Covid-19 raises maternal mortality risk
ZIMBABWE has recorded a decrease in the number of women accessing sexual and reproductive health services owing to the Covid19 pandemic which has killed 80 people so far.
Of note are institutional deliveries which went down by 21 percent thereby putting pregnant women at risk of maternal deaths.
Zimbabwe has a maternal mortality rate of 462 deaths per 100 000 and many of these deaths are attributed to deliveries made without skilled medical personnel.
Maternal mortality ratio is the number of women who die during pregnancy and childbirth, per 100 000 live births and Zimbabwe has one of the highest rates in the world.
According to the United Nations Population Fund, compared to last year fewer women and girls have been able to access services which include family planning, antenatal care and institutional deliveries.
The organisation recently partnered with the Ministry of Health and Child Care to conduct a Rapid Assessment of Covid-19 Response in the Context of Maternal and Sexual and Reproductive Health in Zimbabwe.
The assessment sought to find Zimbabwe’s preparedness to offer antenatal, delivery and post-delivery care to pregnant women infected by Covid-19
“The assessment showed that the Covid-19 outbreak has affected women and young people’s access to sexual and reproductive health services. There has been a general decrease in coverage indicators in 2020 as compared to 2019,” read a statement from UNFPA.
“When compared to the same period last year there has been a reduction in the number of clients accessing antenatal , delivery and post-natal care. Compared to April last year, for instance, the number of institutional deliveries dropped from 32 388 to 25 448, a 21 percent drop.”
According to UNFPA, caesarean operations dropped by 42 percent.
“The number of women accessing family planning has also significantly dropped. The number of women with new implant insertions dropped by 67 percent in the same period.In light of the impact of Covid19, UNFPA has reprogrammed its work to support continuity of lifesaving maternal health interventions.”
UNFPA is also supporting the Ministry of Health and Child Care with equipment and sundries to support emergency obstetric and neonatal care, resources for infection prevention and control such as PPE and sanitisers for health workers.
“Water buckets, liquid soap and sanitisers for hand hygiene for women in maternity waiting homes have been procured. Technical and financial support continues to be provided in the national Covid response technical working groups,” read the statement.
Bulawayo recently recorded a 53 percent increase in the number of women who deliver at home or on their way to a health institution owing to Covid-19.
According to a council report, the number of babies born before arrival increased by 53 percent in council-run clinics.
The local authority has six maternity clinics and recorded 412 deliveries in June.
“A decrease was noted in antenatal bookings and deliveries and the number of babies born before arrival increased by 53 percent. In May there were 43 babies born before arrival and these include babies born while their mothers were on the way to a registered maternity health institution,” read the minutes.—@thamamoe section