From CLEMENT ADEYI, Osogbo                                 

Mrs. Bolaji Olagbaju is the principal consultant and Chief Executive Officer of Mothers and Beyond International (MBI), a non-governmental organisation that empowers women and families through outreach programmes, advocacy, literacy and support groups. She collaborates with different NGOs, especially Department for International Development (DFID), UKaid, to drive the humanitarian and social welfare programmes.

She spoke with Daily Sun. Excerpts:

What fired your passion for advocacy on maternal, newborn and child mortality? 

My passion was borne out of the live experiences in maternal mortality challenge faced by one of my bosom friends who died due to pregnancy-induced hypertension.  During labour, she had developed a very high blood pressure and severe headache and died in the circumstance. That was about five years ago. Within the same year, I also lost about three close friends to pregnancy-related cases.

Worryingly too, there are reports of rampant horrible and agonizing cases of maternal mortality, especially in the South West which need to be addressed.

  That was when I realized that the case needed adequate attention through advocacy programmes, enlightenment campaigns, seminars and conferences. This also galvanized me into more special humanitarian projects on how to checkmate the dangerous trend. My focus is to orientate women, especially the pregnant ones on what to do during pregnancy to be able to avoid complications and ensure a safe labour and delivery.

Don’t you think your NGO could only be relevant in rural areas where such health care opportunities are not easily accessible?

Every woman needs maternal, newborn and child mortality awareness. That is why constant enlightenment programmes on the cases are very crucial. It is not only the rural  dwellers that need the awareness. You could be surprised that even a Phd woman around you might be ignorant of maternal, newborn and child mortality cases.

Complications may arise at any time and take anybody unawares. That is why every woman needs proper enlightenment about the cases and that is why we focus on both rural and urban areas in the execution of our programmes and everybody is benefitting greatly.

Recently, MBI collaborated with DFID and Ukaid to organise a two-day media workshop in order to create awareness with a view to reducing maternal, newborn and child mortality in Nigeria, particularly in the South West.

What specific advice do you give to women not to fall victim of maternal mortality?

There is a programme known as Women Check. It has to do with helping women to know and consider their state of health before thinking of getting pregnant. Some time ago, a woman who was embarking on family planning came to me for counselling. I asked her to go for a check-up. When she did, it was discovered that the ring she was using for the family planning was hanging in her fallopian tube. She was infected and having a discharge. But she was not feeling any pains.

The doctor, however, congratulated her and said, if the ring had stayed in her fallopian tube longer than it did, it would have been disastrous. Pregnant women should always seek medical attention in hospitals where there are quality medical officers.

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How do you address the issue of maternal mortality among teenagers who get raped or engage in pre-marital sex?

This is one of the reasons we embark on awareness programmes on maternal, newborn and child mortality. When teenagers become pregnant, they may feel shy and may not bother to go for medical check- up. That is why we take the messages of maternal, newborn and child mortality to every nook and cranny of the society, including the rural areas where cases of teenage pregnancy are rampant.

Through seminars, conferences, radio jiggles in English and indigenous languages as well as the social media such as internet (whatsApp, face book etc), we help them to obtain orientations on how to handle their cases.

Some maternal mortality cases are due to inability of the victim or her family to provide antenatal care during pregnancy. What do you think government should do?

It is unarguable that over 70 per cent of maternal, newborn and child mortality in Nigeria are preventable. Government should ensure proper care for pregnant women to aide safe delivery.

It should provide free medical care for the less privileged as it is done in the developed world where money is not the first thing that is asked for when a social or medical welfare  is provided for the people. The priority is the health and welfare of the people.

Government should raise budget for such welfare interventions, especially for the needy. Cases abound where some less privileged people are detained in hospital even after they had been certified healthy to go home after treatment due to inability to pay their bills.

The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and Health Management Organisations (HMOs) should live up to expectation in qualitative health care delivery. They should be wary of cases where pregnant women who may have paid exorbitant fees through their organisation to an HMO are kept waiting at their accredited hospital without   prompt medical attention.

There was a woman who suffered such a neglect recently in a big hospital in Lagos. When her case got complicated, she died. Therefore, monitoring agencies must be set up by government and mandated to checkmate the excesses and irregularities in the NHIS- accredited hospitals.  Government should also withdraw the licences of such defaulting hospitals to serve as a deterrent.

What are the necessary steps to take to avoid maternal mortality?

They should not wait until the woman is about to go to the labour room before taking the necessary steps to ensure a safe delivery. The woman should go for check-up until the very week she is due to be delivered of the baby.  Regular check-up will help discover any complications with a view to finding solution before it is too late. Most maternal, newborn and child mortality cases are due to carelessness on the part of the woman and her husband or quack doctor.

Do you have welfare programmes for children left behind by maternal mortality victims?

We distribute gift items to orphans for their upkeep. We also assist them with schoolbags, clothes, shoes and other educational supplies and food items.

Recently, I gave my contact to a man whose daughter died during child birth, leaving the child under the care of the man. This was to create an avenue where he could access help for the child.