Miss Aborga said it was sad that instead of promoting good health among women especially those in the reproductive ages, a lot of airtime was being allocated for the promotion of alcohol consumption and political issues.

She made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency to commemorate the International Day for the Midwife which is celebrated annually on May 5. The United Nation’s Population Fund’s (UNFPA) theme for this year is,“Midwives, Mothers and Families: Partners for Life!”

She noted that the growth of the country was dependent on women therefore “if we don’t make a lot of noise on women’s health, our nation will be in trouble” The UNFPA award recipient said women must receive education on their reproductive health in order not to give birth without planning for the care of the children, this she said would have repercussions on the country.

Miss Aborga, who is a Senior Staff Midwife at Aplako Family Fitness Clinic in the Ga South District, touching on her duties said, midwifery involves pre-natal care, antenatal, delivery and post-natal care. She said being in the profession for seven years, she believed midwifery was a calling and not a joke therefore there was the need for practitioners to have passion for the job as one mistake could lead to the death of a mother and child.

Miss Aborga who has never lost a mother or baby during delivery said some of the major challenges faced by them included lack of logistics, multitasking due to lack of enough staff, and knowledge base of clients.

She also noted that some pregnant women reported to antenatal late in pregnancy sometimes in their eighth months therefore not getting enough education to prepare them for safe delivery.

She advised pregnant women in their ninth month not to wait until they see the show (discharge of mucus mixed with blood), break their water or have severe contractions before reporting to the hospital for delivery.

The midwife explained that some women do not have any of the labour three signs but rather vomit excessively or experience diarrhea while they dilate, that she said could affect a safe delivery if they don’t report early to the hospital.

On the issue of the limited antenatal visit catered for under the National Health Insurance Scheme, Mis Aborga challenged couples to financially support their health care instead of fully depending on the scheme.

Miss Norteli Lanyo, a Senior Staff Midwife at the Tema Polyclinic, on her part, suggested to the NHIS to cut down on the number of births it cater for and increase the number of antenatal visits.

Miss Lanyo said currently there was limit to the number of deliveries the scheme caters for leading to some delivering beyond what they could cater for. She advised pregnant women to religiously take their medications and follow instructions from their midwives as it was sad and depressing to lose a mother and child during delivery.

She further urged women to plan for themselves by putting away some money and having emergency plans to take care of complications instead of fully depending on their partners.