New government must ensure quality healthcare for every mother and baby
UNICEF and the Association ‘Parents’ call on all political actors to commit to investing sufficient funds to improve maternity ward standards
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PODGORICA, 2 JUNE 2023 – In response to key findings from both previous and ongoing assessments of maternity wards and neonatology units in Montenegro, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the NGO Association ‘Parents’ are calling on all political actors to commit to investing sufficient funds in enhancing healthcare for mothers and newborns, so that every mother and baby in Montenegro receives adequate care.
As a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Montenegro has committed itself to ensuring that every girl and boy enjoys the right to the best start in life and to quality healthcare.
Approximately 7,000 children are born in Montenegro every year. Despite the efforts some maternity wards are investing, no maternity ward or neonatal centre is currently fully tailored to the needs of babies, mothers and families, as recommended by international standards for providing the best start in life and quality care for mothers and newborns.
The quality of care in maternity wards and neonatal centres has an impact on every baby, mother, father and family in the country. Therefore, we call upon all political actors to unite for the children and mothers of Montenegro by committing to support the improvement of healthcare for mothers and newborns in the coming period.
Almost all women in Montenegro give birth in healthcare institutions.
The previous Assessment of the Safety and Quality of Hospital Care for Mothers and Newborns, commissioned by the Ministry of Health and UNICEF in 2016, as well as the ongoing assessment for 2023, highlight a number of issues that must be addressed, such as staff shortages, insufficient training of healthcare workers in hospitals, indications that some outdated or harmful practices are still in use, and the need to improve the conditions of the physical space.
These assessments also indicate the need for improvements in data collection, the development of national guidelines and protocols, and systematic assessments of user satisfaction with the quality of care and services provided.
Caring for a child, both within the family and in society as a whole, should begin before conception, and it should be the top priority for every government, including the next one. Caring for children also involves caring for families, including future mothers, in their most sensitive moments of life when they need the most care and attention. Our mothers and babies expect high-quality healthcare and service, which should be a given.
The “Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative” programme has been introduced into Montenegrin hospitals at various intervals since 1995, but progress has been limited.
A key initiative of this programme, among other things, is to ensure skin-to-skin contact between each baby and mother, as well as breastfeeding immediately after the birth.
However, only one in three babies enjoys skin-to-skin contact with the mother, and one in four mothers in Montenegro breastfed their baby in the first hour after the baby was born.
The standards for mother- and family-friendly maternity wards and healthcare centres also include other aspects, such as: the presence of a chosen companion during childbirth – a partner, relative, or friend; respecting the mother’s privacy during and after childbirth; reducing the rate of unnecessary caesarean sections; eliminating routine episiotomy and other unnecessary medical procedures, as well as the unnecessary separation of mothers and babies.
