Preterm Births Can be Prevented

Malawi has the highest preterm birth rate in the world. Every year, 120,200 babies are born preterm, and 5,300 of these die due to preterm birth complications. But two women did not want their babies to be among those.

In Malawi we have an expression that says, it takes the whole village to raise a child. With this in mind, it would also be safe to say that it can take the whole village and the whole nation at large to prevent preterm birth complications.

Patricia Chirwa is a 35-year old woman from Mzimba District. Her story is a story of love, care and sacrifice.

In June this year, she was a guardian of her daughter at Chikangawa Health Centre, about 80km from Mzuzu City. Her daughter had given birth to a baby who was born prematurely at seven months weighing 1.3kg. And so, it turned out that her daughter had a cough and in fear of her grandchild’s health, she offered to take care of the baby through Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC).

She had to sleep with the baby strapped to her chest while the mother of the child recovered. The only time she could not have the babe on her, was during feeding. But the rest of the time the child was strapped to her chest so that she felt warm.

Nailes Kamanga is another woman also from Mizmba District who also had to do Kangaroo Mother Care as her son was also born seven months early. She did all that she could by following the instructions given by the nurses to do to keep the baby warm.  

But what caused these preterm births? According to both women it was due to overworking. The mothers walked long distances to collect firewood and also do other house chores. These factors led to preterm births.

Today, 17th November 2016, the whole world commemorates World Prematurity Day where we remember those babies who are born too soon and the challenges it brings to them and their families.

According to findings, Malawi has the highest preterm birth rate in the world. Every year, 120,200 babies are born too soon, and 5,300 of these die due to preterm birth complications. 

Globally, 15 million babies are born too soon and one million of these babies die from preterm birth complications.

Hence MamaYe Malawi calls upon every one of us to make a stand against preterm births and deaths which can be prevented.

We call upon all the government, political leaders, NGOs, CSOs, community leaders, various stakeholders and individuals to not just commemorate the day but to also take action in preventing preterm births and save the lives of our babies.

What Can Be Done?

MamaYe Malawi believes that every problem has a solution which needs collective participation and action from all stakeholders.

We believe that if proper mechanisms are put in place for service providers to account for the use of resources, babies will be saved as they will be receiving the proper care.

Furthermore, to this, MamaYe is calling upon all concerned Malawians to observe the following to prevent preterm deaths: 

  1. Adhere to family planning strategies including child spacing. Mothers who practice child spacing methods will ensure that their bodies will get back to good health and restore nutrients. Child spacing also takes away the financial strain the family may face.  
  2. Adolescent or old age pregnancy increase the risk of preterm births as either the body is not fully matured for giving birth or due to some factors of old age such as diabetes or high blood pressure which can affect the health and birth of the child. 
  3. Encourage pregnant women to receive at least 4 antenatal visits and to deliver in a health facility assisted by a skilled health worker.  
  4. Advocate and ensure for more resources such as funding and availability of essential medicines at all health facilities and to improve quality of care and equity.  
  5. Encourage every eligible Malawian to donate blood which is needed for mothers and new born babies. 
  6. Act now to reduce preventable newborn deaths.
  7. Strengthen and invest in care during labour, birth and the first week of life. 
  8. Improve the quality of maternal and newborn care. 
  9. Reach every woman and newborn to reduce inequalities. 
  10. Harness the power of parents, families and communities. 
  11. Count every newborn through measurement, programme tracking and accountability. 

What is the Government’s Role?  

The Malawi government has also shown its commitment to preventing preterm births by signing the 2014 Every Newborn Action Plan. Malawi has committed to reach the target of 10 or less newborn deaths per 1000 live births and 10 or less stillbirths per 1000 total births by 2035. 

This strategy sets out the priority solutions, and calls for a united effort to dramatically reduce maternal and newborn deaths, and preventable stillbirths. 

Conclusion 

MamaYe Malawi will continue to strive to ensure that no mother dies while giving birth and to see that every baby borne lives to see their fifth birthday.

This can only be achieved when government and service providers are accountable in the provision of resources.

This can also be achieved when we all take a collective effort in ensuring that we take all the necessary responsibilities in ensuring that we take care of our pregnant mothers and newborn. 

Share this article