The government should equip the hospitals to prevent premature deliveries

The government has been urged to equip hospitals with facilities to deal with the rising number of premature deliveries experienced by mothers with multiple gestation.

Dr. Frank Kagema, a gynecologist at KNH, decried the rising number of premature deliveries and pleaded with the government to equip health institutions to deal with complications that arise from such pregnancies, noting that it is mostly the private hospitals which have facilities that can help yet their charges are high for the common wanjiku.

“All public health institutions need to be equipped with facilities to help in deliveries and also in complications arising from post-delivery. Currently we have only seven hospitals with nurseries most of them being private. It is sad that more than a half of the mothers with multiple gestation still deliver at home, oblivious of the high risks they are putting themselves into. These pregnancies mostly require C-section yet most hospitals are ill-equipped especially in the rural areas.

“The government needs to step in and help these mothers as they need a lot of support arising from complications, before and after birth which include postpartum hemorrhage caused by distended uterus, high blood pressure and entangling of twins in the uterus that can lead to death of the unborn baby or even the mother” Dr. Kagema said.

Dr. Kagema urged mothers not to put their lives and that of their unborn babies to risk by making sure they attend prenatal check-ups regularly as this kind of pregnancy has a higher occurrence of complications as compared to single gestation.

“Mothers with multiple gestation need early diagnosis by competent health workers who will administer drugs antenatal to ensure that the unborn baby in the womb grows fully and thus avoid premature delivery,” Dr. Kagema advised.

Kagema, who was speaking at KNH during the International Twins Day, also noted that science through InVitro Fertilization (IVF) has increased the number of births and twins being born and this has also helped those with infertility to have hope that they will have children.

“Science has helped mothers with infertility issues conceive children and it is in this spirit that we have made plans to have low cost IVF in the future at KNH so that many mothers can have children and avoid the rising cases of domestic violence in the country occasioned by the inability of a partner to bear children,”.

He urged the community to be more involved in offering support to mothers with twins as they need acceptance and psychological preparation.

International Twins Day is an event that celebrate biological twins and other multiples (triplets, quads) and has been taking place every August since 1976 in Twinsburg, Ohio.