Enhancing maternal and newborn care
Community members and health workers rallied to improve the quality of care for mothers and newborns in Ethiopia
Since the beginning of the new millennium, Ethiopia has made significant strides in reducing maternal and child mortality. More women are now delivering in health facilities, reducing the risk of death due to complications during delivery. Though there is still a high number of deaths – mostly from preventable or treatable causes, such as infectious diseases and complications during pregnancy or childbirth – a coalition of care by community members and health workers is yielding promising results. In the Benishangul Gumuz region of Ethiopia, women, community leaders, and health workers stand together for mothers and newborns. Here is their remarkable story.
Inside the health post compound, Aminat Umer, a health extension worker, leads a discussion session with women and community leaders. This meeting is crucial for her work. The women and the elders are volunteers who help Aminat identify pregnant women and sick babies in the villages for close follow-up and timely treatment. Such meetings are well structured and action points are taken for better planning. In the meantime, Aminat ensures that her helpers are equipped with basic knowledge about maternal health and newborn care. To facilitate the identification and referral process, three-color-coded vouchers are used by Aminat and the community volunteers - the yellow is used to register home deliveries (if there are any), the red to refer sick infants and under-five children, and the blue voucher to register pregnant women.
"Previously, healthcare was not given much attention and was heavily influenced by cultural beliefs. Now, we raise awareness about critical maternal and child health issues, and community members bring their children to us," says Aminat.
Aminat, at her health post, provides basic services and refers cases to Bambasi Health Center, the next tier in the health system.
While Aminat identifies pregnant women in the villages with the help of community volunteers, at Bambasi Health Centre, Tiringo is busy doing antenatal follow-ups. Antenatal care helps to identify potential risks or complications and ensures the well-being of expectant mothers and their unborn babies. In addition, during antenatal follow-ups, women get lessons about healthy behaviours and warning signs during pregnancy and receive social, emotional, and psychological support.
Tiringo also provides pregnant women with micronutrient supplementation which is critical for the growth and development of the unborn child.
After a long wait and close follow-ups, comes delivery miracles. Tsehay Lake and Yilikal Dagne, welcomes their first born assisted by Tiringo.
"The health workers are exceptional. They provided excellent care for my wife, ensuring her well-being and relieving her from any worries and stress," says Yilikal Dagne, father of a newborn baby boy.
"We want mothers to believe in us and the care we provide. In our health centre, we have successfully delivered more than 250 babies this quarter. This didn’t just happen by accident, we consistently take training to stay up-to-date and approach every case with care," says Tiringo.
Yet not all parents are lucky like Tsehay Lake and Yilikal Dagne. Some babies arrive early and some with complications. This is where nurses trained in neonatal intensive care like Bizuayahu Ayeru come in.
Bizuayehu and her colleagues run the Assosa Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). They receive referrals from Bambasi and other areas. As a Referral hospital in Benishangul Gumuz region, the Assosa Hospital NICU gets quite busy.
"The one per cent tragedy overshadows the 99 per cent success,” says Bizuayehu. “When babies recover and leave the hospital, we feel happy. But sometimes, babies arrive here after they reach a critical stage, and we find it difficult to save them. That makes us sad.”
Delivering babies safely is half the job. The first month of life is crucial for babies in rural Ethiopia. Back in the villages, Aminat provides postnatal care visiting every newly delivered mother. She teaches the mothers how to identify danger signs in their babies and the proper way of breastfeeding and caring for their newborns at home.
“The health works teach us about breastfeeding and symptoms to look out for when a child gets sick. I always listen to their advice and take the necessary actions to keep my baby healthy,” says Aminat Seid who recently gave birth to her third child.
UNICEF, with support from KOICA, is optimizing care for mothers, newborns, and young children in the Benishangul Gumuz region under the continuum of care approach. UNICEF also ensures that health facilities are equipped with the proper equipment, trains, and mentors’ health workers so that they better assess, classify, treat, and follow up sick young infants and children under five, and compassionate, respectful, and quality care during delivery and early postnatal period for the mother and newborn.
Improving maternity and newborn care is critical to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for maternal and child health. This includes expanding access to high-quality healthcare services and ensuring that mothers and newborns receive compassionate and respectful care during health facility delivery, early postnatal care, and beyond. These efforts are crucial for enhancing the health and well-being of mothers and newborns, particularly for the children and women of Ethiopia.
