S/R: Pregnant women insisting on fasting threat to zero maternal death goal
Some pregnant Fulani women at Busunu in the West Gonja municipality of the Savannah Region are insisting on fasting against medical advice.
According to Mr Nuhu Kantamah Abdul Ganiyu; a Principal Physician Assistant, as well as a Monitoring and Evaluation expert, these pregnant women in the municipality are noted for having very low haemoglobin levels that require the intake of a well-balanced diet alongside hematinic to correct their anaemia status.
He said to add salt to injury, some of these women are rushed into the labour ward fasting and no amount of plea from the midwife would convince them to break their fast.
These practices in the month of fasting, he considered as a threat to the country's quest for zero maternal death in the sub-municipality since mothers at the point of delivery might not have enough energy and strength to push for the baby to be delivered.
Mr Nuhu Kantamah Abdul Ganiyu made this disclosure speaking in an interview with Class 91.3 FM's Zion Abdul Rauf in the Savanna Region.
''We are calling on all stakeholders especially the health workers and the Imams to assist in educating some of these pregnant women and their husbands against this practice,” he said.
He explained that maternal and child mortality is a public health threat globally.
He revealed that there were an estimated 830 maternal deaths each day in 2015.
“The majority (99%) of these deaths occur in rural communities of developing countries with more than half of the deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.
“The ratio of maternal mortality in developing countries such as Ghana is 239 per 100,000 live births in 2015. (WHO, 2018),'' he said.
“Fasting during the month of Ramadan is the fourth pillar of Islam which is obligatory for every adult Muslim except the sick, pregnant women, nursing mothers, women on their menses and the traveller,” he concluded.
Trending News
UE/R NDC comms. bureau suspends party activities to mourn Agorogo
10:17Ejisu roads see massive overhaul ahead of by-election
09:52Dec. 7 polls: Prioritise national interest over politics – Head of Civil Service tells staff
08:18Court discharges former PPA boss Adjenim Boateng
11:14British High Commission donates protective equipment worth £260,000 to GAF
09:12Akufo-Addo gov't's 'greed, unbridled arrogance, unrestrained impunity, sheer dishonesty, barefaced hypocrisy' unmatched in Ghana's history – Opoku-Agyemang
23:02Pension: Public sector workers to strike May 2
10:18NPP Performance Tracker emphasizes toilets over substantive infrastructure dev’t projects — Dr. Sa-ad Iddrisu
09:002024 polls: 'EC struggling to defend credibility' – Opoku-Agyemang says
23:02MFC decries NPP's bribery of supporters
10:11