ministry of Public Health and its partners, including UNICEF, have been working for several years to improve the system of maternal and newborn health. Yet these services can only reduce maternal and newborn mortality if women can access them.
To
counteract this, wide-ranging communication and outreach campaigns are being
organized by the Ministry of Public Health and its partners. In this way, more
women will know there is a place for them to comfortably be cared for, and
perhaps save not only their own lives, but the lives of their newborns.
“When
it became clear that it would still take over 24 hours until my baby was born,
she transferred me to this place, which is right next door to the obstetric
court of the hospital. A midwife has come every hour to check on my progress,”
said Ms. Haschira.
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