Anambra To Equip State Hospitals With Anti-Shock Garments To Prevent Maternal Mortality

The Anambra State Government has begun equipping its hospitals with anti-shock garment to prevent postpartum haemorrhage which has been ascribed as the major cause of maternal mortality in the state.

To achieve this, the state government has commenced training for public and private health workers to tackle the scourge through the use of the garment.

The garment serves as a first-aid device that is used to aid the stabilisation of women who suffer from obstetric haemorrhage and shock after delivery.

The Anambra State government said it is poised to end the scourge with the deployment of the device.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, while declaring open the training on the use of the garments on Friday in Awka said Governor Chukwuma Soludo had approved the procurement of 120 of the anti-shock garments for mission and general hospitals across the state.

He said more are being procured presently for primary healthcare centres in all the 326 wards during the training organised by the Anambra State Ministry of Health.

The training involved doctors and nurses from mission and general Hospitals to better equip them with the capacity to tackle the scourge.

Obidike described Postpartum Hemorrhage as bleeding after delivery which could lead to death if not properly managed.

“This administration also declared free antenatal and delivery services in public hospitals to ensure that no woman dies during childbearing.

“This training is also to put an end to cases of deaths during and after childbirth majorly caused by excessive bleeding which we have noticed to be on the high side especially in hard-to-reach areas.

“The state government is determined to achieve zero maternal mortality across the state,” he said.

The commissioner urged the participants to take the training seriously and pass on the knowledge to other health workers in their hospitals.

“This training will be continuous and we want to commend our governor for leaving no stone unturned in ensuring quality health care services for residents,” Obidike said.

While demonstrating how to control bleeding using anti-shock garments, Dr Uju Okoye, state Coordinator, Reproductive Health, identified lack of effective contraction of the uterus, as the most common cause of bleeding.

Okoye emphasised that the anti- shock garment was not for pregnant women and cases of shocks without loss of blood.

“The anti-shock garment can only be used for any emergency where loss of blood is involved and it must not be removed until the patient is taken to a more equipped hospital and stabilised,” she said.