Limpopo’s maternal death rate labelled as ‘shocking’
Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba expressed her concern during the postpartum haemorrhage symposium that was hosted at Bolivia Lodge recently.
POLOKWANE – The maternal death rate in the province, which stands at 40% due to among other factors, haemorrhage, is a matter that hospital managers and CEOs should start taking responsibility for.
This is according to Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba as she recently urged obstetricians and gynaecologists working in the public sector to do everything in their power to curb maternal deaths that come as a result of haemorrhage.
She expressed her concern during the postpartum haemorrhage symposium that was hosted at Bolivia Lodge recently.
The event was hybrid-hosted with virtual participants joining from various countries including Botswana, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa.
Ramathuba said Limpopo currently has a 40% rate of reported maternal deaths cases caused by Covid-19 or haemorrhage.
Ramathuba says postpartum haemorrhage, where a mother experiences heavy bleeding after having given birth, is one of the top three leading causes of maternal deaths.
“It usually happens within one day of giving birth, but it can happen up to 12 weeks after delivery. As a province, we have declared zero avoidable maternal deaths. The contradiction of a woman losing her life because she is bringing another one into the world, is unacceptable. Postpartum haemorrhage has become one of those impediments towards every woman’s rights to a safe pregnancy and delivery,” the MEC said.
The symposium, which was preceded by a road show across all districts of the province from July 18-22, was organised by the Limpopo Obstetrics Response Team in an effort to upskill healthcare workers taking care of pregnant women on strategies to handle postpartum haemorrhage and reduce maternal deaths.
Ramathuba added that in the past there were many reasons why pregnant women would die of which affordability and access to facilities were among them.
“How do we build a legacy to make sure no woman dies? We have to prioritise maternal health on policy level and managerial level. If you have high maternal fatalities, I will visit your facility and if I find you are not prioritising, we will have a problem.”
Ramathuba made it clear that higher level personnel should take responsibility for maternal deaths.
“They who must account for maternal death, must not be the midwife or doctor, it must be the CEO, the clinical manager and the nurse manager. The rates are just shocking. You as a manager cannot expect a junior doctor to be held accountable. Senior managers are the decision makers and should be held accountable. Some CEOs do not even know about the maternal death rate in their hospitals, as I am the one informing them about the numbers. When you start being accountable, the numbers will decrease,” Ramathuba concluded.
