Pregnancy related deaths on the rise, warn doctors

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By Susan Anyangu

As Kenyans await the release of the 2009 Demographic and Health Survey doctors warn statistics on maternal deaths are increasing.

A tour of public hospitals in Nyanza and Western provinces reveal maternal deaths are increasing.

While all may seem well in urban areas, the reality in slums and rural areas is that women are dying during childbirth.

In poor settings women turn to Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) due to lack of funds and when emergencies present, most get to the health facilities when it is too late.

Dr Paul Mitei, the head of the gynaecological department at Kisumu Provincial Hospital, says the reality is that very few women deliver under the care of a skilled medical worker. "Only three of 10 women deliver under the care of a skilled medical worker. Due to financial constraints many rely on traditional birth attendants who take too long to refer the women to hospital in an emergency," Mitei says.

He says transportation in far-flung areas is a challenge and most women die while trying to reach a hospital.

"There are areas where it takes up to three hours for one to reach Kisumu. This is a very long period for a woman who has been in labour for a while and is facing an emergency," he says.

Kisumu Provincial Hospital has several referring facilities including some on the Islands on Lake Victoria. Consequently some residents simply fail to make it to the hospital when the health centres are unable to deal with complications.

Ms Monica Oguttu of Kisumu Medical and Research Trust contends that some locals reason that it is easier when the women die at home rather than in hospitals where costs of transporting the body are immense.

Dr Geoffrey Kasembel of Kitale District Hospital, says the hospital gets referrals from as far as Lodwar, Kapenguria, Uganda and Sudan. "A lot of these women use of herbs which are believed to speed up the labour process. What the herbs do instead is rupture the uterus and many of the mothers develop infections.