Safe motherhood project — a success story

Rawalpindi

Punjab Safe Motherhood Initiative Project launched in district Chakwal with the help of health professionals serving at Obstetrics/Gynecology Unit-I at Holy Family Hospital Rawalpindi proved itself to be a real success story in 2008.

A number of health experts serving at allied hospitals opine that such projects should be initiated in other districts of the country too to get desired results in maternal and child health care. The project that started working in March 2008 in District Headquarters Hospital Chakwal and Tehsil Headquarters Hospitals Talagang and Choa Saydan Shah brought a significant change in state of maternal and newborn care in district Chakwal, having population above 12 million.

In 2008, the DHQ Hospital Chakwal provided antenatal treatment to as many as 21,187 patients in its Outpatient Department while the number was 13,044 in 2007. Indoor admissions were 3,805 in 2008, which were 2,432 in 2007, and ultrasounds performed there were 11,967 in 2008, which were 6,931 in 2007. With the help of project, Chakwal DHQ Hospital performed 1,856 normal deliveries in 2008 while the number was 1,203 in 2007. C-Sections performed there in 2008 were 511 whereas in 2007, only 286 c-sections were performed. A total of 253 other surgeries were performed at the DHQ Hospital Chakwal in 2008 as compared to figure of 135 in 2007.

“The main objective of the project was to enhance skills of health care providers including doctors LHVs, LHWs, medical technicians and etc in early detection of high risk cases and their timely referral with quick response and to orientate key community stakeholders on Safe Motherhood interventions through community meetings at the village or mohallah level,” said Project Director Head of Obs/Gynae Unit I at the HFH Professor Dr Rizwana Chaudhry while talking to ‘The News’ Friday.

She said that under the project, 10 doctors from the HFH are being rotated to DHQ Hospital Chakwal and THQ

Hospitals in Talagang and Choa Sayden Shah for one month with full provision of healthcare services at the facilities. “We have also been arranging weekly visits of our doctors to two Rural Healthcare Centres in Chakwal,” she said adding a little additional input in the existing infrastructure has yielded significant results on the subject of maternal and newborn care.

To a query, she said the project has resulted in a remarkable reduction in maternal mortality and morbidity convincing health experts to believe that such projects should be launched in all districts of the country particularly in far-flung areas. “Experienced gynaecologists do not want to stay in peripheries throughout the year however, they willingly serve for one month there while on rotation,” she responded to a query adding it is what that our infrastructure needs.

The government of Punjab is funding Punjab Safe Motherhood Initiative Project for Chakwal district while UNFPA and Jehandad Society are partners in it. “With the help of the project, we want to raise awareness through Radio, Press, TV and interpersonal communication to give a purposeful dimension to Public Private Partnership by coordinating with donor agencies, community and NGO’s to provide safe motherhood services,” said Dr. Rizwana.

“The project helped us treating 7,011 OPD patients at THQ Talagang in 2008 while in 2007, the number was 1,610 only,” she said adding admissions at Talagang hospital was 1,377 in 2008 whereas the number was 407 in 2007. It is important that in 2007, not a single ultrasound was performed at THQ hospital Talagang while in 2008, a total of 2,015 ultrasounds were performed under the project. 466 normal deliveries were taken place in Talagang hospital in 2008 while the number was 291 in 2007. “Under the project, we performed 77 C-sections at THQ Talagang in 2008 whereas the number was 27 in 2007,” said Dr. Rizwana.

Also the THQ hospital Choa Saydan Shah did a tremendous job after launching of the project. “In THQ hospital Choa Saydan Shah, we managed to treat as many as 3,125 OPD patients in 2008 while in 2007, the hospital has received only 1,378 patients with antenatal problems,” said Dr Rizwana adding they would start providing maternal and child healthcare services in at least 10 Basic Health Units of Chakwal within January.

To a query, she said her team is going to launch a similar project in Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, Murree soon in collaboration with Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns (PAIMAN).