Labour and delivery is the end of pregnancy and beginning of new life. Antenatal care plays an important role to achieve a successful labour and delivery process. Regular Antenatal Care helps in the physical and mental preparation of women and help them relax during those last months. Antenatal care ensures maternal foetal health wellbeing and also prepares women physically fit for labour, delivery and the postpartum period. Regular visits to the Health Facilities during pregnancy are aimed to ensure that the health of the pregnant women and the growing foetus is well maintained. When all stays well and proper care is taken, that means it has insured Health status of the mother and her child.
By the way, if it improves pregnant mother’s health, it has the impact of socio-economic status of the family for instance when mother usually expenses money for medical purposes it has a negative effect of family’s economy. Again recently evidence-based studies reveal that when mothers cost much for medical reasons, it declines love of the couples when mothers are not well enough empowered to take a decision of the family. In Somaliland men always involve for decision making of the family, reasoned by the unemployment status of the Mothers, and still remains most challenging ones in the world and I expect to be like this next future, because of cultural values of the Somaliland society.
TRENDS OF ANTENATAL CARE (ANC) SERVICES
Somaliland has not been developed yet the observation and intervention analytical Health studies by the Governmental Universities to help national health policy, but INGOs working with Local Ministries have conducted enough research articles and policies which have demonstrated gaps of Antenatal Care (ANC). Considering the data from Multiple Cluster Survey (MICS 2006) reported that there was an irrelevant increase (3%) in the number of women expected getting of Antenatal Care (ANC) through the seven years dated between 1999 and 2006 and the condition was worst in rural areas where ANC measured only 20% when compared with 1999 clear-cut by 8% and now it is estimated that it has more increased than before.
It is clear that ANC coverage has been increased after years (MICS 2011) revealed that only 32% of women aged 15-49 years received Antenatal Care (ANC), because of doing many interventions such as giving awareness for Mothers, deliberately changed traditional birth attendants (TBAs), trained Skilled Birth Attendants (SBAs), increased access of Health services, developed of Hospital health systems, enhanced and contributed MCH facilities, produced number of professional health workers particularly Midwives, Donor agencies supported to Ministry of Health with funding and technical support to improve quality of Antenatal care services (ANC) and other Health issues, essential equipment and supplies have been provided by Donors, provided training for different health workers, and so on.
By Omer Mohamed (Jawaari)
omerqayi@gmail.com
Reproductive Health Specialist
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