Key persons at the health talk
The Best Practicing Midwife for the Greater Accra Region, Rachel Hesse Martey, has called on the public to desist from talking negatively about women who have had cesarean delivery as this has caused some mothers and babies who need that method of delivery to die because of the negative views held by society about the method.
According to Ms. Martey, childbirth is in two ways; vaginal delivery and cesarean delivery, also known as C-section. She stated that negative views of most individuals in society about cesarean delivery has caused most impending mothers to shun the method although it has been proven to relieve some complications related to childbirth.
She also stated that societal pressure from elders to young mothers to give birth vaginally has caused most of them to resist cesarean delivery.
This, unfortunately, has led to a number of mothers and babies losing their lives or being severely injured because of the refusal to go through the cesarean delivery method which would have been beneficial for them.
She, therefore, called on the public to stop stigmatisation surrounding cesarean delivery and welcome it, as it also yields a lot of benefits for mothers and babies.
“We as midwives and obstetricians wish that every mother would come and deliver vaginally because the recovery process is easier, however, there are certain conditions that come with pregnancies that would not allow that, therefore Cesarean delivery would be better for them.
“But some mothers refuse to do such because no one in their family has gone through cesarean delivery or they fear they would not be able to answer inquisitive questions confidently because they went through cesarean birth, but in the end what is important is a healthy mother and a healthy baby,” she shared.
The astute midwife made this known at a health talk organised by her as part of her corporate social responsibility (CSO) in collaboration with the International Palace Church.
Speaker at the event, Dr. Ekow Amponsah Dadzie, also called on young couples to seek preconception care during the first year of marriage so as to understand their bodies and note any issues that may prevent them having conception within their marriage.
General Overseer of the Palace International Church, Bernard Mensah, encouraged individuals to avoid seeking medical care from local shops but rather visit medical centres as the doctors have been trained to effectively take care of human health.
By Abigail Atinuke Seyram Adeyemi